PICKUP’S APP PAIRS DRIVER WITH CUSTOMER TO GET CARGO DELIVERED

Retail stores, logistics centers, and offices in the AllianceTexas development now have instant delivery options from PICKUP, an Addison startup that employs regular people and their trucks.

PICKUP announced Tuesday that it is has partnered with the 18,000-acre master-planned Hillwood project, which includes Alliance Town Center.

At its heart, PICKUP is a service company but it’s enabled by technology, namely an app that shows your location and finds the nearest available driver to move the item from point A to B.

The company launched in Dallas and Fort Worth about two years ago and has expanded to Houston. But getting the official designation from AllianceTexas might be its biggest win yet.

“The integrated community Hillwood is continuing to develop at AllianceTexas is incredible”
Brenda Stoner

“The integrated community Hillwood is continuing to develop at AllianceTexas is incredible,” Brenda Stoner, founder and chief “Good Guy” of PICKUP, said in a press release. “Where there is such strong economic growth, there are many opportunities to help consumers and businesses instantly move items.”Retail workers can give customers the option of using PICKUP, rather than waiting for their in-house delivery, which can take longer.

The instant delivery — drivers arrive in less than 30 minutes — gives brick and mortar stores the ability to compete with Amazon, for example.

Mike Berry, president of Hillwood Properties, said partnership is in keeping with Hillwood’s history of being an incubator for innovative startups. Ross Perot Jr., the chairman of Hillwood, invested in PICKUP.

 AllianceTexas is a master-planned community that’s been in the works for more than 25 years. From Fort Worth Alliance Airport to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe intermodal hub, logistics and transportation infrastructure has always been a critical part of the project. Access to transportation has helped make Alliance a hub for distribution centers and the like.

 “Now with PICKUP we also offer to our residents and businesses quick movement of small products and needs,” Berry said. “We’ve gotten the information to them and made introductions to those companies to PICKUP so they know the service is available.”

 It’s not only good for retailers but residents who are moving into homes and apartments in the area, Berry said. And PICKUP is handy for business to business deliveries that don’t require an 18-wheeler, he added.

 “It gives people the ability to have it on demand, which as you know is what everyone wants these days,” Berry said. “This PICKUP strategy fits into that same consumer desire to have immediate on-demand performance.”

Alliance Town Center alone has dozens of retailers that could offer the service to its customers.

The massive logistics centers, which include Walmart and Amazon, can also tap the app and get a product delivered quickly.

Deliveries start at $45 and include everything from landscaping and home improvement materials to appliances and flatscreen televisions. PICKUP does background checks on all the drivers, who are mostly military veterans and off-duty firefighters.

Items are insured for up to $20,000.

PICKUP also recently announced that customers who buy from Park Place Dealerships can now get a $10 discount on delivery services up to five times. The dealership sells luxury cars, most of which aren’t ideal for carrying large items. This gives vehicle owners the option of hiring a PICKUP driver.

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