What is White Glove Service in Logistics and Transportation Industry

The modern digital era has completely transformed the way customers shop and businesses run their operations. From apparel, accessories, furniture, grocery, jewelry to electronics, customers can purchase almost everything online. All it requires is to have a website or a mobile application to reach consumers and offer them various products. What needs undivided attention is the delivery part, as delivering large household appliances, jewelry, furniture, and more can be cumbersome and risky. That’s when white glove services or white glove delivery comes into action. Curious to know more about it? This article is for you. In the subsequent sections, you can find detailed information on- 

What is white glove service?

White glove service is a type of delivery service for products that require special handling or care due to size, fragility, or value to ship, deliver, and set up. These services are rendered by well-trained professionals conversant with the assembly and installation of the product on-site. White glove logistics services generally involve a significant amount of costs for ensuring needed precaution, hygiene, and timely delivery. 

What does white glove service attitude mean?

Every logistics service provider delivers its products with utmost care; it is the white glove service attitude that sets it apart from other deliveries. The level of hygiene and precaution that needs to be maintained during white glove shipping is unmatched.

What type of products or items require a white glove delivery service?

As aforementioned, items or goods, such as jewelry, medical or lab equipment, aviation products, large household appliances, electronics, and more, which require extra care, need white glove moving service. These products cannot be left unattended due to the risk of damage or theft; therefore, they need expert hands to handle. 

What are the key benefits of white glove service?

Improved customer service

For a white glove service provider, customer satisfaction is a top priority. That’s the reason they streamline every process from picking up the product, packaging it using the right material, shipping it through the suitable vehicle, final delivery, and installation. 

Damage-free deliveries

Handling, packing, shipping, and delivering a product carefully reduces the chances of damage, ultimately ensuring customer satisfaction and reduced delivery cost. 

Frees from delivery-related worries

White glove shipping gives you peace of mind that your expensive and valuable products are in safe hands. You can also forget about issues like damage or theft of the shipment during the delivery. 

On-time deliveries

With white glove service, you can be sure about on-time deliveries, which is important to delight your customers. Moreover, chances of missed & fake delivery attempts and unsuccessful deliveries are also relatively less. It also enhances your brand reputation. 

What are the main processes involved in White glove service?

White glove logistics also involves specific processes that should be performed seamlessly to yield desired results. Let’s understand them all in detail-

White glove packaging 

Packaging plays a pivotal role in keeping the goods pristine and damage-free. Professionals have to consider the size, packaging material, fragility, type of the goods, and various other factors for impeccable and perfect packaging. They also need to adhere to international shipping standards. In some cases, even customized packaging is also required to ensure the safety of the product. 

White glove shipping

Once the packaging is done, the next step is to pick the right vehicle for the delivery. Vehicles like padded mini-trucks, refrigerated semi-trailers, vans with CCTV surveillance, temperature-controlled trucks are generally considered for white glove shipping. The special vehicles also minimize the chances for shipping inefficiencies and increase the rate of successful deliveries. 

White glove delivery

White glove shipping services not only ensure on-time deliveries but also help in improving the customer experience. These are mainly the best option when you know the products are expensive and even a tiny damage can result in a big loss. 

White glove delivery tracking 

This type of delivery service uses a robust tracking system for the customers and vendors to avoid any inefficiencies and delivery delays. For this, most of the white glove services providers rely on tech platforms or advanced delivery management solutions. Such software facilitates ground-level visibility and complete delivery transparency. 

Assembly and installation 

White glove shipping service doesn’t just end at the delivery; it also includes unpacking, assembling, and installing the product at the customer’s preferred location inside the house. Sometimes, it also involves disposing of excess packaging material. 

Which businesses should use white glove services?

Businesses (both B2B and B2C) that offer home delivery for fragile items, household appliances, electronics, furniture, jewelry, and other products requiring extra care require white glove shipping services. Apart from businesses, individual customers can also choose white glove services for the products they shop online to ensure damage-free delivery and on-site assembly. 

What is the cost of a white glove delivery service?

To calculate the estimated white glove delivery cost, you need to consider the distance of transportation, nature of the product to be shipped, delivery time, destination location, special needs for the storage or transport of the product, and a plethora of other factors. 

Does white glove service cover reverse logistics?

Yes, most of the white glove service providers drive the cost of managing returns as well as reverse logistics. However, the rate of returns is usually low. It is recommended that you check it with the provider before hiring them to look after your white glove deliveries. 

To know more about reverse logistics- What is reverse logistics and why should businesses pay attention to it

How long does the white glove delivery service take?

It depends on the distance your shipment needs to travel, whether the origin and destination are in the same or different city, if customs clearance is required, and various other factors. 

How white glove service help in improving your customer experience?

Customers, these days, expect much more than just receiving their products on their doorsteps. They expect the product to come up with the setup and installation, so they don’t have to look for third parties. With white glove service, you can render additional service to your customers, which would further improve customer experience, reduce returns, and create a competitive edge for your brand. 

White glove service ensures safe and damage-free delivery of products that require additional care and are usually expensive. It can aid in achieving customer satisfaction by providing post-delivery services such as assembly and installation of the product at the customer’s preferred place in the house. To know the benefits, processes involved, cost, and more about the white glove service, give this article a read.