Last-mile delivery is a crucial procedure in the supply chain. Customers expect a memorable delivery experience, including where you’d drop their items, the waiting time, and the overall delivery costs. When done right, your last-mile delivery operations can scale your business. Otherwise, it would make customers shift to your competition.
According to a report by Yahoo Finance, the last-mile delivery market is expected to grow by over $146 billion from 2021 to 2025, with a CAGR of 15.06%. This means you need to optimize your last-mile delivery solutions to keep your business going. Now, what are the advantages of improving your last-mile delivery?
Improving your last-mile processes in modern-day delivery operations can help reduce wastage and the cost of operations. It can also increase customer satisfaction and help generate more revenue. To overcome last-mile delivery challenges and bring the best services to your customers, follow the best practices below
When getting a last-mile solution, make sure all your data is centralized. You should be able to see inventory availability and deadlines on a single dashboard. Other things that could be available on your software are safety concerns, cost overruns, and delays. Whatever insight you need to make your last-mile delivery process faster, it should be on your software.
It’s a bonus if you can see essential data analytics and metrics, such as the cost per case, customer preferences, and cost per delivery. Having all information in place will help you see last-mile delivery trends and opportunities and evaluate which areas of your service need improvement.
Automation is the key to fully optimizing your last-mile delivery process. It promotes efficiency, saves time, brings better customer service, and improves your overall performance. Some of the operations you can automate using your software include:
Excellent customer service should be the core of your last-mile delivery goals. After all, your customers determine your delivery success. To improve customer management, you can provide the following services:
Delivering an optimal customer experience starts with your team, including your drivers. For example, in the case of delivery route changes or potential delays, your drivers should always be kept in the loop. You should also monitor their performance or have a motor vehicle record background check to ensure that they can meet the turnaround time and deliver safely.
The bottom line is your drivers shouldn’t get all the blame whenever there are lapses on your last-mile delivery. So, make sure you’re clearly communicating with them. Ask what are some of the challenges they’ve encountered during the delivery process and provide solutions when necessary. If your drivers become unhappy with their jobs, it might affect their retention and loyalty to your company.
Have you ever thought of outsourcing your last-mile delivery process to local carriers or using local stores as distribution centers? For the best last-mile optimization, you should take advantage of the locals.
Most new businesses prefer outsourcing their delivery operations to local carriers because they’re more reliable and knowledgeable of the local area. Local carriers also work with lower delivery volumes; hence, a quicker and more efficient delivery.
On the other hand, using local stores as depot sites also helps you minimize the resource requirements for setting up supply chains. It also enables you to easily increase the number of depot sites in different destination zones, making it more convenient to plan pick-ups and drop-offs while keeping costs at a minimum.
Of course, all the best practices above wouldn’t be possible if you don’t know how to choose the right software for your delivery operations. To select the best ERP software companies, determine what needs to be optimized in your last-mile delivery. List down all possible challenges and opportunities. The logic is that getting software should serve as a solution to your problems, not a new or added burden.
The e-commerce landscape is continuously evolving, and customer expectations are also growing higher. Hence, it’s crucial to keep up with the competition, be prepared for the changing of the tides, and learn how to improve last-mile delivery. Why settle for less when you can go the extra mile in your services? Find the best last-mile solutions on the market to improve your delivery process and overall customer service.
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