How to Offer Same-Day Delivery [with Software]

In this new post, you’ll take a closer look at how you can offer same-day delivery to your customers using delivery management software.

You’ll also see why it matters to them in the first place, and what you can do to make it a reality for your organization.

Plus, you’ll get a chance to try out one solution straight away.

(But more on that later)

Right now, if you want to learn how to increase the speed and efficiency of your delivery to include same-day delivery, read on.

Let’s jump right in.

Why does same-day delivery matter to your customers?

Same-day delivery and delivery management software have revolutionized the way consumers shop.

From a customer’s point of view, faster delivery is all about convenience. To support this, PwC did a survey on customer experience.

First, they found that convenience and the shopping experience are the main driving forces that motivate consumers to choose a specific brand.

Far more than the price of their products or services.

And second, the survey also found that consumers want greater speed when shopping online.

So much in fact, that 88% of consumers don’t mind paying an additional fee if it means they will receive their order faster.

A report by McKinsey sums up the benefits of same-day delivery nicely:

“It integrates the convenience of online retail with the immediacy of brick and mortar stores.”

From an operational point of view, faster delivery is all about automation.

Without software to plan, manage, and optimize your delivery, it is almost impossible to offer same-day delivery to your customers.

And even then it is difficult to do it.

But if the state of delivery in time of the coronavirus has shown us anything, it’s that customers want fast home delivery.

So, if you can start offering same-day delivery to local customers, the rewards far outweigh the risks.

And technology can get you there.

Here’s how:

Get the right order information before planning the delivery.

An order is the primary source of data for each delivery.

It’s critical to accurately include the right information when planning routes around each order.

Otherwise, drivers can get lost trying to find the correct destination.

They can spend valuable time fixing one mistake while creating a whole host of others down the line.

In the worst-case scenario, their efforts may be in vain.

They can just as easily miss their target destination completely while holding up other deliveries and missing ETAs for the entire route.

All of that can be averted before they set off on the route.

Human error is behind all these mistakes.

While people are important for operating technology, whatever you do to minimize their involvement can raise the efficiency and accuracy of your efforts.

So if you plan to offer same-day delivery, you need to ask yourself: are you still planning manually?

Even if you have moved from pen and paper to software to manage orders, it still doesn’t mean that you have automated the planning process.

In all probability, you are using a host of disconnected apps and manually typing in information onto a screen.

So, the question to centralize or not to centralize delivery is an important one.

While there are advantages to decentralization, a centralized delivery management system can do a lot more for automating the planning process.

First, modern software solutions can interconnect.

You can use API integration to link your order management system, for example, your Shopify account, with your delivery planning software.

So when an order arrives, all of the information is automatically added to the delivery platform.

On the other hand, if you are using Excel, you can export orders as a .csv file and use bulk upload to add all of them into the system all at once.

Once the right information is accessible, your route planners can create routes and map them out digitally using route planning software, geolocation, and GPS.

With a digital map at their disposal, drivers won’t have any problem finding the right address.

On the off chance the address is wrong, a driver can ask customer support to contact the customer and reschedule the delivery.

Having all the right information about the customer, their order, and delivery preferences in one place also make it easier for you and your drivers to provide a better customer experience.

Ensure drivers have enough time with customers.

Despite the need for speedy delivery, customers still crave human interaction.

With that in mind, it’s critical to give drivers enough time to talk to your customers.

Drivers and field agents are the face of your brand.

Letting them have a friendly conversation with the customer lets them make a good first impression.

It also builds relationships.

Customers usually have a product or service-related question.

At other times, they need help bringing in a package inside their homes.

If a driver has an extra 5-10 minutes in his schedule to help, it will prompt customers to place more trust in them.

When you create schedules using software, you can easily allocate that time to each drop-off.

Without risking the timeliness of the entire delivery route, you ensure reliability and accuracy and add a personal touch to your service.

As a result, your brand will seem more trustworthy.

And if customers start attaching emotions to your organization, they will start seeing it more as a person (via your drivers) than a company.

For example, that’s why many people don’t particularly like Amazon delivery.

Because of the speed of fulfilment, Amazon drivers don’t have time to interact with customers.

In most cases, they either leave the delivery at the door or have time for a brief encounter.

Something along the lines of:

“Amazon Fulfillment.

Delivery for Mr. Smith.

Please sign here.

Thank you.

Bye.”

The introduction of fulfilment lockers, drones, and unmanned vehicles will make it even more difficult in the future.

This does give you a valuable opportunity to stand out.

With more focus on nurturing customer relationships, you can gain a competitive edge and you will know how to compete with Amazon delivery.

All it takes is an extra few minutes in your driver’s delivery schedule.

Increase the visibility over your operations.

What happens when drivers set off on their routes?

Do they drop off orders on time?

Or do they miss those windows?

Why does that happen?

And what about the delivery itself?

Why does the customer want to return it?

Why is he or she unsatisfied with your service?

Without software and visibility over your operations, you may never know the answers to these questions.

That’s because most deliveries that don’t use software leave a lot of the decision-making up to their teams on the ground.

After a driver leaves the depot for his route, all managers can do is cross their fingers and hope for the best.

And with something as dynamic as same-day delivery at stake, it isn’t very reliable to have little to no overview of the last mile of the operation.

But delivery management software can help you here.

In the same way geolocation and GPS allow you to map routes with multiple stops, the system lets you track driver (or delivery) location on that same map in real-time.

This gives you more control over the last mile.

Dispatch teams can track and monitor drivers as they move along their routes and follow up on their schedules and ETAs.

If a driver is delayed or misses a stop, managers can contact them to find out the reason and react to the situation.

If it’s beyond your control, for example, traffic congestion on the road, dispatch can reroute the driver and revise the ETA so the customer is aware of the delay.

On the other hand, if, for example, a vehicle breaks down, you can immediately dispatch the closest driver to pick up the load and send a repair team to fix or tow the vehicle.

Planners and managers can use driver tracking capabilities to plan routes and deliveries on the go.

As soon as an order arrives, the planner can look at the map, evaluate the fleet, and assign the task to the best driver based on that information.

He can then add a stop at the depot site and the new drop-off point, while the software recalibrates the new route.

And since the system automatically updates the new information, the driver can access his app, see the change, and quickly pick-up the order.

Then, he can continue along his route without too much interruption while he drives.

At the same time, delivery management software allows you to send out tracking links to customers.

This raises the transparency of your service and their orders.

The customer can access the link to check the date and time of arrival, and arrange his or her day accordingly.

There is less chance of a missed or failed delivery, and if there is a delay, the customer will be aware of it.

All of this ensures the maximum speed, efficiency, and quality of service with each delivery.

Now it’s your turn to decide. Will you offer same-day delivery to your customers?

And the software can take you there.

We can help with that.

We have everything you need to start improving your delivery.

Here are the nine free guides that will show you exactly what we do to optimize the last mile and dominate delivery logistics.

1. The definitive and complete guide to Route Optimization Software

2. Why mapping multiple delivery stops is impossible without software

3. How to leverage Route Planning Software to drive delivery excellence

4. What is Delivery Management Software?

5. How we crush customer experience with delivery management software

6. Where to find and how to choose delivery management software

7. Delivery Management Platforms

8. How we dominate reverse logistics and eCommerce returns

9. How teams dominate remote work using nothing but Field Service Software

See how it works in action

eLogii is an end-to-end cloud-based delivery management platform. Our powerful solution solves the biggest challenges of modern distribution and field service businesses, including: route optimization, planning and execution.

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