If you run a small to medium sized retail business or you are involved in the supply of goods and products, taking orders and organizing the efficient delivery of items to customers can be challenging.
Sourcing and packaging the products and ensuring they get to their destination as planned takes time – and in business, every second counts!
So, how can you effectively manage delivery inefficiencies and streamline your logistics?
The answer comes down to efficient delivery planning and putting processes in place to optimize your operations, thereby saving you time and money.
Here’s a look at ten ways to make your delivery planning more productive.
1. Analyze Your Delivery Metrics
First, you need to examine your current delivery planning efficiency to identify areas that need addressing.
Start by looking at your orders and the average number of deliveries to give you a base metric you can work from.
Then, note how many deliveries arrived at their destination on time and if you lost any repeat customers due to the late receipt of items. Late delivery often causes loss of repeat business, so if any established customers have gone astray, reliability is an area that needs improvement.
Now, assess the average time to reach the customer and deliver the goods. Did the driver get stuck in traffic, or was there a more direct route they could have taken to get items delivered on time? If that’s the case, route optimization software could speed things up.
Finally, consider the cost of an average delivery and factor in the price of paying the driver, the fuel, time spent planning the delivery, and the vehicle’s maintenance and insurance. Does this figure seem high? If so, outsourcing deliveries to a courier service could be the answer.
Once you have established these metrics, it’s time to find solutions to address the issues raised.
With Metrobi, you can save 23% on delivery costs.
Metrobi provides you with a competitive driver pool, a dedicated operations manager, and included delivery management software. We decrease your overall costs by 23%.
2. Ensure You Have Enough Drivers and Vehicles in Place
If you are a small to medium business or just starting out, it’s easy to assume it is best to deliver your products yourself. However, the cost of purchasing the vans and recruiting and pay-rolling drivers can strain the budget.
On the other hand, a professional express courier service like Metrobi has a large pool of vehicles and drivers to pick up and drop off items at any time, eliminating these initial expenses.
Our drivers use SUVs, vans, and box trucks and operate around the city on a 24-hour basis, equipped with all the latest technology to ensure packages reach customers on time.
We also offer bespoke delivery services with specialist vehicles and drivers catering to the needs of food and beverage suppliers, florists, laundry, catering services, and baked goods.
Our range of services means your products are in safe hands and always arrive with the customer in top condition. This impresses clients and can save you considerable time and money.
3. Use the Right Delivery Management Software
Traffic is an issue for all on the road, so you need to invest in route optimization software to avoid traffic congestion and ensure your deliveries run on time.
The best delivery planning software directs drivers along the most efficient routes to their destination. In addition, Metrobi’s delivery management software also has a multi-stop capability, allowing you to optimize a route to include multiple pick-up and delivery points, ultimately making drivers more productive and saving you on fuel costs and the wear and tear on the vehicle.
4. Track Your Deliveries in Real-Time
If you are concerned about the efficient delivery of your goods, one great advantage of using a courier service like Metrobi is that they have the technology to let you and your customer track the movement of their packages in real-time.
Via the use of barcode technology and GPS, you can log in to the Metrobi app or platform, enter the unique code assigned to an item, and receive a live update on its whereabouts. This is a great advantage that helps predict delays – plus, it impresses the recipient.
5. Take a Proof of Delivery
To avoid force majeure claims and best deal with last-mile complaints, it’s a good idea to take proof of delivery when any item reaches its destination.
Professional couriers use handheld devices to capture images of the goods at their destination. They also request the recipient for an electronic signature as proof of receipt. This is then emailed to you seconds after the delivery has been completed so you can add it to your customer’s file should there ever be an issue.
6. Offer an Exceptional Customer Experience
We’ve all heard the saying, “The customer comes first,” and the statement has a lot of truth.
Creating a good customer experience is essential to efficient delivery planning to keep customers coming back and encourage positive reviews.
Offering them a choice of delivery timeframes, including standard overnight delivery, same-day delivery, and express urgent delivery, means they can plan their day effectively, knowing their item will arrive at the specified time. Giving clients access to the live tracking of their goods also helps exceed their expectations.
7. Ensure Your Drivers Are Professional
One aspect of improving delivery planning efficiency that often gets overlooked is the attitude and appearance of the driver.
There’s no point in spending the time supplying and delivering a great product only to be let down by an unprofessional or rude courier at the last hurdle.
For this reason, take the time to recruit professional frontline employees and ensure you train them on how to deal with your customers. Likewise, if you intend to outsource to a local delivery service, ensure their couriers are polite and well-presented.
8. Maintain Your Vehicles
It may seem obvious, but ensure you regularly maintain your vans and delivery vehicles to be reliable and maximize fuel efficiency. Also, ensure that the vans are well-organized and clean and present well to customers.
A professional courier service like Metrobi maintains its fleet as a matter of course.
9. Measure Your Metrics Regularly
Many companies avoid measuring their performance as it can take a long time to gather and analyze the statistics.
Thankfully, that’s no longer the case, as you can now create logistics reports within seconds using the Metrobi online platform.
Using the Metrobi delivery management software or outsourcing your logistics to us, you gain access to our state-of-the-art system that manages and keeps accurate records of all your deliveries. This data can then be accessed and used to measure your delivery efficiency at any time.
10. Put Your Delivery Planning Efficiency into Action
Ensuring your company reaches its full potential by streamlining your operational processes and efficient delivery planning has many advantages – so take action and put plans in motion to address any concerns today.
Metrobi is an innovative, technology-focused local delivery service. We run a large fleet of drivers and vehicles around the city capable of delivering goods to customers on time. We also use and supply the latest delivery management software that helps address many aspects of delivery planning efficiency.
If you want to learn more about Metrobi and our range of services, please request a callback.
