Last-mile delivery is a part of the supply management system that is involved in delivering the products from the hub to the delivery destination. Even though it is a simple delivery transportation service, there has been a constant requirement for changes in the system. With developing technology, businesses have been altering their methods constantly.
Most of the Last-mile delivery companies are involved in providing proper transparency in their services. A good Last-mile delivery service will have the ability to offer fast delivery, good margins, and ensure the safety of the packages. The current issue of the pandemic situation has resulted in the increased delivery rate of the products. So to ensure the safety of the products and improve the speed of the delivery, most of the Last-mile delivery companies have adopted certain techniques, including tracking and tracing.
What is last mile delivery tracking?
With the increasing demand for one-hour and same-day deliveries, the last mile is getting increasingly complex. Hence, emerges the need to deploy tracking tools to improve last mile execution. Last mile delivery tracking can be defined as the means by which businesses can gain real-time insights into location of delivery vehicle and status of delivery. It also provides accurate information about the number of delayed and on-time innovative deliveries thereby helping delivery stakeholders improve KPI benchmarking and boost productivity. Here are some key benefits of efficient last mile delivery operations.
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Making deliveries secure
Losing a package or misplacing it is quite common in the Last-mile delivery services. Regardless of who made a mistake, the carrier will always be blamed for such situations. Using the concept of real-time tracking will ensure the safety of the parcel and allow the company to trace them if it is lost. Also, the customers will be able to understand the reason for the delay based upon the location of the package by improving the options for tracking the carriers automatically offering a warranty for safe delivery. When it comes to safe delivery, having a local warehouse at every delivery point is essential to ensure the safety of the products while they are in storage. Even though this is a simple concept, most of the logistics companies have their own warehouses in the cities but not in the local regions full stop, so under required circumstances, they can rent a warehouse based upon their necessity. These features are also necessary to ensure safe delivery.
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Enhancing route planning
The real-time tracking technology will allow the delivery services to optimize the route of delivery and make it an easier process. Route management is a technique where the designated routes are analyzed by the computer, and an optimized solution is offered to the designated driver. Following this route will reduce the delivery time and cost to a certain extent. Even though this is a simple option, the drivers will feel more relaxed while delivering, and the process is quicker than expected. The special algorithms assign the deliveries automatically to the specific driver on the specific routes to ensure faster processing. This concept might seem simple when considered for a single delivery, but every Logistic money is involved in millions of delivery, and hence the time saved would also be more.
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Enabling automatic dispatch
With the help of real-time tracking software, the products can be automatically dispatched with minimum manual intervention. In this technique, the software automatically assigns the driver and delivery agents for every single product using the special algorithm. The efficiency of the algorithm has proved to be perfect, and they require a minimum to no manual intervention. From the dispatch process to the delivery, the entire process is processed through these algorithms to maintain the speed. This process has evolved more in the current pandemic condition to practice social distancing. This system will allow the customers to know their date and time of delivery beforehand along with further information on the delay, if any. Some software also can perform automatic batching to reduce the time of delivery and save a lot of resources in the process.
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Enhancing Tracking of Last Mile Carriers
Carriers play a critical role in the entire last mile process. To ensure that businesses can achieve a perfect order index, enhancing tracking of last mile carriers is imperative. Modern logistics tools help businesses boost carrier management by driving end-to-end tracking of shipments. Tracking proves critical data regarding core carrier KPIs like time taken to deliver, delivery success, delivery failures, material handling, driver productivity, number of route diversions, and more.
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Gain better control via tracking
The online tracking technology used by this real-time tracking software allows the consumers to receive their packages on time and communicate with the driver if necessary. Tracking and tracing are the essential part of the last-mile delivery services. They are also useful on the company side to ensure the safety of the products, reduce the delivery time and ensure the safety of the products. They can also be used for managing the routes and for creating batch delivery systems automatically without any manual intervention. This, in turn, will speed up the process, and they are particularly useful when there is a lack of employees during certain situations. The current pandemic situation has forced the Last-mile service providers to focus on technology and machinery rather than the people or the employers.
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Quick customer feedback
Some of the real-time tracking software comes along with the option of feedback, which allows the companies to analyze their progress and issues with the client. This feedback will be useful during the data analytic process. Getting feedback has become a common requirement these days, and hence most companies are following it. These feedbacks are received through proper mobile applications and other websites.
In general real-time tracking and tracing has made the concept of Last-mile delivery much more accessible for most people. It is a concept that connects the carrier, delivery agent, clients, and brands. These techniques are a part of the development involved in the Last-mile carrier technology. There are other technological advancements in the field that have also been introduced to improve efficiency.