Last Mile Logistics: How to Untangle Your Delivery Network As You Grow

Scale Brings Complexity to Last Mile Logistics

Working with a combination of internal fleets and specialist 3PLs promises lower operating costs if each can be leveraged in the most efficient manner. Using your internal fleets for deliveries close to your hubs, for example, or preferring a green logistics provider with electric or two-wheeled vehicles for deliveries in and around Ultra Low Emissions Zones.

That’s great on paper. But orchestrating it becomes a huge headache and it’s this pain that many retailers and delivery companies have been increasingly facing as their volumes have skyrocketed over the last couple of years and through the pandemic.

The more value you wish to unlock from the various assets that make up your delivery network, the more granularity you need to go into in planning. Think about these two scenarios for instance:

1. A rush hour delivery was delayed because the size of the van made finding parking on a one-way street difficult, especially as the van could only be unloaded from the left but the address was on the right of the street.
2. A van was stuck for 15 minutes in heavy inner city traffic heading between two addresses located on either side of a large park.

In isolation, such issues might appear small, but they can have a compound effect that quickly accumulates, especially when you extrapolate similar issues across every delivery round you’re managing.

• It all adds up to cumulative delays that have a knock-on effect on the rest of the day’s deliveries and increases the risk of failed deliveries later on
• More idle time with the engine running means more fuel burned and a higher carbon footprint for the same number of deliveries
• That also means higher operational costs in an industry where margins are already incredibly squeezed.

Legacy Systems Betray the Advantages of Third Party Logistics

In the first of our examples, being able to ensure that the delivery was loaded onto a smaller van or bike that could park on the right side of the road in a tighter spot would have solved the challenge.

For the second, a two-wheeled vehicle that could cut through the park would make those deliveries in half the time and with less fuel consumption or carbon emissions.

But how can you optimise your deliveries with that degree of accuracy? For a modern delivery network, there are hundreds of variables to consider across each package, driver, vehicle, fleet and carrier.

Spreadsheets and legacy systems such as premise-based software inherently lack flexibility and scalability by design: they are holding organisations back in their efforts to rapidly grow.

Consumers now have very high expectations for their delivery experience. At the same time, these customers won’t differentiate between a retail brand and its delivery partners. In terms of customer experience, the last mile has become a crucial customer touchpoint for brands. A buttery smooth customer experience through optimized delivery partnerships and planning is something legacy systems simply cannot provide.

Greater Clarity and Control

Today’s sophisticated supply chains require software tools that are capable of handling multiple warehouses, operations and transport partners. Last mile delivery management platforms for fleet management and route planning organise this in a centralized, scalable and efficient way.

Through the use of advanced algorithms to automatically optimise routes and improve efficiency, it is possible to optimise allocation of delivery jobs across fleets and carriers in a way that takes into account all of those hundreds of variables.

Intelligent SaaS platforms integrate with existing provider platforms, so there is a single interface that acts as a control room for your entire last mile logistics operation.