Lastmile delivery can be a make-or-break factor in customer satisfaction. As more shoppers turn to e-commerce, it’s important to review and optimize your lastmile delivery process for the highest levels of efficiency and speed. Learn more about best practices to get started today!
What is last mile delivery?
Lastmile delivery is the last step before goods reach their ultimate destination – the customer’s doorstep. This critical phase of delivery involves a lot of planning, as it can become costly and time-consuming. While this last mile is a vital factor in creating a positive shopping experience for customers, it covers only a short distance and carries with it an immense amount of expense and difficulty.
What is the last mile problem?
The last mile delivery problem refers to the inefficient and costly logistics process of delivering packages from a transportation hub to their final destination. Last mile delivery is some of the most time-consuming, resource intensive and expensive aspects of the supply chain. This is especially true due to the multiple stops, low drop sizes, and lack of visibility regarding where goods are located.
Lastmile delivery is the process of transporting packages from the final point of transit to the customer’s doorstep. In rural areas, deliveries are often spread out over several miles, with only a few packages dropped off at each location. In cities, lastmile delivery faces further complications due to traffic congestion and navigational messes.
Last mile delivery is an issue that affects the profitability of businesses in the ecommerce sector. In recent years, this problem has grown more concerning as the number of packages needing to be delivered has drastically increased. Furthermore, the customer's demand for fast and free delivery only adds to this problem.
What are the costs of last mile delivery?
Last mile delivery is the final leg of a shipment’s journey before it reaches its destination and is getting more and more attention due to its high cost in comparison to other shipping components. In fact, it now accounts for over half of a shipment's delivery cost, making it an ideal starting point for retailers and logistics partners when looking to implement new technologies or automate processes. Lastmile delivery service has become increasingly important in the e-commerce and retail space, as businesses need to ensure that their customers receive their orders quickly and efficiently. Companies have adopted different strategies involving automated vehicles, drones and traditional carriers to provide this lastmile delivery service in an effort to remain competitive.
Streamline Your Lastmile Delivery Process.
Streamlining the lastmile delivery process can make a world of difference in customer satisfaction. One way to reduce delivery times is to use advanced route planning software, which can automatically create optimized routes that maximize efficiency. Additionally, implementing automated systems for tracking orders and managing fleets can help keep things organized, resulting in improved customer experience.
Take Advantage of Automation Solutions.
Automation can be used to help improve delivery times and customer satisfaction. Technologies like automated order tracking, fleet management systems and route planning software can be used to optimize the lastmile delivery process. Additionally, incorporating technologies such as point-of-sale systems, barcode scanning and digital signatures can speed up the delivery process and reduce errors. Such automation solutions are designed to make lastmile delivery more efficient and reliable for customers.
Enhance Customer Service With Real-Time Tracking.
Allow customers to track orders in real-time throughout the entire delivery process. Providing an order tracking feature on your delivery platform increases transparency and builds trust with customers. This way, customers will know exactly when their order is arriving and can get status updates of the shipment along the way, reducing customer anxiety and dissatisfaction.
Optimize Vehicle and Personnel Deployment for Efficient Routes and Efficiency Gains.
By optimizing your vehicle and personnel deployments, you can create efficient routes for lastmile delivery that result in efficiency gains across the entire delivery process. Utilizing the right mix of vehicles and personnel appropriately based on order size and customer location will help ensure orders are delivered on-time and with minimal inconvenience to customers.
Provide Flexible Options for Customers to Choose Their Delivery Timeframe.
Customers often need to choose between delivery times that don't match their availability. To increase customer satisfaction, offer flexible shipping options that give customers the option of selecting their preferred delivery window and timeframe. This can be done through custom order dispatching or by working with a third-party logistics provider, which can assign dedicated drivers for pickup and delivery in certain cities. In addition, offering same-day delivery or same-hour deliveries can prove useful in satisfying lastmile delivery needs.
Logibee: Your perfect Logistics Optmization Partner for last mile efficiency
Logibee's customers have found that what used to take them more than 60 minutes earlier, is now done in 10 minutes time. That is almost a 90% drop in planning time. With such kind of time saving you can move from next day delivery to same day delivery.
Using logibee doesn’t just increase your convenience, it gives you a complete strategic advantage over your competition. If you're looking for a way to streamline your delivery operations and get more done, Logibee is the perfect solution. We can help you plan faster and deliver more, so you can focus on growing your business.