The world is experiencing a digital revolution that has affected all sectors, and made companies from all countries of the earth try to modernize this digitization through creative solutions, and by entering into partnerships with the technology sector, which provides solutions that doubles the profit and reduces the effort. The concepts and terms of the game have changed in many sectors after the Corona pandemic, and the most affected of these sectors is the delivery sector, where delivery companies and e-commerce found themselves experiencing unprecedented prosperity, as a result of which they met an enormous demand that they were unable to meet.
People were unable to travel and move during the pandemic, so they spent their money on electronic goods, only to find that every company whose work requires parcel delivery is in a crisis, and that delivery operations in their traditional form are no longer feasible. This is due to several reasons; The most important of them is that traditional methods are a waste of time and money, and that customer satisfaction has become more complex and is no longer an easy matter, and continuity in this field requires keeping pace with logistics technology.
It has become frustrating for the customer that his goods arrive late, and as a result of the fierce competition between delivery companies, the costumer became accustomed to obtaining free delivery in most cases, or modern technological services, such as following his parcels live, and here comes the role of the seller or the delivery company in providing contemporary and smart services. The secret to keeping pace with this progress and satisfying customers here, is to focus on the last mile process and provide technological services, and ideally, managing this logistics process is the safety valve, through which, the company ensures the success of its logistical operations, as it saves itself time and money, and the company’s team then will become professional.
We refer to the concept of the “last mile” as the final stage in the shipping process, where the goods move from the warehouse to the final customer through the delivery operator. This process is delicate and expensive.
We will review some of the most prominent issues affecting the operation of the last mile process:
First: delayed and asynchronous deliveries.
This problem is one of the most common problems in the last mile delivery process. It has several causes and even if the delivery company is not guilty of it, but in the end it leads to customer frustration and dissatisfaction, and it remains stuck in the company’s agenda, which means losing money. as studies indicate: “The equivalent of 69% of customers will not buy from the merchant again if their order is delayed”.
Solution: To get the last mile process right, companies use Route Optimization, which is the key to the success of the delivery process to the end customer. The process of determining the path, or optimizing routes, refers to the process of determining the most appropriate route for the driver, during which a road map is drawn that guarantees a route in the shortest possible form, with most delivery points, obtaining speed and efficiency.
Previously, this process was difficult for companies and required continuous follow-up and effort. The good news is that this process has become easy, and is done automatically through algorithms that rely on artificial intelligence and data collection, and this technology is available and provided by delivery solutions systems such as Logestechs.
Second, the high cost
Studies indicate that 53% of the costs of the delivery process for logistics companies are spent on the last mile stage, and one of the main reasons for the high cost of the last mile is competition, as some companies offer free delivery to new buyers, which made customers more thirsty to order parcels without paying delivery fees, Which made some sellers bear the cost of delivery.
The solution: contracting with professional delivery companies, and including the delivery costs within the price of the item, which will reduce shipping costs, and will bring customer satisfaction and gratitude.
Third, the lack of transparency
Not satisfying customers’ expectations is sometimes inevitable, as delays and other things happen, and what the customer would like most in this case is to know what happened to his order, the reason for its delay and updates, especially if the package you send is urgent or sensitive, as studies indicate 88% of consumers say that being able to track their packages live is important to them.
The solution: Delivery operations management systems, provides live tracking services for parcels, and notifies customers with a text message or a call showing the status of the parcel, it will make the customer more satisfied and less angry when a parcel is being delayed, and the delivery worker also benefits from ensuring that the customer is present for timely receipt, which saves effort and money.
Fourth: complex delivery conditions
Even after intelligently locating their routes, delivery companies suffer from problems such as delivering to overcrowded areas or fear of entering dangerous roads in rural areas, and because they seek to satisfy customer expectations of successful delivery, detours and changing lanes remain a real challenge for delivery companies.
The solution: In this case, delivery companies and electronic stores have to think of solutions that suit both parties, such as placing the parcel in a nearby grocery store, for the customer to receive it from there, or even resorting to advanced solutions such as delivery by drone as well as relying on solutions provided by delivery systems.
With this competition experienced by employers in this sector, and with the many problems facing the last mile delivery process, companies and e-stores must resort to managing their delivery operations in an intelligent and computerized manner through smart delivery management softwares.
The world of delivery is moving towards automated delivery. Studies indicate that by 2025, the percentage of self-driving delivery cars will increase by 85%, and this rise will be accompanied by the use of drones. Set yourself a step in the future of delivery, and follow this evolution step by step before it’s too late. At LogesTechs, we provide all smart solutions and administrative systems related to logistics business.
