How Last Mile Delivery Optimization Can Boost Customer Satisfaction

 

The basic truth of markets, customers pay in exchange for some value generated. This value can be in terms of a product or an extended service. A company can make a perfect product, well-suited to the customer’s needs. But the value statement isn’t fulfilled yet. The customer now has to receive this value.

 

What’s the one thing that boosts customer satisfaction? Delivery Experience

 

Companies can compete by making a better product. But it’s no longer enough. The company also must create a great delivery experience for the customer. This delivery experience primarily includes on-time delivery with clear and accurate ETAs given pre-emptively. As far as the customer is concerned, they just want their products delivered exactly when they want it. They won’t care much about how the delivery company manages their last mile logistics. When you consider the added complexity of high-volume delivery movement, normally scaling to maybe a million packages a day, ensuring on-time delivery for everyone becomes a difficult task.

 

The other important aspect here is that since it is a ‘difficult’ task, the companies that manage to do this right to create much more customer loyalty. Imagine this, if the customer receives their on-time delivery from a delivery service company, maybe the same or the next day, that not many others can manage, they would choose to stay with this company.

 

This is why proper logistics movement optimization is key, not just to ensure quick and on-time deliveries, but also to boost customer satisfaction and retention.

 

Recommended Read: Why Is ‘Right Logistics Tech’ The Only Way To Compete In This High-Demand ‘Amazon’ World

 

‘Get the tech edge’ now to survive in the fast delivery world

 

LogiNext’s delivery route scheduling and planning, backed by robust machine learning algorithms, help delivery service companies to create this engaging delivery experience for their customers. If there are a million packages to be delivered in day, LogiNext’s system would plan an intricate schedule which accommodates individual skill sets of the drivers and delivery associates, vehicle types and capacity, customer-specific pickup and delivery time, and local traffic conditions, to assign the perfect schedule to each trip which would fulfill all deliveries on-time.

 

Delivery route planning with LogiNext

 
Another factor is the agility and responsiveness required for any on-ground logistics optimization engine. LogiNext tracks each order from the moment it leaves the distribution center to the point it reaches the customer’s hands. Each positive event (dispatch, package delivery updates, etc.) or negative events (unplanned delays, failed deliveries, etc.) are sent as instant alerts so that the managers can take immediate corrective actions to fix them. Managers can view all delivery movement (in real-time) through an interactive map view which shows every single relevant detail associated with on-ground activities in a single screen.

 
Moreover, the managers can even plan routes and delivery schedules from an intricate mapping interface which makes allocation and dispatch (along the perfect schedules for on-time deliveries) as simple as drag-and-drop. Suppose, there are ad-hoc pickup and delivery requests. LogiNext’s system would dynamically allocate the pickups to the nearest delivery associate (to the pickup point) with available time and vehicle capacity. The ETAs of all deliveries would be automatically updated and communicated to the customers. This would happen even when there are delays due to unforeseen circumstances. The customer would still be notified and updated about the exact time when they would receive their package.

 

Why, would all this be important for the end-customer? How does this help increase customer satisfaction?

 

We have seen above how the right tech can help companies manage their available resources to cater to the increasing same-day or next-day delivery demands. Now, let’s look at the customer experience created with this.

 

The customer can choose whichever delivery time window they want to receive their package. They can even choose time-windows when they won’t be available to receive it. They can mention multiple addresses, specifying when they would be available at which address. They can customize everything about how they want the package delivered. The delivery company just gave them all the control, and the customer appreciates this.

 

Moving on along the customer’s delivery experience, they receive timely communication about the confirmation of their delivery time preference and clear ETA about exactly when the package would be delivered. If required, when the package is out for delivery, the customers can even track the live movement of the delivery associate. They would be notified when the associate is about half an hour out from their location to give them an even finer idea of the ETA.

 

When they receive the package, the delivery would be electronically validated right in front of them. The associate would take a pic of the package and capture the receiver’s signature within LogiNext’s app. The customer can rate their delivery experience and leave feedback in that app itself.

 

Recommended Read: Same Day Deliveries From Retail And E-Commerce? ‘Tech Is The Way’, Says Top Delivery Service Operations Director

 

If you deliver better, soon, you will much more to deliver

 

From start to finish; the customer got to control each part of their delivery experience; they received their package at the promised time and in perfect condition; they had their package validate; they could leave their feedback right then, and not later when the experience became old.

 

Previously, companies created an in-store ambiance to create more value for the customers. In the widely omnichannel world now, the in-store ambiance has been categorically replaced but a ‘perfect delivery experience’. Logistics is no longer a cost-guzzling department, it is one of the main factors to boost customer satisfaction and lifetime value. It is a key business asset. Companies don’t have to go on to reimagine their logistics and begin from scratch. Tech-enablement through LogiNext can help them turn their current logistics set-up into a market leading core-competency.

 

Cover Image Credit: Freepik

 

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