Readers, last week I hinted that we would be featuring a new app on the blog soon and I am now thrilled to introduce to you all Postmates! I sat down with Seattle’s community manager Ayako Igari this week to chat with her a little bit more about the app – what it is and where it’s going. The start-up based out of San Francisco is now expanding to both Seattle and New York so you can begin using it right now!

“Be hungover IN BED not in line” is just one of their many taglines that you can find on their flyer handouts and alludes to the fact that you can save time doing whatever it is that you need to do while enlisting Postmates to help you as well.

Postmates, currently an iOs app (for now. Android and web coming soon!) enables you to order almost anything (but alcohol in Seattle) and it’ll be delivered to you IN AN HOUR OR LESS. It’s food, groceries, office supplies, coffee, cakes, sunglasses…the list goes on.

Simply pull up the merchant/restaurant/location in the app and pick it from the menu or type in your custom order. Postmates is a courier service at its core and they do pickups and deliveries of documents as well. Moreover, it seems that the firm uses route optimisation software applications to avoid time wastage and efficiently plan routes that would prevent delayed parcel deliveries and reduced customer satisfaction.

Honestly, these kind of technological solutions happen to be gaining popularity in the contemporary world. Several courier service providers seem to have excellent courier software which allows them to plan routes efficiently so that customers can receive their orders on time and in one piece too. If you were to choose a couriering service, you’d want one with superior courier software so that you knew packages were being delivered properly and Postmates offers a service that does just that. Likewise, you should know when your courier is scheduled to arrive to avoid delays in sending the courier. For example, some companies in the e-commerce space are in need of delivering the products as soon as possible because any delay could negatively affect the customer experience. Therefore, it might be prudent to use a same day courier service or an earliest delivery service that does not hamper the customer’s or your time. However, before you choose a delivery service, take into account the software used by them for effective supervision of their fleet, i.e. their delivery vans (or any vehicles for that matter). The need for an efficient fleet management software becomes essential as their work pattern and flow might affect the delivery and safety of the items that you intend to deliver.

-Hours are 8am-midnight.
-Delivery area is all of Seattle. Up to N 145 in Northgate and down to White
Center/Rainier Valley. WS and Ballard included.
-There are no minimums on the item, you can order a can or soda or have a courier pick up an already-paid for item.
-Delivery fees start at $4 and only go to $12.
-Like the Uber app, you can watch your courier do your delivery around town, call them/they can call you and there is a ratings
system for accountability.

To learn more about the service, click here to visit their website.