Sporadically, I forget how amazing modern technology, and with it modern logistics, are. Here in Switzerland, we are pretty spoiled. We have a few large online retailers, owned by the major retail companies, as well as one independent company. With Switzerland being a rather small country, most items are delivered by Swiss Post the very next day, the only difference being the cut-off times1.
Large online retailers, most famously Amazon, have pushed forward fast delivery, with Amazon now delivering most items in two days in the US. In Switzerland, online shopping has almost always been next-day shipping.
Recently, shipping in Switzerland has gotten even faster for some online retailers. Many now offer same-day delivery if you order by 11am. In my experience, this has been working wonderfully, but according to some online discussions, your mileage may vary.
The Problem
The problem started when I noticed on Sunday that I was running out of reading material. Not much of an issue, but I do enjoy reading, so I was looking for my next book. I have a wonderful bookshop right nearby where I quite often go to see new books and order them through their system. However, that typically takes about 2-3 working days until arrival. Of course, the books they have on the shelf are available immediately, but since I’m regularly looking to read books in their original language, English books are less likely to be readily available on the shelves.
So I turned to Amazon, as they have a large selection and offer expedited shipping. The fast shipping generally costs EUR 9.99 to ship according to their guaranteed date. I was looking through the books I wanted to read and saw when they would be delivered. To my surprise, they had a book I wanted to read available for Monday delivery. So I set out to order it on Sunday evening2. I wasn’t really expecting it to be delivered on Monday.
The Delivery
Here’s the complete timeline according to the delivery company (as well as my actions):
Sunday
- 11:18pm: ordered the book, received email confirmation
Monday
- 2:22am: customs process initiated
- 2:23am: customs process finished electronically
- 3:10am: Swiss postal service received electronic registration of the parcel
- 5:10am: parcel crossed the border to Switzerland
- 10:09am: parcel sorted in Swiss sorting centre
- 2:49pm: parcel arrived in Swiss distribution centre, 3 km from final delivery
- 4:15pm: parcel loaded into delivery vehicle
- 7:48pm: parcel delivered to letterbox
To me, this is simply an astonishing service. Less than 24 hours after ordering the book, it was delivered to my letterbox by Swiss Post. And I started reading the first chapter of what promises to be quite a remarkable book.
Logistics
This reminds me a bit of my day job. What I really like about working in software development is that when it’s done correctly and the software works, it often feels a bit like magic. And in this case, the logistics also feel a bit like magic, even though I fully understand how it works.
Brack allows ordering until 7pm, Galaxus you can order until 9pm, and Interdiscount doesn’t offer more precise information. ↩︎
Part of the surprise was that typically if you order something on the weekend from any online shop in Switzerland, it will only arrive on Tuesday, as it will be shipped on Monday. I had assumed that people would not be working on Sundays in Germany as well, but maybe I was mistaken. ↩︎