Another retailer tests the Ensenda concept

San Francisco-based Ensenda Inc., a start-up immediate delivery service, has reached agreement with another retailer for quick delivery, although this one is not on the web. Fastsigns, a provider of signs and graphic products, has hired Ensenda to make deliveries in the Chicago area on orders placed in the stores.

Under the terms of the deal, Fastsigns will pilot Ensenda`s in-store delivery technology in 10 Chicago retail outlets. The agreement will enable Fastsigns customers to get purchases in as little as 60 minutes and will give the stores one point of contact for all their delivery needs. If the test is successful, Fastsigns could roll out the service to over 400 stores across the country.

Ensenda’s immediate delivery service relies on a network of local independent messenger services for quick delivery. Orders are routed to the Ensenda server, then to couriers in each market, based on their performance with Ensenda orders in the past. Ensenda has relationships with couriers that employ more than 9,500 delivery personnel in 100 markets in the U.S.

Because of high-profile failures of quick-delivery companies such as Kozmo and Webvan, The quick delivery market is under a could. Ensenda says its model could prove the quick-delivery concept because it does not require large overhead of dedicated delivery networks. Founded in 1985, Fastsigns frnachises 440 stores in the U.S. and six other countries.