Frustrated customers often complain about the delay in their parcel delivery despite an “Out for Delivery” update on their order tracker. Complications in last-mile delivery are often the reason for this delay.
Last-mile delivery is the stretch that an order takes just before getting delivered to the customer at his/ her specified location. This stretch that a customer order travels before delivery is of key importance because it is where delays often occur.
With speedier and same-hour deliveries becoming the new competitive edge, businesses are faced with the need to uncomplicate their delivery last mile process.
What are the key last-mile challenges that businesses face during delivery? What can businesses do to overcome last mile logistics challenges and ensure consumer satisfaction?
Lack of Process Visibility
Often, a poor customer experience results from a lack of visibility into the delivery process.
Customers want to know the exact location of their parcel and the time of delivery. As a business, you may not be able to provide this information because of a lack of accurate information.
The delay in the last mile delivery could be due to a mistake by any element in the supply chain, including the transporting company, warehouse, and distribution centers.
Employing multiple checkpoints at key locations can help overcome the issue to a limited extent. A more reliable way would be to use a last mile logistics technology offering comprehensive data insights.
Delivery to Incorrect Address
Delivery to the incorrect address is a last-mile challenge worth mentioning because of the significant cost burden it carries for businesses. An innocent mistake by the customer in citing the address, or a misunderstanding by the transporting company, can result in a last-mile delay.
An error in delivery is expensive for the business as multiple rectification actions need to be taken immediately. These include shipping costs for replacement, incorrect parcel retrieval, and sometimes even loss of trust in the brand. In addition to costs, businesses may lose their customer to competitors.
Delivery Route Issues
In most cases, last-mile delivery involves more than one stop point with a low drop size, meaning there are only one or two parcels to be made at these destinations. This could delay the last mile delivery.
In some cases, delivery destinations could be on the same route but several miles away from each other, which delays last-mile delivery. Events such as traffic congestion along the route can also be a reason for delay. This is witnessed extensively in urban areas.
Unpredictable issues such as one-way streets, unavailability of parking spaces and transport breakdown, can also delay last-mile delivery.
Better knowledge of routes and identification of the best route can help you overcome this challenge. Logistics technology such as route optimization software can help you plan your deliveries better.
Ensuring Consumer Satisfaction Amidst Challenges
Consumer expectations are more specific than before. A business’ survival depends on its efficiency to not only meet these specifications but also excel at catering to them.
With eCommerce sales skyrocketing, it is essential for you as a business to make your delivery process more efficient. Only then can you continue to delight your customers and create extraordinary experiences for them.
Investing in reliable supply chain transformation technologies can help you identify your last-mile drawbacks and implement timely alternatives so that delivery is smoother and uninterrupted.
Mojro logistics solution, for example, comes with many valuable features that can help you iron out deficiencies in your supply chain process. The smart ETA engine gives real-time data on the exact parcel delivery status. The Route Optimizer is AI-driven and employs Heuristics to discover the best route for speedy delivery.
There is then the Geocoder, which uses an enhanced language model to make address details more accurate and render even raw addresses meaningful.
Features such as Trip List, Track Trips, Smart Vehicle Assignment, and Automated Driver Actions give live insights into your supply chain process, enabling you to make sound process decisions.
In Conclusion
The share of last-mile delivery costs in the total shipping cost of an order is substantial. Delays in last-mile deliveries obviously cut into the revenue. With customers expecting same-day deliveries and free shipping, the cost woes of businesses have only increased.
Businesses have to look at several attributes to realize revenue. They have to realize deliveries faster, achieve a greater parcel volume and delight customers in the process. Businesses need to achieve these objectives while keeping their costs balanced.
With last-mile delivery being already costly, delays and challenges in the last mile further complicate the process and are expensive for businesses. Technologies that can help ease or prevent last-mile challenges are a great value-addition for businesses.
Last mile delivered is a status update that would make any process executive sigh with relief. With the right logistics software solution, executives can lessen their burden and achieve excellent results.
With its advanced features, Mojro can be the best solution for your logistics problems. You can experience the easy-to-use platform and its features on your own with a Mojro demo.
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