Last-Mile Delivery Optimization: Boost Your Customer Experience

Customer experience: the one thing you absolutely need to improve to succeed in competitive business. But, how much is there to improve? Last-mile delivery holds a huge place in the customer experience field, and optimizing it can give you just the edge you're looking for. How do you optimize last-mile delivery and how does it contribute to the customer experience? Let's find out.

What is the Last-mile delivery experience?

Last-mile customer experience refers to consumers' perceptions of their interactions with companies during the delivery process. Customer experience is a customer's overall perception of their interactions with companies. It includes all customer interactions with enterprises, from visiting a website to buying a product.

Brick-and-mortar shops were either completely closed or operated with low foot traffic in 2020 and 2021. Customers were obliged to order basics and non-essentials at their houses due to coronavirus pandemic limitations. Customers are heavily weighing delivery experiences when making an online decision to buy a product due to the sudden increase in online shopping.

Last-mile delivery challenge

Companies may compete by producing superior products. However, this is no longer sufficient. The organization must also provide a positive delivery experience for the consumer. This delivery experience largely consists of on-time delivery with thorough and transparent ETAs provided in advance. In terms of the customer, they simply want their things delivered when they want them. They won't be concerned with how the delivery business handles last-mile logistics. When you include in the extra complication of high-volume delivery movements, which may easily scale to a million parcels per day, maintaining on-time delivery for everybody becomes a challenging undertaking.

Customers want their delivery to be quick and free. Last-mile delivery is by far the most costly and time-consuming delivery phase, accounting for 53% of overall shipping costs. The last-mile dilemma refers to the difficulty of handling express delivery needs of customers as last-mile prices rise.

Businesses struggle to provide their goods effectively while keeping their customers satisfied. Even minor inefficiencies can raise last-mile delivery expenses and lower revenues, making it difficult to provide an exceptional customer experience.

Ways to strengthen Last-mile delivery process for better customer experience

Last-mile delivery that is well-executed and smooth leaves a powerful and lasting impact on consumers. In addition to obtaining products, customers begin to believe that the company cherishes, honors, and appreciates them and their efforts. Here are some ways to achieve that:

• Giving delivery options: When will delivery take place?

Every consumer has different delivery expectations, which is why firms should offer customizable and flexible delivery alternatives. Customers today want to adjust their delivery selections since they may not be accessible at a specific time or location. Flexibility is an important factor in providing excellent last-mile service.

Customers who use last-mile delivery software can adjust their shipping address or time by notifying delivery workers through chat or phone. It enables consumers to provide more detailed instructions regarding the rearranged time and new shipping address. Businesses obtain positive comments and gain greater trust by giving clients the choice to adjust their delivery selections.

Customers are not only alerted about their delivery, but they may also select a delivery time window. Customers benefit from this freedom since it provides them a feeling of control. The sensation of control gives them the impression that the company values them.

• Push forward the speed of delivery

Customers get the impression that a company appreciates their time and preferences when things are delivered on time or early if the customer prefers it. Route planning by hand cannot ensure efficient and precise delivery routes. It causes drivers to become stranded, wasting productivity, resources, and time.

After accounting for the aforementioned real-world restrictions, the last-mile solutions such as delivery optimization software employs machine learning techniques to provide accurate optimum routes. It helps fleet managers to intelligently arrange deliveries in order to minimize distance, travel time, and delivery speed. Its efficient routes ensure on-time delivery, which pleases clients and encourages them to conduct more business with you.

• Real-time visibility

Offering real-time insight of the delivery status is the greatest method to minimize the risk of a negative customer experience. Clear communication can result in a long-term consumer connection.

Last-mile delivery software offers timely alerts to clients about the status of their orders using location-based fleet tracking. By giving the customers the ability to keep track of the order in real-time gives them further power over the last-mile delivery cycle. This way, the customer can have an empowering experience through the delivery.

Providing a memorable and enjoyable last-mile client experience is a continuous process. It necessitates rigorous last-mile delivery planning, end-to-end communication, flawless returns handling, and exceptional customer service. Last-mile delivery software is the best technology option for firms looking to create and maintain a pleasant last-mile client experience.

Nuport's delivery management software helps organizations establish and maintain a lasting client experience without increasing operating expenses substantially. Its increased visibility and high-end AI enables you to create an amazing and complete delivery experience for your consumers while maximizing the use of your resources. It automates and digitizes last-mile services, allowing you to make more informed decisions to ensure client satisfaction. Experience the benefits yourself, schedule a demo today!