By re-evaluating their last mile shipping costs and implementing tech-centric courier services, businesses can save time and money while getting shipments to their customers on time. In this article, we’ll explain what courier service and delivery are, as well as why speed and accuracy matter for effective last mile delivery and the role of last mile delivery technology.
What Is Courier Delivery for Last Mile Transportation Services?
To meet customers’ expectations for speed, companies are offering fast, on-demand shipping. But many of these companies rely on ineffective, cumbersome logistics methods that require manual key entry and delivery processing, resulting in wasted time, errors, and lost revenue. By embracing new technologies in last-mile delivery, such as booking capacity in real-time, businesses can offer their customers flexibility and speed in deliveries.
Flexibility and speed give companies a more strategic view of their shipping activity and how those activities correlate to more significant optimizations in the supply chain. Strategic decision-making afforded by technology taking care of manual, rote shipping processes allows for healthier margins as employees are more productive and customers are happier with the shipping experience. A significant component of last mile expenditures are failed deliveries. The cost of failed deliveries usually goes to the business. It only further increases costs as the company will now need to replace the product and pay for shipping again, “The average rate of returns for online purchases was 20.8% — an increase from 18.1% last year,” noted CNBC. That risk means it’s more important than ever for businesses to find cost-effective last mile solutions.
Among these solutions, courier services stand out among the rest.
Last Mile Delivery- Capacity Is Essential
Courier deliveries are a fast, crowdsourced method of performing last mile deliveries. From moving homes to moving paperwork, courier services represent the new wave of logistics solutions. Expand.
Businesses use courier services as a means to save money. With last mile delivery costs representing 53% of total shipping costs, it can offer businesses the flexibility and scalability of a virtual fleet to meet ever-increasing capacity demands. The key to a successful courier service is its capacity. Couriers allow businesses to scale their delivery services to meet customer demands and react in real-time to real-world logistics challenges.
Capacity Essentials:
- Faster turn-around times. Without crowded dispatches and sluggish warehouses, businesses can get orders out the door at a fraction of the pace (and cost) offered by slower delivery modes.
- Assurance of suitable carrier matches. By offering a wide range of vehicles, courier services help businesses know they have the right vehicle for any job, no matter how big or small, with access to on-demand capacity. Courier services offer reliable, on-demand access to a fleet of insured drivers.
Last Mile Delivery – Speed and Accuracy Matters
According to Insider Intelligence, last-mile deliveries account for fifty-three percent of the overall costs of delivery operations. Coupled with the challenges faced with surging e-commerce orders and customer expectations for same-day deliveries, businesses need to rely on logistics experts.
Courier professionals can help a business with accurate and fast deliveries by providing the following:
- Real-time delivery tracking: Courier services rely on an easy-to-use mobile application, integrated into an industry-leading API, to help businesses track their logistics in real-time. Courier services put businesses in the driver’s seat.
- On-demand communications. Courier services can help businesses with their logistics issues by streamlining communication between the shipper, courier, and customer using a single platform.
- Improved customer service. With on-call contact through an integrated logistics platform, courier services can help customers leave logistics interactions with a good review in mind.