The Founder's Feature: Edith Mbithe.
With the increase in online businesses and adoption of e-commerce by many traditional businesses, there has been an increase in the demand for on-demand delivery from businesses and individuals. Urban Deliveries is a last mile delivery business that aims to deliver packages and parcels within and around cities enabling anyone and everyone to have everything delivered on demand. We aim to empower business owners and individuals allowing them to focus on their core businesses while using our company to help them deliver packages in a timely, efficient and convenient way.
There are a number of the hindrances to the logistic business such as;
- Poor physical addressing systems
- Poor road network
- Traffic jams
- Security of items
Today we speak to Edith Mbithe of Urban deliveries;
“I started my business in 2016 while I was in charge of administration. From my experience, I saw a gap in logistics and I saw this as an opportunity to delve into the delivery business. In January 2017, after 10 years of employment, I wanted a new beginning, to try it on my own. So, I quit my job and begun Urban deliveries. I have never looked back, even on the worst months when I am not sure how I will pay my bills, or when business is slow, I have never looked back.
My business is heavily dependent on our clients business cycles, so if our clients business is slow, we also experience the same. When our clients are thriving we thrive.
The worst period of my business was at the beginning, I would get more deliveries than I had riders and there were times I would have to step in myself and do the deliveries…(yes, I actually did this).
With the migration of traditional business to the online space the reliance on mobile phones and the internet, people have grown accustomed to convenience and they don’t want to move left right and center for an item, they want it delivered and they want they want it as soon as possible.”
There is a narrative that riders are uncouth and many people wonder how you manage?
Getting the right employees is paramount to running a successful business. Employees who are trustworthy and honest. We handle delicate packages such as tenders, cash, cheques, products, jewellery and they are not cheap!!! You have to be careful who you hire to handle your clients products.
I try to get the best riders, with the right attitude and I train them on customer care, etiquette, on how to speak to our clients and clients of our clients. I spend a lot of time training the riders and speaking to them but I also have to be firm with my riders. Clients have different needs and each must be served on time. Punctuality and efficiency are key cornerstones to winning in logistics.
When recruiting like any professional company I look for referees, family background and proper documentation i.e driving licenses and certificates of good conduct. A lot of time is spent on background checks, but it is worth it in the end.
How have you grown your business?
I have mainly grown my business through word of mouth and referrals. Customer service goes above everything to ensure repeat clients.
How do you handle traffic or different weather seasons?
We work with routes, each rider has their allocated routes and I channel the work depending on the routes.
How many trips/deliveries do you do in a day?
On a good day we can do more than 100 trips/deliveries. Some corporates have riders dedicated to them such as Sarai Afrique Fashion House
Style sense; comfortable, classy, casual, also due to the nature of my work but I do like to dress up and WOW everybody every so often.
There are no limits to what you can accomplish, except the limits you place on your own thinking.
Dressed by: Sarai Afrique Fashion House
Article By: Caroline Kuria.
Photography by :Dennis Munyeti
