What do last mile delivery challenges look like for retail in 2022?

Getting deliveries to their final destination involves a monumental amount of orchestration, and yet it is more likely issues will arise during the closing stages of this process than at any other point.

The only way to minimize the chances of last mile delivery mishaps is to understand what can go wrong and take measures to sidestep snafus, so let’s pull back the curtains on the most widespread conundrums as well as potential solutions.

Customers being kept In the dark

When goods are out for delivery, your brand’s reputation is standing on a knife edge, and one of the things that can frustrate customers at this point is if they don’t know where their items are and whether they are on schedule to arrive at a particular point in time.

This is where last mile delivery tracking comes into its own, not only giving you the power to plot out the progress made by drivers in real-time, but also letting you loop in customers so that they have the same info as you.

Best of all, this can be automated so that updates are sent out on the fly, and delivery windows can be narrowed down to a matter of hours or even minutes.

Costs climbing higher

There is a price to pay for delivering products to customers’ doorsteps, and yet this is rarely something that shoppers are willing to shoulder themselves when they reach checkout.

Because of this, retailers need to make sure that their delivery infrastructure operates as efficiently as possible, so that they are not taking a bigger and bigger hit to provide the cheap or free shipping that customers expect.

Route planning software which not only optimises for things like fuel efficiency, but also takes congestion and road closures into account, is a way of limiting last mile delivery costs as much as possible.

Likewise making preventative maintenance a priority for your delivery fleet is actually a cost-saving measure, because it shrinks the chances of breakdowns and lowers your exposure to reputational damage caused by the delays that such disasters inevitably incur.

The hand of fate

The number of variables involved in last mile delivery operations is huge, and goes beyond mere congestion. Disruption can occur because of everything from inclement weather to customer-related inconveniences.

As such, it is wise for retailers to plan for as many unfortunate events as possible, and to put contingencies in place which will ensure that a small hiccup does not have a domino effect and lead to disruption throughout the delivery infrastructure.

Communication fragmentation

While the modern age presents businesses with lots of ways to stay in touch with team members, this goes from being a boon to being a problem when too many different communications platforms are being used.

It is sensible to consolidate your setup so that it consists of a standardised tool through which drivers and fleet managers are able to keep up-to-date with one another.

This should also link in with the means you have of contacting customers, as the holistic approach will benefit everyone involved in the last mile delivery milieu.

Damage

Finally, if goods are damaged in transit, this will lead to disgruntled customers as well as additional costs for your company as returns need to be processed and replacements sought.

Careful calculations will need to be made, but it might be wise to invest in more robust packaging, as well as additional driver training, so that damage and wastage is limited as much as possible. Sustainability is also a concern, so use recyclable packaging materials in place of plastics.