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Tips To Improve Last-Mile Delivery

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Zachary
Tips To Improve Last-Mile Delivery

Last-mile delivery is becoming increasingly important, with more people expecting one or two-day delivery times. This refers to the process of taking the item from the distribution center to the customer’s door. Furthermore, last-mile delivery is often the most expensive part of the journey. So, it’s vital to make sure that this step goes smoothly, here are some tips to help you do this.  


Learning How To Communicate Effectively


In the delivery industry, it’s vital to make sure that you are communicating properly. There will occasionally be issues in the supply chain that are beyond your control. When these occur, you will need to make sure that the customers and drivers are informed. This ensures that they can plan ahead. 


Incorporating GPS Technology


If you want to make sure that the package arrives at the customer’s door effectively, you will need to ensure that your drivers have GPS. This is about more than just ensuring that your drivers don’t get lost. It will help them calculate the fastest route, taking traffic into account. This will ensure that packages arrive promptly at their destination. It will also help limit the carbon emissions that you are releasing. 


Selecting The Right Warehouse Location


Last-mile delivery highlights the importance of choosing the right location for your warehouse. Ideally, it should be as close to as many customers as possible. This will reduce the distance that your drivers will need to travel. Sometimes, this can mean establishing multiple distribution centers across the country, depending on the size of your network. 


Let The Customer Choose the Delivery Details


One of the biggest issues plaguing last mile delivery companies is porch pirates. While the driver might have delivered an item to the right address, it can still get stolen and a replacement will have to be shipped. 


One of the best ways of preventing this is by allowing the customer to choose the delivery details. Letting them pick which part of the day the package is delivered will ensure that someone is there to collect it. This limits the impact that thieves can have. Plus, most customers will appreciate the personalized touch. 


Tracking The Delivery


One of the most important things you can do is track the status of your customer’s order, providing constant updates. Increasingly, users have grown to expect this service from their shipping companies. 74 percent of customers surveyed by UPS wanted real-time updates on the progress of their package. 72 percent expected to know precisely when their package would be arriving. These types of updates are only possible through last mile delivery tracking


Delivery tracking can also provide valuable insights to the delivery company. You will be able to learn more about the common hold-ups along your routes. This can allow you to come up with a more effective system for your drivers. You can get a better idea of what percentage of your packages are delivered on time. This can give you some ideas to help you improve the customer experience. 


Conclusion


Last-mile deliveries are increasingly expected by customers, who want their packages on their doors within one to two days. Hopefully, these tips will help you meet expectations and ensure expedient delivery of your products. 


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