Irvine-based Delivery Drivers Inc., is planning to hire more than 140,000 last-mile drivers nationwide, including tens of thousands in Southern California, by the end of 2021.
The drivers DDI provides work as independent contractors delivering for industries such as restaurants, courier services, grocers, medical and pharmaceutical outlets and retail. Walmart is the company’s biggest client.
DDI has experienced tremendous growth over the last five years due to a surge of delivery platforms coming to market and an ever-increasing need for last-mile delivery drivers in today’s gig economy.
The company’s hiring boom is also being fueled by a surge in e-commerce buying. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, more and more consumers are looking to avoid crowded brick-and-mortar stores, so they’re purchasing their products online and people are needed to make the deliveries.
“The pandemic accelerated changes that were already underway,” said Dan Weinfurter, DDI’s chief operating officer. “Instead of taking another three years, that acceleration was compressed into one year. We don’t think that’s going to slide backward.”
DDI recruits, screens, onboards and facilitates the payment of driver wages through the companies they provide services for, in addition to handling their taxes and compliance.
That allows companies to focus on growing their business, Weinfurter said, rather than having to handle all of the bureaucracy that comes with managing their own fleet of independent drivers.
“Last-mile delivery” refers to deliveries that are done locally, such as someone delivering groceries from a local supermarket, or food deliveries from a neighborhood restaurant to a customer’s home.
Sharp uptick in revenue
The recent uptick in business more than doubled DDI’s revenue, which hit $2.9 million in 2020. It also prompted the company to boost its Irvine workforce to 71 compared with 50 the previous year. That number is expected to hit 120 by the end of 2021.
Rideshare drivers have seen business erode significantly during the pandemic, but drivers who deliver food and other products have experienced a sharp rise.
Uber said its food delivery business was up 128% during the fourth quarter of 2020, while bookings for rides were down 47% from a year earlier.
DDI’s national driver base was four times larger by the end of 2020. The company currently partners with more than 40,000 independent contractors. Information on job openings at the company can be found at ddiwork.com.
