Hartford Business Journal

24 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JANUARY 17, 2022 Company Profile Logistical Opportunities E-commerce boom boosts courier service providers, including West Hartford's ProCourier Inc. By Matthew Broderick Special to the Hartford Business Journal O ver the past two years, e-commerce and health care have been among the two fastest-growing sectors in the U.S. amid the pandemic. But the massive uptick in package home deliveries and transport of medical supplies and test specimens has also been a boon to another industry: last-mile courier service providers, which have seen demand for same-day deliveries skyrocket, even as office-based shipments took a hit in an era of remote work. For Michael Gualtieri, president of West Hartford-based ProCourier Inc., a same-day delivery service company he founded in 1997, the pandemic has fueled record-setting sales. "We've been growing at 8 to 10% a year over the past [several] years, but the past two have seen our sales double," Gualtieri said. That's largely been driven by healthcare companies that comprise, he estimates, 40% of ProCourier's clientele. The company also has offices in New Haven, Stamford and Boston. Gualtieri said he remains bullish about future growth. Last month, he finalized an acquisition of Hartford Courier, a delivery company located in downtown Hartford. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the move reflects the need to diversify revenue streams amid an increasingly competitive and technology-driven landscape. Having a city-centered presence is particularly important for timely pick- up and delivery, he said. "Being [in a downtown location] can cut in half our response time," Gualtieri said, noting that's a significant issue, especially since ProCourier largely provides one-stop deliveries. Same-day deliveries Research from EFT, which tracks the supply chain and logistics industry, found that "delivery efficiency" was the top concern (25%) of clients, outpacing issues like cost (13%) and "end customer interactions" (10%). Client demands — in an age of speed and convenience — have elevated both the expectations and pressures on courier services. Steve Howard, president of the Customized Logistics and Delivery Association (CLDA), which includes nearly 3,000 members, said customer feedback in real time has greatly changed quality control and the delivery experience. "Today, every delivery … is accompanied by an email survey," Howard said. "If [a courier company] isn't doing its job well, it can [reflect poorly] on both the delivery provider and the client [company]." One of the primary expectations of clients these days is same-day delivery, Howard said. At the same time, many consumers also expect free shipping: More than 60% of EFT survey respondents said they were willing to cancel an order without it, and 24% of consumers said they were willing to spend more on purchases to qualify for free shipments. Those expectations have created a need for upgraded technology to provide greater efficiency and predictive scheduling in the global last-mile delivery market, which is projected to grow annually by 9% from $108 billion in 2020 to more than $200 billion by 2027. "A few years ago, giving a customer a four-hour window for a delivery was [acceptable], but today [customers] want that narrowed to an hour or two," Howard said. The continued investment in technology and data metrics has, in part, been a factor in the number of mergers and acquisitions in the courier services industry in recent years, says Jason Burns, first vice president of CLDA and director of corporate development at Dropoff, a delivery services and logistics company with locations in 38 cities nationwide. Burns is responsible for mergers and acquisitions at Dropoff, which purchased his family's New Orleans- based small courier service company in Sept. 2020. AT A GLANCE Company: ProCourier Inc. Industry: Logistics Top Executive: Michael Gualtieri, President HQ: 25 Hurlbut Street, West Hartford Company Website: https://www. pro-courier.com/ Phone Number: 860-953-7777 HBJ PHOTO | GARY LEWIS Michael Gualtieri is the president of West Hartford-based ProCourier Inc., a same-day delivery service company he founded in 1997.

• Cover