The transport between a warehouse and a customer’s front door often comprises around 50% of the full shipping cost. This is a huge amount of money for a small benefit, and companies are always looking for ways to save on this. So, in a 21st-century world, is there any way to improve on this?
These days, last-mile delivery software looks to be the solution. People are giving it control over their fleets and even allowing customers to peek under the hood. Find out why below.
Transparency for Businesses
When managing a complex fleet, you need to know where everything is at any time. Having transport management software can give you shipment visibility on every package you might have out on the road. It does not matter if it is the smallest item or the largest; you can track them down to the driver who last handled them.
This can help you handle any issues that might come up related to the speed of delivery and ensure everything runs as smoothly as possible.
Transparency for Customers
With a cloud-based transport management system, you can often allow customers to know more about the process. For example, you could inform them of when an item has left a warehouse, as well as when you expect it to arrive.
They can get accurate delivery dates, allowing them to be home when the item arrives.
Efficiency for Drivers
An online system can offer visible targets to drivers. It can give them estimates related to how many deliveries they should make in a day, and plan a delivery schedule at the push of a button.
The driver can then have a realistic idea of what is expected of them.
With enough data, you can use advanced analytics to plan all your future delivery schedules. You can input data on stock, weather, and driver habits, outputting an accurate plan for that day.
The more you use it, the more accurate it will get, too. This is because the system will learn what works and what does not, and can then respond in the future. Over several deliveries, it will iterate toward what you can consider a “perfect fulfillment plan.”
Reduced Need for Customer Relations
With the ability to put information in customers’ hands, and better services, you will not need as large of a CRM department.
You can either move them to other roles or adjust your staffing to meet your new level of demand. This can give you impressive cost savings as you move forward.
Using Last-Mile Delivery Software
These are some of the major reasons why you might find last-minute delivery software on the lips of many shipping companies. Still, there is always much more to learn about business operations and how to squeeze your budget, and this is only one method.
If you want to know more about better business methods through technology, we can help you. We have articles on all this and more, so check out our blog for more information that could help your organization go from strength to strength.
