5 Things To Keep In Mind While Choosing A Last-Mile Delivery Solution

Last-mile delivery is the final and most crucial stage of the delivery process. It is also the most expensive stage, comprising 53% of the total shipping cost. According to a survey by Capgemini, 75% of customers will even spend more for a seamless last-mile experience.

With the e-commerce boom in India, more businesses are offering same-day delivery to their customers. This makes last-mile delivery a top priority. Your business needs to ensure the smooth movement of goods from the transportation hub to the final delivery destination — be it the customer’s home or office address.

The ‘out for delivery update sparks excitement for every customer. A good last-mile logistics partner can turn this excitement into customer satisfaction. It is thus upon you to find the best last-mile delivery partner, keeping in mind a few pointers. Here are the top 5 factors you should consider while choosing your last-mile delivery solution.

Same Day Delivery

A 2021 Global Consumer Survey by PWC revealed that 41% of consumers are willing to pay extra for same-day delivery. In fact, a high number of customers don’t mind paying an additional charge to receive their packages within 3-4 hours.

This is why all businesses need to put extra emphasis onlast-mile delivery.

An advanced last mile solution optimizes the delivery route in real-time, which eventually cuts down the delivery time
It also monitors delays and diversions proactively to speed up the delivery process

End-to-end Visibility

A good last mile delivery partner should always:

Provide end-to-end visibility of ground-level operations to everyone involved in the delivery process.
Empower your business with tech support, so you can share real-time tracking updates with customers. For example, delivery management software can keep your customers informed about every step of the delivery process. This can include but is not limited to: -> Alerts and SMS notifications on ETAs, potential delays, or operational issues. -> Track and trace option for a more interactive customer experience

Delivery Productivity

Fleet productivity is of utmost importance when it comes to deliveries. To maintain better fleet productivity, a last mile logistics solution should ideally:

Report real-time location of delivery executives
Help optimize delivery routes
Automate task allocation to truck drivers and delivery partners
Have complete control over logistics so you don’t have to worry about driver attendance or flat tires

Flexibility of Delivery

Imagine yourself as a customer. You would not want your shipment to be delivered in the middle of work or when you are not home.

Customers today expect businesses to offer delivery options built around their daily schedules.

An ideal last mile solution should thus be able to deliver orders when customers want, where customers want, and how they want.

Inbuilt Tech Platform

Make sure your last-mile delivery partner comes with a high-quality mobile app. This will come in handy for your customers, delivery executives as well as other delivery stakeholders. Here's how:

Customers get real-time updates on where their package(s) is at any given time

Delivery executives can track their allocated tasks and updates

Stakeholders can manage job allocation, routing, and delivery sequence. They can also communicate with the customer in case of any issues.

The best last-mile delivery companies come with an in-house Order Management System (OMS). This allows you to make the delivery process smoother and hassle-free.

This is where intra-city logistics specialists like Blowhorn stand ahead of other companies. With advanced software infrastructure, a 45000+ fleet of vehicles, and trained professional drivers, Blowhorn ticks all the boxes in the above checklist.

We have charted a record 99.6% deliveries on time including seamless last mile deliveries. Take a two-week trial with us and spot the difference for yourself.

5 Things To Keep In Mind While Choosing A Last-Mile Delivery Solution

Related articles