How to Improve Last Mile Delivery Tracking?

keyKey Takeaways:
  • In last-mile deliveries, real-time tracking and visibility can assist increase productivity and client satisfaction.
  • Convenience can be increased and missed deliveries can be decreased by providing delivery time slots and flexible delivery options.
  • The quality of the service can be enhanced and delivery errors can be reduced by providing delivery staff with the appropriate training and tools.
  • Delivery metrics can be continuously tracked and analysed to help pinpoint problem areas and enhance the entire delivery process.

Are you looking for better visibility on your last-mile delivery process?

Do you want to have more control over the last-mile delivery tracking?

If yes, then you are not alone. Most online retailers are looking to make their last mile more effective.

Over 61% of online retailers think their last-mile delivery operations are ineffective and want to improve.

So, how to improve last-mile delivery tracking? There are multiple ways to improve your last-mile delivery tracking, but let’s first understand the basics of last-mile delivery tracking.

What is Last Mile Carrier Tracking?

The last-mile tracking is tracking the location of the delivery packages across the last-mile fulfillment process. 

From the moment the delivery orders leave your delivery centers or warehouse until they reach the customer’s doorstep, you can complete the process details with an effective last-mile delivery tracking system.

With robust last-mile tracking, you are not limited to a single delivery vehicle or a single delivery product. You get a holistic view of multi-stop deliveries dispatched to different drivers and delivery trucks.

Multiple businesses still rely on the traditional approach of last-mile delivery management, but in modern times, it’s ineffective. You need to improve your last-mile tracking to ensure you adapt to the growing delivery ecosystem.

But why is it essential to improve your last-mile tracking to get a bird’s eye view of the delivery orders?

5 Reasons on How to Improve Last-mile Delivery Tracking

Last-mile delivery tracking is getting important because of the scalability of last-mile delivery operations. 

The growth in the eCommerce and online delivery segment has created the requirement for detailed tracking results to ensure there’s no bottleneck in the business delivery workflow. Here’s what else you’ll get.

1. Centralized control

Improving your last-mile delivery tracking from manual processing to an automated process can help you get centralized control over the operations. It will help you locate different delivery orders quickly and communicate with the on-ground workers for any changes in the flow.

The fleet managers can change or update the schedule of the delivery process of the orders in case of any unavoidable situation to ensure complete customer satisfaction.

The centralized control over the last-mile delivery process also helps you check the delivery process and remove the errors or bottlenecks in the delivery operations.

You can provide limited access control to your customers and in-house team based on their positions to help them get the required details of the parcel deliveries.

2. Better user experience

56% of the customers won’t purchase from you if they feel the delivery experience was not up to the mark. With the evolution of customer behavior, everyone wants quick and secure deliveries at their doorsteps with detailed information on transit updates.

If you cannot deliver advanced last-mile delivery updates, it will significantly hurt customer satisfaction rate and result in customer churn.

The global pandemic has fueled the customers’ demands, and it has become essential for online delivery businesses to improve customer satisfaction.

Improving your last-mile delivery process can help you take the customer experience beyond just giving the tracking ID. It can help you deliver personalized notifications and detailed insights about the progress in the delivery orders.

You can use SMS or emails to pass the delivery update to your customers to enhance the user experience and build a strong brand image for future transactions.

It can help you increase your customer base, retain the existing users, and develop a comprehensive last-mile delivery ecosystem.

3. Enhanced team communication

enhanced team communication

The improvements in the last-mile delivery process can help you achieve better communication with the in-house team and customers.

You’ll remove the barriers in communication and update real-time changes in the delivery process to everyone involved in the communication. Quick and agile communication helps streamline the delivery flow and increases the efficiency of the delivery process.

You manage your supply chain effectively and improve the productivity of your workforce. Improved last-mile tracking helps the real-time location of the delivery process with the expected delivery window.

You can also monitor the last-mile logistics flow for smooth delivery process results.

4. Collaborative actions

Enhancements in the last-mile delivery tracking can directly impact the last-mile delivery logistics and transportation output. You can promote a high collaborative culture in your organization to boost the efficiencies and productivity of the delivery operations.

Fleet managers can connect with the on-ground drivers to resolve their dynamic issues while executing the delivery process to escape delivery delays or failed deliveries.

Different teams can connect in different situations to speed up the delivery process and remove the communication gap in the traditional last-mile tracking process.

Every in-house team member will be updated on the progress in the delivery process and their upcoming schedules.

5. Streamlined operations

Improving your final mile logistics tracking can streamline the delivery workflow, help you meet customer demands, adhere to delivery windows, and strengthen your position in your industry.

Streamlined business operations can minimize the delivery costs, fuel costs, or additional costs to boost your delivery business profits. 

You can deliver maximum efficiency and minimize the delivery time to stand out from the rest of 61% of businesses who feel last-mile delivery operations are challenging to handle.

But to achieve these benefits, you need to enhance your last-mile delivery tracking and switch from manual to automated systems and technology use. Have a look.

6 Ways to Enhance Last-mile Delivery Tracking

There are different ways to enhance your last-mile delivery tracking, but we have shortlisted the best ways for your smooth last-mile delivery services.

1. A holistic view of logistics data

Centralizing your logistics delivery data can help you get centralized control over the last-mile delivery operations and improve your order tracking.

You don’t want to search for different data sets at different locations to analyze and make well-informed decisions. Logistics data like inventory availability, deadlines, and delivery status, among others, can enhance your delivery operations in a single dashboard.

Centralizing data can help you spot the delays, safety concerns, cost overruns, etc, to help you avoid the effects of these issues. 

You need software delivery management software that can help you give central control and data availability for better tracking and spotting inefficiencies.

2. Provide real-time driver tracking

Improving your tracking system can help you deliver a quality experience to your customers and fulfill their rising demands.

You can share the real-time locations of the delivery packages to enable customers to track the driver’s locations and get in-depth details about different delivery touchpoints.

It can also help your fleet managers check on different drivers and ensure they adhere to the promised delivery time window.

It can lead to a happier customer base and minimize the workload of the customer service representatives.

3. Automate delivery status

automate delivery status

Automation in the delivery tracking process can minimize human intervention and errors and help enhance the quality of delivery service.

You customers can get instant updates on changes in the delivery schedule and get a new time window update within no time.

It helps deliver a quality customer experience and keeps your customers in the loop with the dynamic changes in the delivery process.

Your team members can also check the delivery process status, and your drivers can update the information on different delivery touchpoints.

4. Improve communication

improve communication

Improving communication can result in an improved tracking ecosystem.

Different team members can connect to improve delivery efficiency. If there are real-time updates in the traffic system, your drivers can get instant updates, and the fleet managers can help them bypass the traffic congestion.

Poor driver communication in the traditional last-mile tracking results in delayed deliveries and increased operational costs. A dedicated advanced route management software can help you bypass these issues.

5. Monitor performance

monitor performance

Monitoring the performance of your fleets, delivery process, and other elements of the delivery process can help you fix the loopholes in the tracking process and make well-informed decisions. 

You can remove the negative impact on the delivery workflow and ensure efficiency in crucial aspects of the operations.  

Tracking the performance can give you an overview of your existing functions and resources and help you better understand how to improve future business operations.

6. Route planning and driver dispatch

Route planning and optimization can increase your effectiveness in delivery tracking. Using a route planner can help you overview the ecosystem and bypass the inefficiencies in the traditional route planning process.

A route planning and optimization tool can deliver real-time updates and notify your team and customers about the changes in the delivery process.

Using in-depth route planning and optimization software reports, you can make well-informed decisions to help your business scale to new heights.

Delivering the optimized and shortest delivery routes to your drivers and providing them a robust ecosystem to update the information can help you increase the quality of customer experience and match the rising consumer expectations.

You can minimize the operational cost and boost your business profits by getting a bird’s view of the delivery operations using a route planner.

But there are hundreds of route planners available in the market, and it becomes overwhelming to choose one for your business. That’s where we got you covered.

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Upper Route Planner

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  • Save up to 95% of planning time
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FAQs

Last-mile tracking can be improved by centralizing all logistics data, providing real-time driver tracking, automating delivery status, improving communication, monitoring performance, route planning, and dispatching.

The challenges in the last-mile delivery ecosystem are to ensure streamlined delivery flow, real-time tracking, and an on-time delivery experience for the customers. You can use dedicated route planning and optimization software to ensure premium last-mile delivery at cost-effective rates.

Last-mile delivery is considered difficult by online retailers because the inefficiencies caused in the process result in time consumption and increased delivery cost. Using professional tools and strategies can help you streamline the last-mile delivery process and eliminate the efficiencies for better results.

Yes, the last-mile delivery business is profitable because of the rising demand in the eCommerce market globally and changing consumer behavior. There’s a lot of demand that has been created in the market because of the global pandemic. It has resulted in multiple businesses strengthening their last-mile delivery business and others providing third-party delivery services.

You need to improve your last-mile tracking to ensure streamlined business operations, collaborative working, and a quality delivery experience for your customers.

Upper Route Planner to Your Rescue

Upper Route Planner is a cost-effective route planner that helps streamline different delivery aspects and achieve optimized and shortest last-mile delivery paths.

You get centralized control over the delivery tracking and enable your workforce to communicate productively to achieve better delivery results.

Upper Route Planner is a leading route planner in the industry and stands out from others because of its cost-effectiveness and premium features.

It offers a powerful dashboard where you can make instant changes in the last-mile delivery flow within a few clicks. Here’s what the software offers to your business:

  • It minimizes the route planning time by 95%.
  • It enhances the workforce’s productivity by 40%
  • You can export up to 500 delivery addresses from Excel sheets within a few clicks.

Get access to the and robust control over your last-mile tracking.

Author Bio
Rakesh Patel
Rakesh Patel

Rakesh Patel, author of two defining books on reverse geotagging, is a trusted authority in routing and logistics. His innovative solutions at Upper Route Planner have simplified logistics for businesses across the board. A thought leader in the field, Rakesh's insights are shaping the future of modern-day logistics, making him your go-to expert for all things route optimization. Read more.

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