The Covid-19 pandemic changed the landscape of delivery forever. Consumers grew accustomed to ordering everything from new sneakers to pet food online, and receiving it the next day, or even the same day. This new landscape offers a new level of challenge to suppliers and vendors, who must be agile and flexible in meeting these expectations. It also offers a new level of opportunity, as those who can meet these challenges will quickly rise to the top and outpace the competition. How can you shine in this brave new world? The answer is in perfecting last-mile delivery. The last stage of the delivery process is where it all happens, where you make or break your reputation and your relationships with customers. The best tool in your arsenal for mastering last-mile delivery is the use of a courier fleet. Here are all the surprising ways the use of a courier fleet can make last-minute delivery seamless.
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You’re here because your successful small business is growing rapidly. Are you ready to meet that future? The answer lies in mastery of last-minute delivery. Your growth is determined by your ability to meet all kinds of demands from customers quickly. That means providing delivery of large numbers of bulky items while at the same time offering speedy delivery of small packages and documents. To accomplish that, you will need access to a variety of drivers. But more importantly, you will need to purchase and maintain a variety of vehicles of all different sizes to meet these different needs. That means more costs as you’ll have more vehicles that need fuel, insurance, registration and maintenance. Scaling your business to meet growing demand can quickly absorb your time and attention, as well as your financial resources. You’ll probably find that management of last-mile delivery in particular uses more resources and personnel than you had bargained for. When you’re ready to scale, your best bet is to partner with a last-mile delivery courier service. This partnership gives you access to a variety of types and sizes of vehicle without having to shell out the extra money to keep them on the road. A courier company specializes in providing and maintaining adequate vehicles to meet every type of need. In doing so, the company is working well within its core competency and freeing you up to attend to the many other needs of your growing business. This means you can direct the time that would otherwise be spent on caring for and managing a fleet of vehicles into actively growing your business. You’ll have time freed up for strategizing, marketing, customer relations and all the other essential tasks that lead to success. Even better, you’ll have the ability to make same-day deliveries to your customers, no matter what type of items they need.
Efficient trips with route optimization technology
Gone are the days when delivery drivers had to depend on their own knowledge and the grapevine to determine the best delivery routes. Thanks to the availability of 21st-century technology, all that has changed. Today’s route optimization software is a great asset to avoiding delays. It’s now possible to update delivery routes in real time, eliminating costly delays due to weather, traffic or road closures. Today’s delivery drivers are able to constantly update their route, sidestepping potential issues as they come up. This technology incorporates algorithms to gather information on just about everything that can affect the delivery route: location, fleet size, speed limits, historical traffic patterns and so much more. This is beneficial for all kinds of reasons, not least of which is happier customers. It also provides drivers with the capacity to make more deliveries in less time, meaning the potential for more sales and revenue. And by taking the best routes, your delivery drivers substantially reduce your fuel costs, too. Unfortunately, the best technology in the world does nothing for your company if you’re not using it. Recent statistics show $2.5 billion is lost every year due to deliveries made to wrong addresses. And the simple problem of faulty directions to building entrances results in a loss of seven million minutes per day. When looking at statistics like these, it’s easy to see that route optimization technology is a huge cost savings which you can’t afford to ignore. Of course, this cutting-edge technology does not come cheap. Here again, working with a courier fleet is the best solution. A good courier service can offer the most up-to-date technology for route optimization so you get all the cost-saving benefits without the price tag.
Real-time tracking with proof of deliveries
It’s no secret that the global supply chain has never really recovered from pandemic times, and this has caused deep anxiety in the hearts and minds of consumers. For the first time in recent history, there is real fear that they might not be able to secure necessary items such as baby formula or dog food when they need them. This worldwide sense of panic makes the ability to track deliveries in real time not just a luxury, but a necessity. Statistics show that 93% of consumers expect to know exactly where their deliveries are at every stage of the process. Providing this kind of transparency to your customers will go far in securing their trust and building loyalty. However, providing real-time tracking yourself could be cost-prohibitive. A better approach is to work with a courier service specializing in last-mile delivery. These companies have access to the tracking technology that will ease customers’ anxiety and build their trust without shelling out thousands of dollars to purchase the technology. And it’s not just customers who benefit from this capability. It also gives you, the supplier, useful data about vehicles, routes and drivers so you can make improvements. Is one particular truck stopping to fill up on gas more often than it should? How many breaks are drivers taking? Is it enough to minimize fatigue, but still not so much that they are wasting valuable time? How often are drivers digressing from the route to do other things? Real-time tracking provides all the answers to these questions and allows you to streamline and improve the delivery management process. This prevents costly losses due to spoilage and theft. And it gives you an immediate window on all goods being shipped at any given time, where they are, who is delivering them, and when they’re going to arrive, giving you control over the process.
Courier Service Flexibility: Drivers Ready for Varied Times & Directions
The days of taking hours out of your schedule to wait for a delivery are in the past (hopefully). It’s no longer acceptable for a delivery service to say they’ll arrive sometime between 8 and 11, and then show up at 12. These days, busy people demand that deliveries fit into their schedules, rather than the other way around. More than ever, working schedules are demanding, making waiting around for deliveries even more of a cost and hassle. To go along with that, consumers want the ability to make last-minute changes to the delivery time and place if their schedule changes. A successful company will be able to offer a number of options for delivery to customers such as curbside pickup, shipping for pickup in-store, and delivery to the customers’ doorstep. The truly agile company will be able to pivot among these options if the customer’s needs suddenly change. The company which can accommodate such last-minute changes will endear themselves to their customers, inspiring long-term loyalty. Of course, crafting solutions to so many different individuals with different needs won’t be easy at all. Often, their changing schedules will mean that a driver has to abruptly turn around and go in the opposite direction. It can mean speeding up the delivery of an item, or postponing it, potentially snarling up your entire delivery schedule. Another recent survey found that flexible delivery options represent the biggest gap between customer expectations and what most retailers are able to provide. That’s why you should work with a courier service specializing in last-mile delivery. They can provide you with that flexibility to suddenly pivot when the plan changes and to delight your customers in the process, ensuring they will order from you again and again.
Operations support to avoid problems, and to fix any issues that arise.
Delivery management brings with it all kinds of problems. So much so, that you may find yourself really wondering if it’s worth it. First, you may be surprised at how much support your drivers need. Wrong addresses, vehicle malfunctions, and cranky customers are just a few of the obstacles they will encounter on a typical day. In some cases, they can problem-solve on their own. But in others, you may find yourself spending many hours of your day troubleshooting. Then of course, there are all the little emergencies which come up and must be dealt with. Accidents. Breakdowns. Extreme weather events. And that driver who one day just doesn’t show up for work, throwing everyone else’s schedule into chaos. All of these last-mile delivery issues will steal many, many hours from your core business tasks if you let them. But thankfully, your courier service can step in to reclaim those hours for you. A good courier service has experience in troubleshooting all these issues and problems. They can absorb the added cost and inconvenience much more easily than your business can. In doing so, they free you up to focus on all the other demands on your time, giving you the space and time you need to grow your business successfully. The real value that a courier service can provide in this regard is the ability to stop problems before they start. Because of their use of route optimization software, their drivers are instantly aware of traffic jams and/or road closures. Detailed maintenance schedules ensure that every vehicle in the fleet is in peak condition and unlikely to break down en route. Fuel stops can also be seamlessly worked into the schedule, avoiding time sucked away by frequent fill-ups and/or breakdowns. And if a problem or an emergency does come up, they can effortlessly step into the breach, sending an extra driver or vehicle to ensure that everything stays on schedule.
How to choose the right courier fleet
As you can tell from the information here, the landscape for delivery management is in a constant state of change. Anyone who can’t keep up risks being left behind, smoked by the competition. The last phase of the delivery journey is the most critical phase but also the most challenging. All kinds of issues can arise during this crucial phase, changing the plans and wreaking havoc on delivery schedules and customer satisfaction. With the right kind of help, you can conquer the exciting and changeable landscape of last-mile delivery. What you need is a courier service who is up-to-date with current technology and best practice, who keeps up with the changing demands of consumers in an increasingly fast-paced and chaotic world. This is a courier service which can accommodate your needs not just today but in the future as well. The right courier service will share your goals for transparency, flexibility and customer satisfaction. And they can adapt as different tools are required to meet those goals. With the right courier service, there’s absolutely no limit to what your business can accomplish.
