Shipping and delivery are crucial components of satisfaction in the online shopping experience, and consumers have exceedingly high expectations of the businesses they interact with. When surveyed about their shipping preferences, online shoppers rated free shipping and delivery speed as the top two factors in a satisfactory shipping experience—an expectation that is great to have but hard to fulfill. Meeting these demands is no easy feat for retailers, especially when the complexity of last-mile delivery is known to extend shipping timelines and increase costs.
This evergrowing problem is what has led to the development of last-mile delivery stations. While it may not speed up the actual delivery process, it does simplify it. Let’s dive into the details of last-mile delivery stations and what they mean for businesses and consumers.
Jump ahead to what interests you most:
- What is a Last-Mile Delivery Station
- What to Know as a Consumer
- Last-Mile Delivery Stations for Businesses
- Making Last-Mile Delivery Stations Part of a Comprehensive Last-Mile Delivery Solution
- Optimizing Your Last-Mile Delivery Experience
What Is a Last-Mile Delivery Station?
A last-mile delivery station is a specialized local delivery hub that receives packages from larger distribution centers. Some larger businesses invest in small regional warehouses for this purpose, while smaller companies are more likely to depend on logistics firms for temporary storage at last-mile delivery stations. These local stations are often placed closer to densely populated areas to allow companies to minimize the distance packages need to travel between the final distribution center and the delivery address.
The Purpose and Function of Last-Mile Delivery Stations
As the final leg of a shipping journey, last-mile delivery is notoriously challenging. The movement of goods from a transportation hub to their final destination slows the journey to a crawl with unpredictable delays and frequent stops that often deliver only one package at a time. Last-mile delivery stations streamline logistics to shorten the final step of delivery and improve shipping accuracy.
Last-mile delivery stations perform several functions that serve to improve customer satisfaction and reduce last-mile delivery challenges for businesses.
- Sorting: Last-mile delivery stations typically have a sorting facility that uses automated sorting systems and conveyors to quickly and accurately sort packages and prepare them for dispatch.
- Vehicle management: Local facilities often work with multiple third-party fleets. The station uses efficient routing and scheduling methods to organize and manage fleets to maximize the number of deliveries while minimizing delivery times and costs.
- Tracking: Delivery stations coordinate with drivers en route to provide real-time tracking information while the package is out for delivery, offering increased transparency for customers.
Related Reads: What is a Delivery Hub? The Dual Meaning in Delivery
What to Know as a Consumer?
91% of online shoppers frequently check the status of an item in transit, making them painfully aware of how many stops a product must make before reaching its final destination. The idea of adding another stop along the journey can seem incredibly frustrating. However, it’s essential to recognize that a stop is not equal to a delay. Last-mile delivery stations enable companies to batch deliveries, getting truckloads of products closer to their destination. When products are at local facilities, drivers can make more deliveries in less time.
This approach serves to meet customer demands in several ways.
- Faster Deliveries: While the package ultimately travels the same overall distance from company to customer, batch deliveries to last-mile delivery stations shorten the slowest part of the journey. Stations located closer to delivery destinations minimize the final distance to result in faster delivery.
- Reduced Delivery Costs: Shorter delivery runs require less fuel, reduce wear and tear on delivery vehicles, and shorten driver time on the road. These factors reduce shipping costs for companies and allow them to pass the savings to consumers.
- Improved Sustainability: Localized fulfillment stations shorten the distance for last-mile delivery, reducing the number of trucks that travel without a full load and the amount of fuel consumed and resulting carbon emissions.
What Businesses Should Know About Last-Mile Delivery Stations?
Businesses in the eCommerce space recognize the critical role of last-mile delivery in meeting customer expectations. Yet, balancing customer demand with a tight budget is a challenge when last-mile delivery makes up 53% of total shipping costs.
Incorporating last-mile delivery stations into logistics operations can help businesses streamline logistics to recognize several benefits that improve customer satisfaction and cut costs.
- Faster Delivery: Fast delivery is such a vital part of customer satisfaction, it can impact consumer decisions to buy. Up to 22% of customers abandon carts because delivery takes too long. The ability to promise and achieve faster delivery can improve your sales.
- Improved Accuracy: Delivery stations with advanced sorting facilities and real-time tracking can manage fleets and route packages more efficiently, reducing the chances of errors and missed deliveries. Fewer errors and missed deliveries help improve customer satisfaction and decrease returns.
- Reduced Fuel Usage: Last-mile delivery routes are often plagued with urban congestion, and delivery locations can be miles apart. Meeting customer demand for accurate delivery times sometimes means putting half-empty trucks on the road. By enabling batch shipments to local areas, last-mile delivery stations reduce lower capacity loads and help save fuel with shorter last-mile routes.
- Increased Customer Loyalty: The benefits provided by efficient last-mile delivery stations combine to meet many customer expectations regarding shipping. Cutting shipping costs enables you to pass those savings on to consumers while shortening delivery routes to meet customers’ need for speed. Reducing fuel usage appeals to customer expectations for sustainable practices. Meeting customer needs for shipping improves the customer experience, leading to long-term customer loyalty.
Getting the Best Results With Last-Mile Delivery Stations
As with all business investments, last-mile delivery stations require careful planning and management to ensure optimal returns. Businesses need to take steps to research customer needs and logistics and leverage data to use last-mile delivery stations effectively. These tips can help you get the most from your last-mile delivery station.
Plan Locations Carefully
The goal of a delivery station is to place products closer to their final destination, shortening last-mile delivery trips. Maximizing your center’s potential will depend on the population in the area, making urban and suburban areas preferable to isolated rural areas. The center’s proximity to major roadways is also an important consideration, as traffic-friendly travel routes will play a vital role in accurate and fast delivery.
Utilize Technology to Manage Performance
The presence of a last-mile delivery center alone doesn’t guarantee you’ll meet your goals. Employee performance and methodical planning play a pivotal role in productivity and successful application. For instance, tactics to streamline the loading process or optimize routes can enhance performance.
Measure Results and Seek Improvement
You can’t determine performance improvements without measuring relevant KPIs. Track delivery speed and accuracy to determine how much your station improves last-mile delivery goals. Use your early metrics as a benchmark and consider the actions you can take to increase speed. Logistics software will allow you to automate the data collection process to collect and categorize relevant data. Analysis reveals actionable insights that can be then used to further streamline and improve last-mile delivery.
The Future of Last-Mile Delivery Stations
Digital purchases contribute to the concept of instant gratification, but a slow shipping process leads to a disappointing reality. When 80% of shoppers want same-day delivery, businesses need a solution that shortens the longest leg of the journey. Retail giants like Amazon and Walmart have led to elevated customer expectations for expedited shipping, and all retailers will need to make changes to meet customer demand and stay competitive.
Last-mile delivery stations have the potential to become an expected part of the shipping process for retailers of all sizes. Some predictions suggest that 45,000 stations will be active by 2030. Different models of last-mile delivery stations will likely continue to exist to meet the needs of various business types and sizes. Models that utilize technology and third-party fleets can help businesses meet customer expectations for same-day and on-demand delivery while driving down costs to optimize customer satisfaction from all angles.
Making Last-Mile Delivery Stations Part of a Comprehensive Last-Mile Delivery Solution
While last-mile delivery stations can play an important role in streamlining delivery services, they are not a comprehensive solution to address all the challenges of last-mile delivery. By adopting a complete logistics solution powered by technology and on-demand services supplied by third-party carriers, businesses can get more from integrating last-mile delivery stations into shipping processes. Elite EXTRA’s last-mile software suite provides several essential tools to eliminate challenges that plague last-mile delivery.
Address Unexpected Delays with Routing & Dispatch
Last-mile delivery stations improve proximity to delivery locations. However, immediate issues can still lead to unexpected delays. Routing & Dispatch logistics software from Elite EXTRA allows businesses and shipping companies to build routes according to proximity, customer time windows, traffic, customer preferences, and other variables. Routes can be optimized in seconds, allowing drivers to get on the road quickly. As the package travels, real-time tracking and automated messaging keep customers informed, ensuring delivery times align with expectations.
Meet Complex Delivery Expectations with a Third-Party Delivery Platform
When customers need to receive products within hours instead of days, traditional delivery methods aren’t always dependable. A last-mile delivery station enables businesses to rapidly process an order and have it ready for quick transport. Utilizing a platform that includes access to rapid delivery methods allows companies to ensure urgent deliveries will arrive on time.
Elite EXTRA’s Delivery Network enables users to choose from numerous integrated third-party fleets without the hassle and expense of individualized contracts. Reliable providers including Doordash, Uber, Roadie, GoShare, GoLocal, and more are available to align driver availability with customer needs. The option to choose from various fleets and compare costs and delivery times empowers companies to make informed choices that cut delivery costs on shipments ranging from inventory transfers to direct customer delivery. Orders are seamlessly integrated into the platform where users can consider various providers and choose the one best suited to their requirements. You’ll maintain full visibility into the driver’s progress to track deliveries and ensure order completion.
Efficiently Handle Returns with Automation
Despite solutions that improve the shipping process for enhanced speed and accuracy, a hassle-free and inexpensive return process remains a vital part of achieving customer satisfaction in eCommerce. Nearly two-thirds of shoppers say they’d be more likely to shop at an online store that offers free returns, and 50% have abandoned a purchase because the merchant didn’t offer a convenient return method. Last-mile delivery stations can be a vital part of an efficient reverse logistics system when they have dedicated processes for handling returns.
Integrating returns management software into your reverse logistics processes can simplify the process even further with automation. For example, Elite EXTRA provides users with electronic submission and chain of custody to speed up the pickup process and eliminate errors and lost documents related to paper return slips. Automated services allow you to speed up return validation and get replacement products to meet customers’ needs faster, promoting customer satisfaction and loyalty.
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Case Study: Early Adopters of Returns Automation
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White Paper: The Reverse Logistics Hassle
Discover the challenges involved with last mile product returns and learn how you can solve the reverse logistics hassle.
Optimizing Your Last Mile Delivery Experience with Elite EXTRA
Elite EXTRA and last-mile delivery stations have one goal in common: streamlining deliveries.
When a last-mile delivery station is integrated into a comprehensive last-mile delivery logistics system, like Elite EXTRA, businesses can address many of the challenges associated with timely delivery. Last-mile logistics software products work with local delivery stations to optimize delivery efficiency, returns, reduce delivery costs, and increase delivery speed.
Looking to improve your delivery operations? Contact us today, or explore how Elite EXTRA’s solutions have revolutionized business workflows in the resources below:
Sources
https://www.businesswire.com/news/ home/20220420005141/en/Verte-Research-Reveals-Consumers-Are-Obsessed-With-Order-Tracking-Visibility
https://www.sdcexec.com/transportation/last-mile/article/22877777/bringg-why-the-last-mile-of-delivery-is-the-first-step-to-customer-satisfaction
https://www.hotjar.com/blog/cart-abandonment-stats
