The post-pandemic created a rise in demand for door-to-door deliveries. The current state of logistics can’t address the growing needs for convenient and fast delivery services in the final stages. Companies that see delivery as a vital channel are sourcing avenues to make the last mile effective. They also need to enhance profitability and reduce costs. You can’t achieve this goal manually without better technology solutions. Among the technologies is the last mile delivery program/software.

Here you will see why a business should concentrate on last-mile deliveries. You will also see how the final mile routing can boost company efficiency. You will also learn innovations and how they will control the future of last-mile delivery.

Why focus on last-mile delivery?

The last-mile delivery represents the last transportation leg to the last recipient. The process means the journey to the end product, the storage/warehouse, and the client’s door.

It involves different options like bike, foot, autonomous vehicle, or even a truck.

Services for the last mile have potential problems. They include route management, real-time order tracking, fast delivery services, and transportation sets. It’s the reason why digital transformation is a responsible and complicated matter. It needs good IT vendors.

The importance of focusing on proper last-mile delivery management

There are two key reasons: customer demands and price

Price

The last mile is a shorter piece of an entire supply chain. It’s also the most expensive section of the supply chain process. The last mile accounts for around 53% of the entire shipping cost. It tells you the essence of it. High prices result from the several stops suing a low drop size. Also, delivery slows by the long distances in the rural zones or by defense traffic in huge cities.

Client expectations

Goods production process and making them available to consumers relies on last-mile delivery. The first- and middle-mile delivery are backends that don’t interact with clients directly. The system for last-mile delivery is the company’s front face. It affects brand loyalty. Don’t remove the final mile delivery from the logistics chain. Consumers will have to come for the parcels physically. They will have to use their time to fetch it to their residences. It won’t be a positive effect on any business.

Last stage deals with growing consumer expectations for the timeframes. Research shows that around 55% of respondents will stop shopping if they get late delivery. In such a case, 80% of clients are able and willing to pay even more for same-day delivery services. From this, immediate delivery is now essential in addressing client demands.

How software solutions boost management of last-mile delivery

Last-mile software relates to companies’ software tools to track, manage and schedule last-mile delivery operations. The entire process runs from management of the warehouse to customer payment.

Advantages of last-mile software in delivery companies

• Route planning automation

Manual planning has many errors. They lead to delays, high fuel costs, and poor time management. Route planning automation and optimization enable the efficient handling of huge orders. You will do this within a few clicks. Routine algorithms help final mile software predefine cost-effective routes. It scrutinizes factors like:

• Weather conditions
• Traffic congestion
• Sudden road closures
• Delivery urgency
• Delivery numbers on the route

• Order tracking

The current clients are impatient. They can’t wait for static tracking numbers. The last mile helps in providing transparent and quick services. The real-time tracking feature enables the clients to track their property through phones. Order tracking provides a better clients experience. It offers real-time visibility in orders.

• Delivery productivity improvement

It’s easy to keep track of drivers in a small company. When the business grows, the process becomes very complicated. Last-mile delivery software boost productivity by compelling drivers to use scheduled routes. It limits unnecessary delay and delivers alerts when contingencies like chances or cancellation. The auto dispatching allows managers to give couriers orders. They also give GPS to do the analysis of planned routes, clients’ addresses, and driver locations. All these steps boost delivery speed and reduce overhead costs.

• Data-driven decision making

You should collect and then interpret large amounts of information for proper development. The last-mile delivery tracking software has business intelligence and machine learning algorithms. They enable leaders to make informed decisions based on the information available. The analytic dashboard helps examine driver analytics and vital operational metrics. They include consumer feedback and successful deliveries scores.

Who can offer software for last-minute delivery?

The final mile delivery software solutions has three approaches:

• Own custom solutions
• Out of box software
• Outsourcing

Readymade solution

Template solutions are excellent choices when you have limited budgets and want software integration. They include Onfleet, Tookan, Loginext mile, GSMtaks, and bring on.

Final mile delivery outsourcing

Businesses tend to run their last-mile logistics to build brand awareness and loyalty. There is no reason to manage fleet delivery or hire full-time couriers for a small company. It’s because sales volumes in a day aren’t enough to cover the expenses. In this case, it’s vital to outsource the last mile operations via delivery channels. You can use any of these outsourcing methods of businesses to ensure timely delivery:

• Parcel carriers
• Dropshipping
• Crowdsourced delivery
• 3PL delivery partners

Though outsourcing may be an appealing solution, you won’t fully control client experience.

Custom solutions

The best choice to address exclusive needs and solve business-specific issues is to adopt the last mile software. You will decide what your end product will look like and scale it because of the available tools. Even though readymade solutions enable some customization, you will find them hard to install in your system.

The essence of personalized software creation

• Easy integration

It may be hard to implement some readymade solutions in your current system.

• Complete customization

You will make a bespoke product. It implies building software you like to align with your business logic, processes, and units.

• Security

IT companies fully enhance data and software security to boost client loyalty. Developers can integrate features like two-factor authentication, ciphered data, and blockchain. They ensure more advanced protection levels and reduce possible risks.

The vital functionalities to add to the last-mile delivery system

Here are the essential features you should incorporate into any top delivery management software for last-mile logistics.

• Route planning

It permits the determination of fuel-efficient paths to the various destinations. They analyze issues like road conditions, traffic congestion, and vehicle solutions.

• Real-time tracking

It ensures transparent deliveries as it enables the monitoring of couriers. It improves control over delivery men and vehicles.

• Proof of delivery

Electronic delivery proofs in the form of images, in-app signatures, geo coordinates, and timestamps are vital. They ease clients’ complaints of missed deliveries or lost parcels.

• Delivery rescheduling

Clients appreciate the freedom to cancel deliveries and reschedule them in emergencies. Though attractive to clients, it causes difficulties in service delivery. It needs changes in delivery schedules.

• Data generation

Data enables companies to make conscious decisions. Software that generates vital metrics like service time, rates, feedback scores, and traveled distance are good.

Conclusion

Develop your last-mile delivery services to be very effective. You will get the best solution logistics that will permit your business to increase performance. It will also optimize schedules. You will be able to handle route planning processes well.

Any requirements? contact software development company & get a free quotation.