Next-Gen Tech Solutions and the Future of Last-Mile Delivery

October 09, 2021

We have recently reached a turning point in how we buy consumer goods and services. Consequently, this boom in eCommerce creates pressure on logistics management. In the past decade, eCommerce sales have multiplied six times worldwide. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has only accelerated this growth, as people were forced to isolate themselves in their homes. During this global era, online shopping and on-demand deliveries to homes has become the new normal of shopping.

As a result, every business has been actively involved in residential home deliveries and is continually looking for ways to adapt to this growth and evaluating its implications for the future. Today’s customers demand speed, accuracy, and transparency in any delivery service to their doorstep. Hence, this results in many bottlenecks in the process of creating smooth final mile deliveries.

Now, whether we are in eCommerce industries like retail, FMCG, Food & Beverage, or logistics, our focus is on the future of last-mile logistics. Let’s discover the transformation in operational efficiency metrics and how next-gen technologies empower the future of last-mile delivery.

The Current State of Last-Mile Delivery

Digital transformation disrupts our world as we know it. We embrace new digital tools on a daily basis, and online shopping is just one area that has evolved our practices. This continual rise in eCommerce has transformed the business ecosystem, and customers are now at the forefront of attention. This is why last-mile delivery has become a competitive edge for many industries. Home deliveries are the main touchpoint with customers; therefore, not only what you deliver, but how you deliver it, creates your brand image. 

Moreover, in the era of same-day and instant deliveries, customers not only demand the fastest home delivery, but more than 70% of them favor the cheapest option. This leads businesses to cover the delivery fees to gain a competitive advantage, while last-mile deliveries already make up approximately 53% of their total cost of shipping.

As such shifts occur, businesses struggle as they handle a greater volume of goods and rising demands, and this translates into challenges that include:

  • High costs
  • Late or missed deliveries
  • Lack of visibility
  • Outdated planning methods
  • Route planning & delivery allocation
  • Customer relations
  • Unpredictable elements

Hence, the solution to overcome these obstacles today and in the future lies in operational efficiency, and next-gen technologies herald tailored solutions to drive adaptation. Businesses now turn to smart logistics planning to ensure an improved customer experience. 

Now, let’s discover how these solutions understand and respond to the ever-growing challenges of home deliveries. 

The Future of Last-Mile Delivery: Route Optimization

Any supply chain operation needs effective logistics management to operate the last-mile delivery network. Furthermore, as this network gets complicated and costs rise accordingly, businesses must provide the necessary dynamism to operations with the help of a comprehensive data model. 

Since consumers now require a promised delivery time slot so as not to spend the whole day at home waiting, automating and optimizing goods transportation services is essential. In this case, unless you embrace new technologies, you will miss saving on costs and also fail to create customer satisfaction.

When it comes to providing the best service to customers, the most efficient routes adaptable to instant variables of operations are imperative. This is when supply chain optimization comes into play. Optiyol provides next-generation transportation management with its real-time route optimization software. 

Optiyol’s shipping solutions allow fleet selection, order allocation, visit sequencing, and scheduling that enables smart tracking of any last-mile operation for efficient use of resources. Thus, it empowers the future of last-mile delivery with the following features:

Real-Time Visibility

In order to prepare for the future of business, you need total control of operations. Optiyol Driver App (Android & iOS) helps drivers smoothly follow planned routes and update the order status to track which orders are on the way, completed, or canceled. 

In this way, Optiyol brings visibility to last-mile operations and allows companies to provide real-time information to customers about their order status. What's more, if there is a difference between the planned and the actual delivery times, ETA's are updated utilizing this data to ensure operational efficiency.

Hence, Optiyol not only automates and digitizes operations as well as offers transparency for better delivery management, but it also provides businesses insights into the future of the supply chain ecosystem.

Cost-Efficiency

Optiyol considers all factors to optimize resources to create the most efficient routes while taking each stage of the operation into account. This includes dynamic, real-time fleet tracking, order allocation, and correct vehicle-type selection that results in 15-25% savings in mileage costs and 5-10% in fleet size.

Moreover, as growth in last-mile deliveries implies a larger carbon footprint, optimizing resource utilization will reduce carbon emissions and enable eco-friendly operations.

Customer Satisfaction

Most importantly, embracing new technologies translates into future success, because they empower the ultimate goal: customer satisfaction. Not only do Optiyol’s last-mile optimization solutions ensure your deliveries are always on time to meet your customers' needs, but they also allow them to transparently track where their packages are and when they will arrive.

Future-Proof Businesses with Next-Gen Technologies

As the last mile delivery ecosystem evolves around customer demands, the only way to prepare for the future is to embrace next-generation technology solutions like Optiyol to deliver smooth service in last-mile delivery operations.

Optiyol’s last-mile delivery solution allows you not only to meet but to exceed customer expectations as we move forward toward a new business world fueled by the ‘digital’. To keep up with the fast-paced transformation that evolves around residential last-mile, we need to always keep our eyes on new technologies that will enable our businesses to thrive in the future. 

If you want to know more about Optiyol’s next-generation solutions that will boost your company with great customer experience in the face of competition, we are ready to help.

 


Next-Gen Route Optimization
Final Mile Delivery
Logistics Technology
Last Mile Delivery Challenges
Supply Chain Optimization
Delivery Management
Customer Delivery Experience
Ecommerce