Why is ‘right logistics tech’ the only way to compete in this high-demand ‘Amazon’ world

 

You have heard a lot about the rising demand in e-commerce and retail. Customers want more in terms of value, whether it is about the product or how it is delivered. Value is in everything. It’s not just about focusing on the actual product, companies must ensure that it is being put into the hands of the customer in the perfect way. This involves speedy delivery and total delivery movement control.

 
Demand and efficient delivery movement feed each other. The better the delivery movement and experience, the more customers are driven for purchases. The more purchases happening, the more focus on getting the high-volume delivery right.

 

Delivery route planning with LogiNext

 

Let’s look deeper into this relationship and how it’s affecting logistics management in the new age.

‘Creating Capacity’ within the available capacity using the right tech

 

After years of downward pressure on freight rates, carriers now are discovering their power on pricing. Rising demand and a clear-and-present driver shortage have revitalized the logistics and transport industry. It’s not that such demand is absent of problems for them. They still have to deal with a lack of capacity to the point where they are turning away movement requests.

 

Many companies now have figured ways to ‘create capacity’ out of available capacity. It all comes back down to choosing the right tech. Efficient picking and loading with fast scanning move their loads faster. Machine-learning backed algorithms streamline allocation of the load to the right (most-suited) delivery associate or vehicle.

 

  • The entire loading and dispatch take much lesser time.

 

  • The transit time is lesser with shorter planned routes along an intuitive map interface, which means that the turnaround time is lesser.

 

  • Higher capacity utilization means that more orders are fulfilled in a single trip, saving on resources (such as driver’s hours of service) and costs.

 

Overall, carriers are actively using capacity as a key business booster. And they are channeling and improving capacity with the latest in logistics tech enablement.

 

Same-day delivery and Pop-up warehouses: What does the new age hold?

 

Ever wondered how some of these big-name e-commerce companies across the globe manage international sales events? It is backed by immaculate planning and even better execution. It isn’t possible without the help of tech which guides them through the shorter delivery routes and high successful (on-time) deliveries per day. This tech is the crux of what makes same-day delivery, not just a phenomenon but a reality.

 

Recommended Read: Why It Makes Sense To Have Customer-Centric Logistics Management

 

Short delivery times directed to specific delivery windows (chosen by the customers) requires complete logistics movement optimization. Pop-up warehouses have been something many companies have dealt with in the past, but in this new age, many e-commerce companies are setting up this pop-up warehouses to act as makeshift hub or distribution center in a high-demand locality.

 

Such warehouses are easy to set-up when the demand climbs beyond the point where long lead times begin hurting distribution. They can be taken apart when they are not needed. This helps companies to avoid excessive warehouse costs (when the demand is static). Such decentralization of distribution networks push-up the importance of the ‘last mile’.

 

Last Mile – The place where logistics battles are won

 

It’s easy to pin-point Amazon as being solely responsible for pushing this ‘last mile’ dash among e-commerce and retail players. There is some truth to this.

 

Amazon has been conditioning its customers to really high delivery standards, standards that they feel only they can sustain over time, thus, pushing their competition out in the long-game.

 

Not many could offer same-day delivery at such a scale without having significant distribution networks set-in. It’s like Amazon has step-by-step cut-down hours, even minutes, of their delivery time, giving the customer total control over where, when, and how they want to receive their packages.

 

Recommended Read: How Tech-Enabled Logistics Would Be At Center Of E-Commerce Growth

 

Can’t anyone compete with them? That’s the thing. Anyone can! They are basing their strength and focus on the back of the right tech. Getting high-growth tech-partners like LogiNext onboard would go a long way in leveling the playing field and compete with them on an equal footing. Bear in mind, even Amazon is still only figuring out the last mile. You can still beat them with the right tech.

 

  • Cutting down on planning and travel time by using high-end pickup and delivery routing technology;

 

  • optimizing carrying capacities and minimizing lead times with ideal scheduling software;

 

  • tracking and validating all delivery movement through a single dashboard;

 

..are just a few of the business benefits coming in from using cloud-based tech to empower logistics movement.

 

Last mile movement gives companies the ‘edge’ in creating the perfect delivery experience. With increasing package volume in densely populated cities, companies need a strong tech to plan delivery schedules and routes, considering local traffic patterns, and calculating accurate ETAs at any point in the trip. Customer’s expectations can be managed better if they know exactly when their package would be delivered, down to every half-hour time window (or lesser). As an add-on, customers can pick their preferred time windows for their deliveries.

 

All these ties in with the future of logistics management. It is safe to say that only the companies, retail or e-commerce, that invest in getting delivery planning and routing tech onboard, would survive in the new age. Other’s would be pushed out for being obsolete.

 

Here’s a short video to show you exactly how you can …

 

 

… make the tech happen!

 

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