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Comprehensive last-mile delivery solutions can keep orders in the system for a short period in case the customer places another, improve internal delivery fleets by eliminating shipments that take drivers off the beaten path, and allow shippers to ensure next-day delivery at second-day prices when shipments move within the same zone.
Fremont, CA: Last-mile deliveries are generally the most complicated component of supply chain management. They are, without a doubt, the most expensive part of the delivery procedure. They also pose the risk of delay, damage, and loss, all while end customers anxiously await their often-critical goods.
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Shippers encounter two difficulties when handling last-mile delivery and how they address them holistically using technology and humans.
Comprehensive Solution for Last-Mile Shipment Visibility
Too many businesses still track shipments using Excel spreadsheets or even paper records. It's fair to assume that those businesses have little real-time visibility into last-mile deliveries and can do little to assist customers whose shipments may go wrong.
Even those that use technology face challenges since they typically must log in to several systems to determine the status of shipments, preventing them from having a bird's-eye view of the whole delivery situation. That is preferable to doing things manually, but it does not aggregate all shipment data or address the issue of lowering end-customer anxiety when shipments are delayed. Technology requires a sophisticated system capable of tracking all shipments. However, technology does not provide a comprehensive final-mile solution. Visibility alone cannot ensure that deliveries arrive at their intended destinations and that customers are kept personally informed.
To do this, shippers must employ a team of humans in addition to technology to monitor shipping exceptions such as delays and damages and contact consumers directly to relieve their concerns. The combination of total visibility and live courier monitoring is a game changer.
Failure of Last-Mile Systems to Account for Returns
Last-mile systems can be considered an extension of the shipper's customer service operation. That is why it is critical to implement a solution that accounts for client returns. The returns process is an essential part of the overall customer experience.
Shippers who make the returns process more accessible for their clients have a competitive advantage. Other things being equal, customers are more inclined to conduct business with vendors who pick up their returns directly rather than requiring them to deliver the return to a shipment or carrier site. Shippers profit from a smoother return process. When an item is returned, it is returned to the shipper's inventory. Customers who have 30 days to return an item may take their time coming to a returns site. Shippers can collect their inventory faster if the returns process is made simple.
Advanced last-mile delivery systems are independent of when, where, and why pickups and deliveries are required. Deploying a system that views returns as simply another pickup and delivery and gracefully handles scheduling conflicts has the obvious benefits of saving time, money, and frustration for end users and shippers.
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