Half of all retail sales in the UK will be online within the next ten years. Consumer expectations are also growing as fewer are willing to wait three to five days for their parcel to arrive. As parcel delivery suppliers in the sector know, last-mile courier logistics is the defining battleground for online retailers of all sizes.
By improving your final mile delivery processes, you can meet customer expectations, outperform the competition, and reduce supply chain costs. Helping you become more competitive and profitable. Try these four ideas to improve your last-mile delivery service.
1. Smarter Delivery
Final mile couriers are looking beyond the physical address to help streamline the shipping process. Through GPS data, email addresses, and phone numbers, you can deliver a package to the actual person. With increased tracking accuracy, the courier could pinpoint delivery within a few meters of the consumer’s physical location. These could potentially reduce transit distances and thereby save couriers millions, particularly in rural areas.
Couriers that aren’t ready for this level of optimisation can still benefit from data software such as SmartConsign to optimise their delivery routes. The correct shipping app can determine the best delivery options for all shipments to ensure efficiency in both time and distance.
2. Smart Lockers
There are thousands of parcel collection points across the UK, and the number is only going to rise as online shopping grows.
11,500 Royal Mail Post Offices
5,000 independent shops
These alternative delivery solutions are a centralised delivery location for nearby consumers, particularly in urban areas. Reducing the number of miles the delivery vehicles must travel and thereby reducing overall shipping costs. Parcel lockers also eliminate the failed delivery problem. All parcels go into their cabinet, so they’re ready for the consumer at their availability.
3. Focused on Customer Needs
Improving performance is about improving both your business and customer satisfaction. Consumers care about convenience and cost. Use tracking software like the SmartConsign App to collect data. You can then access this information to identify your most-valued customers. Focus on providing elevated services to these high-volume customers. Increase their shipping conveniences while also reducing their cost. Provide them with real-time last-mile carrier tracking and enhanced cost control features.
By focusing your efforts on these valuable customers, you can get the highest return on investment for your efforts. You may also benefit from positive reviews, which are no longer vanity KPI’s and vital to building brand reputation.
4. Smart Addresses
We already have smartphones, cars, and homes, so why not have intelligent addresses as well? Using an innovative shipping management solution can give you access to a vast database of digitally stored addresses. You can then use this information to ensure every address is correct before the shipment takes place. Helping you optimise your delivery times, route management and reduce the number of failed last-mile delivery attempts.
Bonus Idea: Multi-Carrier Approach
Relying on one carrier for all your parcel deliveries is a major risk. Modern shipping apps helps to make it easier for shippers to access multiple carriers from a single dashboard. You can review carrier performance on final step shipments and get the best rates. Use a system that doesn’t charge carriers a fee to integrate on their system; this ensures the rates you access are unbiased and independent.
Optimise Your Last Mile Logistics
By implementing these last-mile logistics ideas, a logistics business can optimise processes, reduce costs, and rapidly improve the post-purchase customer delivery experience. Using a carrier management system like SmartConsign can help you track your deliveries in real-time, optimise routes, and improve customer satisfaction.
Request a demo of the SmartConsign system and discover how to optimise your last-mile transportation today.