In today’s world, both B2C and B2B customers expect quick and accurate shipping and on-time delivery. For them, delivery speed is more important than free shipping. Surveys indicate that 54% of customers wouldn’t mind paying if same-day shipping can be organized by companies. Further, 97% of customers expect shipping updates and input for order tracking as soon as they buy the products online.
This means that customers want full visibility as regards the movement of their package. Logistics and fleet management companies are making use of technology to meet these expectations of customers, especially the final leg of product delivery. In this post, we will discuss as to why last-mile carrier tracking is important
Last Mile Carrier Tracking – What Is It
It involves two different aspects. As far as customers are concerned, it gives them not only insights but also complete visibility into the movement of the goods ordered by them. When it comes to the carriers, last-mile tracking gives them a holistic view as regards package delivery. This empowers them to take a customer-centric approach to their services.
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The last-mile delivery process is all about transporting packages from a hub and delivering them at the destination quickly and in a cost-effective manner. The last mile carrier is a shipping company that handles transportation.
FedEx, USPS, and UPS are all last mile carriers and they are also referred to as “delivery service providers”. Such companies also include regional courier service providers. They are responsible for completing the final lap of delivery and, therefore, they constantly look for ways and means to hasten the process and improve their efficiencies.
The last Mile Carrier Tracking – Helps Meet Customer Expectations
Today’s technology-savvy customers are well equipped to research companies, go through reviews online, and identify carriers that offer the lowest shipping costs before making a purchase.
This is what drives logistic businesses to strive and provide exceptional delivery experiences to their customers. Only then, they will be able to not attract and acquire more clients but also retain their existing customers.
Moreover, the expectations of customers have gone up. They want information in real-time about their order. They want to track and speak to the driver, know the estimated time of arrival of their package (ETA), and be able to rate their experience.
These customer expectations are just not limited to e-commerce businesses. They apply to businesses operating in a host of other industries as well.
It is to cater to the needs of logistics businesses that technology companies have come up with the last mile carrier tracking solutions. They provide customers with all of the information they want concerning the last-mile delivery service. The last mile tracking solution provides the following information:
SMS alerts as regards delivery –
The software generates and sends SMS alerts as to when customers can expect delivery. This is followed up with a message confirming that the package is actually on its way/out for delivery.
Ability to communicate with the driver –
It allows customers to call/message the driver just with a tap on their mobile device. In addition to making customers very happy, these features are beneficial to the drivers as well. They can confirm the availability of the customer at the scheduled time at the specified delivery destination.
Real-time tracking through mobile phone on a map –
The software also offers a clean and responsive interface, providing customers with live updates as regards driver location, and accurate ETAs.
Ability to rate their experience –
Software employed for last-mile carrier tracking even allows customers to provide feedback by giving a rating for their experience. This makes them feel empowered as well as heard.
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All these aspects point towards only one thing. It is nothing but 100 percent visibility. The Last mile carrier tracking software solutions make this happen for customers.
So, the key to developing a logistics strategy that is more focused on customer satisfaction is visibility. Now that we have some understanding as to why last-mile carrier tracking matters to customers, let us take a look at it from a delivery service provider’s point of view.
Benefits to Delivery Service Providers
Logistics companies need to have full visibility of their internal operations in the supply chain, especially that of the last-mile carrier. Visibility requirement when it comes the last mile delivery process are:
Tracking packages right from the time they are put in trucks –
Real-time last mile tracking allows logistics companies to proactively furnish predictive ETAs and provide automatic alerts in the event of unexpected delays.
This way they can keep their customers informed all through the delivery process. This is extremely important in reassuring customers that their items are safe and on their way.
Tracking of orders as well as vehicles in real-time –
As mentioned earlier, customers are interested in knowing where their package is. On the other hand, companies want to be aware of the whereabouts of the last mile truck drivers at all times.
The last mile carrier tracking software enables businesses to know the exact location of the drivers at any point in time. The software allows companies to search using time, text, or status to locate customers, drivers, and delivery tasks. Filtration by time, team, and delivery status is also possible.
Proof of delivery –
The software also enables the collection of proof of delivery from customers through a mobile app. This includes photos, barcodes, signatures, and notes and makes delivery verification a breeze.
In addition, it enables the driver to be held responsible if a package goes missing and helps prevent pilferage and fraudulent claims about non-receipt of a package.
Improvement of customers’ satisfaction level –
Improved visibility and analytics allow logistics companies to assess performance by analyzing key parameters such as success rates, distance traveled, feedback scores, etc.
Performance data can even be segmented in terms of drivers, teams, week, and on a specific hour of the day. This helps businesses to tweak their last-mile package delivery process and improve the satisfaction levels of customers.
Helps Manage Delivery Costs
Insights obtained through analytics help logistics service providers uncover past trends. This enables them to cut operational costs without the need to make drastic changes to their strategies. This is because last mile tracking helps them monitor the routes taken by fleet drivers, identify traffic patterns, assess idle time, and determine the actual driving time.
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This data can be used to modify routes and improve efficiencies. This, in turn, cuts down fuel costs and reduces delivery times. As such, last-mile carrier tracking enhances the quality of the delivery process and helps cut costs.
Final Thoughts
Last-mile carrier tracking is not about visibility alone. It helps to speed up delivery operations and reduce operational costs. This, in turn, improves customer satisfaction quotient and profit margins for businesses. This means that last mile carrier tracking presents logistics businesses with an opportunity to create great delivery experiences for their customers.