The modern customer of the 21st century is quite demanding. They desire efficient and prompt order processing leaving no room for compromise. All successful modern-day businesses rely on an efficient system of logistics management.
With this rising trend, the final phase of the supply chain referred to as the last mile or final mile gained popularity. It encompasses the transportation of goods from retail outlets and warehouses to the ultimate consumer.
The direct connection to the end customer and its ability to shape their overall experience underscore the crucial nature of last-mile delivery. In this blog post, we will explore the complete guide to making your social and e-commerce business a success.
Market growth of Retail e-commerce
Home delivery services gained popularity during the pandemic and their demand continue to thrive until 2022. In 2021, it was projected that more than 2.14 billion individuals across the globe would engage in online purchasing of goods and services, marking a significant increase from previous years.
Global retail e-commerce sales reached approximately $4.9 trillion in 2021 and are projected to experience a 50 per cent growth over the next four years, reaching an estimated $7.4 trillion by 2025.
This demonstrates an effective logistics system is critical for optimizing supply chain efficiency, reduce cost, improve customer satisfaction & support sustainability goals.
Key strategies to stay tuned with last-mile customer’s expectations
Customers spend their money on different logistics companies due to their inconvenience with their services and guidelines. Same-day deliveries are now the norm as businesses are successfully adapting to changing consumers’ expectations.
Here we will describe some key strategies to achieve last-mile customer expectations. Let’s go through the points.
- Advanced routing plans
The primary thing customer expect from you is to fulfil orders on time. Constantly, failing to raise their expectations will lose confidence and will give customers an option to choose a better option.
Proper Routes play a vital role to have fast & efficient delivery. Taking real-time constraints and measuring different inputs helps you get advanced route planning. Such an approach provides customers with accurate ETA’s and set efficient and realistic routes.
- High control on delivery
When customers shop in stores, they want to completely feel the presence of the product so as to buy it. Proper satisfaction is necessary to improve customer experience.
In the same way, tracking the orders in real-time will help customers to monitor their order status and bring high transparency to the last mile delivery.
- Choose the preferred delivery service
In the old marketing strategies, customers did not have the option to reschedule their order once the product was dispatched. But today, e-commerce has revolutionized the convenience to choose and reschedule the date, time and designation.
- Free shipping services
Modern customers who visit e-commerce websites expect to have free shipping delivery options to place their orders. This will somehow attract more customers and increase the business reach for users.
- Personalized communication
Does real-time tracking help you win more customers? It’s a question for all online shopping users. Effective communication with friendly behaviour is same important as it contributes to a delightful customer experience and enhances brand loyalty.
- Fast shipping for order fulfilment
High demand for fast shipping has accelerated the need for brands to bring e-commerce close to customers. The best way to achieve fast shipping capabilities is to build omnichannel fulfilment that lets you minimize delivery time and save operational costs.
- Configure data insights
Does your customer is happy shopping with your e-commerce website? The answer is analyzing the data status. It indicates whether your business is moving in the right direction or not. You can rectify your flaws and make them corrected to modify your business reach.
Last-mile challenges that come in the way of scaling a business
There are several challenges associated with last-mile delivery that can hinder the scalability of a business:
- Getting Orders on the same day
With the increasing popularity of quick commerce and the rising demand for same-day deliveries, businesses are facing difficulties in efficiently planning routes and maximizing vehicle capacity utilization.
- Visibility in the supply chain
One factor contributing to the time-consuming nature of the last mile is the lack of supply chain monitoring infrastructure. For many logistics managers, it hinders their ability to oversee all systems at any given moment.
- Carbon Emission
As we know, transportation greatly contributes to world carbon emissions. It is necessary to reduce fuel consumption in the final stage of the last mile. Many consumers are willing to pay extra to support sustainability which will be a great initiative.
Last-mile delivery trends to watch
The fast increase in online e-commerce solutions has made brands closer to customers. This sudden rise leads to develop last-mile delivery models more successful and reduce the distance to deliver packages.
Let’s explore the emerging trends for last-mile delivery that have gained traction in modern business.
- Crowdsourcing Delivery
Various industries, including traditional retailers, restaurants, and groceries, are adopting this approach to reduce delivery times and minimize expenses. Modern businesses are leveraging this model to ensure fast and convenient order fulfilment. Additionally, it serves as a solution to effectively manage increased order volumes during peak retail seasons.
- Buy Online & Pickup In-Store (BOPIS)
Most customers opt for hybrid shopping journeys where they can shop online and mix it with a physical channel. This model became so popular that big brand retailers like Walmart, Target and many other brands developed their BOPIS capabilities.
It enables customers to shop online and collect their orders from a store turned out to be the best option. Also, it attracts multiple customer segments to pick up their orders in person.
- Curbside Pickup
Curbside Pickup is the silver lining for enterprises to run their business during the pandemic. It is faster than in-store shopping as customers will not need to navigate the stores and their ordered items will be received at their location.
- Micro-fulfilment centres
To address the need for faster order processing, many companies are setting up smaller, localized fulfilment centres closer to the end customers. This enables quicker order picking and packing, reducing the time required for last-mile delivery.
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In order to achieve superior results, our solutions incorporate a comprehensive range of features, including freight management, voyage planning, fleet management, marine shipping, and a review/rating system.
Also, our expertise in logistics ranges from FTL/LTL services and 3PL leveraging IoT and transport management (sea/road/air) to fulfil the desired needs of our esteemed clients.
Are you looking for reliable logistics services? Our team will help you to fulfil the emerging needs of customers conveniently.
Conclusion
Lastly, the exponential growth of online purchases has compelled brands to move closer to their customer base. Effective transportation and logistics management play a crucial role in ensuring that products are delivered to the correct destination at the appropriate time.
In order to prepare for the future, businesses should draw insights from the evolving dynamics of last-mile logistics and adopt technology with modern strategies.
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