4 ways to improve last-mile delivery operation overnight

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Streamline routing

There are too many orders coming in and too many drivers on the road these days to haphazardly dispatch drivers. And drivers shouldn’t have to guess which roads are best to travel on any given day, even if they are just gig economy contractors. Giving them company-owned rugged devices equipped with easy-to-use dispatch and navigation features is critical to keeping them safe and on time.

For example, a large-screen handheld mobile computer or tablet with GPS could help drivers navigate around traffic jams while sending real-time location updates back to the dispatch team and to the customer monitoring the status of a delivery. Simple voice features such as push-to-talk (PTT) allow for instant, safe communications with the store or warehouse while in transit. And the right software applications can help drivers get to and from the right places at the right time as new pickups and drop-offs are requested.

Minimise the time spent at each stop

Turnaround times are scrutinized by every delivery company. Shaving seconds off each drop can go a long way when you’re up against the clock. That’s why it’s so important to load vehicles correctly up front. But giving drivers a mobile device that allows for a clean scan of parcel barcodes on the first trigger pull also goes a long way to increasing efficiency once they’re on the road. For those delivering non-bar coded items such as food from a local restaurant or a flower arrangement, it can be beneficial to have a handheld mobile computer equipped with a high-resolution camera and/or contactless signature capabilities to capture proof of delivery.

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Reducing customer contact

With social distancing still a best practice, many delivery drivers are now being asked to drop items outside doors without ever seeing who comes out to retrieve them. This has made technology use essential to order completion.

A combination of GPS tracking and push notifications using rugged mobile computers can alert customers when delivery drivers are approaching. This allows the customer to guide the driver to a specific drop point to ensure proper distancing is maintained and/or prepare to come out and retrieve the items immediately after the driver returns to his or her vehicle.

If a signature is still required for high-value or high-volume items, such is often the case for direct store deliveries (DSD), a contactless receipt solution should be considered as it helps to keep both delivery personnel and customers safe and socially distanced. Drivers can get a customer signature and issue a receipt without any physical contact whatsoever with the recipient.

Depending on the app design, the only steps customers may need to take to acknowledge delivery is pull out their own smartphones and scan a barcode or QR code presented on the courier’s mobile computer screen. The parcel information and signature line can then appear on customers’ devices for order acceptance. Each recipient’s identity is confirmed, and a valid delivery receipt is generated in real time on the courier’s device.

Improve trust and accountability

Though you may trust your team members and third-party delivery service providers, customers may not. When customers report issues related to delivery delays, missing orders, tampering or damaged goods, you must be able to get to the bottom of things quickly. Delivery drivers can use rugged mobile computers to document every action taken during order fulfillment.

For example, they can scan a barcode and/or snap a picture of the delivered item when there is no direct handoff, so everyone knows exactly where and when the item was left and the condition it was in at the time of the drop. Built-in GPS tracking could be correlated with those data points to help corroborate timelines or locate packages if orders go missing. Taking a picture at the time of pickup also helps with quality control matters and provides a secondary timestamp if delivery delays are reported even though the order left the store, restaurant or warehouse on time.

Just be sure that whatever mobility solution you choose can maintain a strong signal via Wi-Fi or cellular networks. The moment a delivery occurs, everyone should know.