Business View Magazine l January 2023

93 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 12 Currently, the company focuses its delivery network within its state lines; an estimated 98% of all its deliveries take place in Oregon and they focus on the aforementioned pharmaceutical deliveries from suppliers to patients. Some of these deliveries, especially if they are lab specimens or from clinics, need to be refrigerated or frozen. This means thorough training and proper equipment. Another part of the business is distribution and more extensive home goods movies coming from Portland and going primarily to four larger metropolitan hubs within Oregan. The company has distribution centers in Oregon and Washington. This part of the business has expanded, and now the medical delivery side of the company makes up only 60% of business dealings. The company has also widened its service reach, including deliveries for e-commerce sites and other consumer-centric needs. In late 2019, Dash Delivery partnered with StatimRX, a pharmaceutical benefit manager providing daily deliveries throughout the US to help expand their network through ongoing relationships within the industry. Woody points out that partnerships such as this create a mutually beneficial relationship while helping to create more operational efficiencies. Although some industries slowed down during the pandemic, Dash Delivery experienced increased delivery demand which made the last few years quite challenging to meet the increased activity. “When COVID-19 hit, the ordering habits of many Americans changed. Since the lockdown, online purchases and e-commerce have become an official American consumer habit. Keeping up with these new demands was extremely demanding. Dash Delivery had to limit what it got involved with,” says Woody. Controlling this growth was a challenge, with existing clients needing more deliveries than ever. Some consumers’ needs grew by 30%- 40%. But with this surge period tempering DASH DEL IVERY down, the company’s demand is leveling-off. While it’s not the usual principle of conducting business, the management at Dash Delivery is happy that the surge is over. Other factors plaguing other industries also affected the courier sector. With a workforce pivoting away from their professions and supply chain issues, this created a problem for Dash Delivery. “I’d say that COVID was one of the most challenging business environments I’ve worked in over the last 25 years - no doubt. And it was down to the worker shortage,” says Woody. However, with delivery service now more reflective of pre-pandemic levels, since late summer 2022, there’s been an uptick in interest in jobs at the company. The company has procedures in place to train drivers, and this takes five days. The training entails learning about apps and systems, as well as how to deal with certain complexities of some of the specialized medical deliveries.