Background
Fetch is a last-mile delivery service specifically designed for multi-family communities. Their network of delivery partners retrieves packages from Fetch facilities before delivering them to residents at the drop-off time of their choice, providing added convenience to both property managers and residents.
Seeking a way to deliver speedier pay
Fetch’s network of delivery drivers is unique in that it’s made up of individual contractors and dedicated last mile businesses. Because of this, Fetch needed a compliant, streamlined way to pay all delivery partners from one centralized platform.
In evaluating solutions, Fetch’s Vice President of Driver Operations Nicholas Prijic and Driver Operations Manager Grant Rogers knew they needed a way to speed up payments to delivery partners, realizing that faster pay had become a non-negotiable in the gig space, and would be crucial for Fetch if they wanted to continue to scale and grow.
“Speed is incredibly important in the gig space,” Prijic says. “These drivers are their own individual businesses; because they have their own expenses to manage, they want to get paid immediately to better manage cash flow.”
Since Fetch was initially paying delivery partners all of their payments on a weekly basis, they were searching for a way to accelerate the pace in order to boost platform loyalty.
“We offer various payment options for the delivery partners,” explains Rogers. “We pay by a standard rate, complemented by various incentives based on factors like the number of packages delivered or buildings serviced.”
Fetch wanted to create a system where they could motivate people to make Fetch their main platform of choice to pick up and complete work—yet they knew that in order to truly incentivize their drivers, they’d have to speed up the pace of pay–providing at least some sort of payment on a daily basis.
“You have to have same-day pay to be competitive in the current market and to reward contractors for choosing to work on your platform vs. others,” Prijic reiterates.
Prioritizing tech-forward payouts with easy integrations
When it was time to look for a solution, Prijic, Rogers, and the Fetch Product team knew they needed a partner they could quickly launch a payment solution with. They also knew that the delivery partners would need something that could be integrated into their existing Fetch app in a seamless, straightforward way.
They started looking for a tech-forward option with ease of use for everyone involved—something that was easy to integrate and could still deliver speedier pay and insights into earnings for delivery partners, creating a positive feedback loop to pick up more work and boost platform loyalty to Fetch. Fetch explored a range of solutions, but their decision ultimately came down to pricing models and integration abilities.
“Building a payments platform is difficult,” says Prijic. “We needed a forward-looking partner that could grow with us and provide flexible integrations that allowed us to report to the delivery partners how they’re doing and what they’re earning.”
Fetch ultimately selected Branch because of their robust payments technology, ability to accelerate pay, and fee-free offerings for both Fetch and their delivery partners.
“The white-labeling ability, compliance, and same-day pay were all factors in why we selected Branch,” Rogers agrees.
They also enjoyed how Branch eliminated the complications of issuing those other one-off payments like bonuses and incentives. With Branch, delivery partners could be paid their standard pay every day, and their incentive pay every week, creating a system where drivers are constantly rewarded for investing more into the partnership and upping their total earning potential.
Fast, flexible payouts that fuel loyalty
Providing that flexibility to pay out different types of earnings at different times has been a game-changer for Fetch. Delivery partners enjoy same-day pay of their standard earnings while continuing to be rewarded by incentive payouts each week if they complete a certain number of deliveries.
Branch also enabled Fetch to expand and grow its incentive programs by helping manage time and earnings data in an accessible way. Delivery partners can quickly see how much they’re earning and manage their business cash flow throughout different time periods with easy-to-access reports.
“The way Branch is set up, you can easily manage the information and say to a delivery partner: hey, you’ve been here for this long, you’ve earned this tier of pay, here’s a bonus for hitting that tier—which has improved retention and helped our delivery partners reach their personal goals,” says Rogers.
This has allowed Fetch to grow their Preferred Driver Program—where 75% of deliveries are made by 25% of the network —and create a pool of highly engaged delivery partners.
“It’s made our incentive programs much more efficient. And the ability to provide daily compensation and increase potential earnings created a positive cycle that significantly reduced our need for recruitment,” says Prijic.
Through Branch, Fetch was able to accomplish multiple goals they knew they had to achieve in order to continue their growth: deliver same-day payments, maximize their incentive programs, and choose a tech-forward solution that would be easy to integrate for everyone involved.
Delivering these perks has made a world of difference in how they show up in the last-mile delivery market, allowing them to continue to grow as a preferred platform for delivery partners across the nation.
“Our platform emerged as an attractive opportunity for delivery businesses seeking quicker payments, higher earning potential, and greater flexibility,” Prijic explains. “Branch has made the whole process a well-oiled machine.”
