DELIVERY MANAGEMENT OPTIMIZATION: KEY TIPS
The key to improving delivery management is working on improving operational efficiency at each step of the delivery process. It is essential regardless of whether your company is a startup, a global brand, or anywhere in between. Your delivery operations should always be aimed at achieving optimal customer satisfaction while using minimal resources, despite high volumes of deliveries.
Here are some helpful tips to optimize your delivery management process:
1. ENCOURAGE AUTOMATION
You need to constantly work on automation if you want to run an on-demand delivery service. The same-day and instant deliveries are expected to reach a combined share of 20%-25% of the entire last-mile delivery market by 2025, according to an article by McKinsey & Co. So, if you want to maximize this opportunity, invest in an automated dispatch solution. It will automatically assign orders to the nearest drivers, enabling them to reach customers within a short time frame. This software plays a key role in automating the flow of valuable, customizable, and time-sensitive information to ensure accuracy, accountability, and greater profits, according to Key Software Systems.
2. UTILIZE AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) can enhance human capabilities and eliminate routine work. You can use it to optimize your delivery management in several different ways – customer service chat-bots, anomaly detection, quality assurance through picture-, video- and data monitoring, fraud detection cameras, image recognition, and even delivery robots.
3. FOCUS ON IMPROVING INTERNAL COMMUNICATION
If you are in this industry, you need to ensure that your employees communicate efficiently. For instance, if your drivers can communicate with the back-end team instantly, they can resolve any issues that hinder them from making timely deliveries. You can improve internal communication with the right delivery management solution that offers visibility into the details of the delivery and driver location.
4. OFFER TRACK & TRACE AND NOTIFY YOUR CUSTOMERS
73% of customers wanted to receive their shipment in a convenient time slot rather than receiving it quickly, according to a report published by Capgemini Research Institute. So, while optimizing your delivery routes, you need to make sure that up a delivery route plan that will allow your driver to carry a particular shipment and arrive at the designated time. With efficient tracking tools, you can notify your customers about their delivery time and ensure that you get happy and satisfied customers.
5. PROCESS RETURNS EFFICIENTLY
You should keep a track of the products that get returned and ensure that your infrastructure i.e. warehouse, staff, and delivery management system can support an easy returns process. It will help you maintain customer loyalty and reduce the number of calls to your customer services team.
It may seem challenging to maintain a smooth and efficient delivery management process. But, with the right set of tools and solutions, you can ensure optimization at each step to ensure current and long-term profitability.