In supply chain management and logistics, final mile delivery is the last part of a journey for the movement of people and goods from a central hub to a final destination.
Over the last twenty years, final mile delivery has become increasingly more important for businesses of all sizes. Thanks to the rise of e-commerce, deliveries no longer just end up at stores where consumers go for their goods. Now, that delivery includes their personal residences, workplaces, and more.
In an increasingly competitive industry, consumers are looking for the service providers that can provide them with efficient, consistent deliveries. As a business, choosing the right final mile delivery service is critical to ensuring content, repeat customers.
As is often the case with the supply chain and its related logistics, your business has options. We are going to present why final mile delivery matters to you, along with some of the important qualities to consider when making the choice for your own business.
Why Final Mile Delivery Is Increasingly Important
With shipments from Asia and Europe and South America, goods are shipped thousands of miles. So, how did the shortest leg of the logistics process become so crucial?
The goal is to deliver an item in the shortest amount of time to its recipient. Whether it’s ecommerce, food, retail, fashion, or any other industry, efficiency is key.
That efficiency and reliability is crucial to building up brand loyalty in an increasingly competitive and fickle market. After all, your competitors are just a click away. Your customers can look up another provider for the product or service you deliver.
Besides having the goods arrive in a timely manner, what are the actual qualities of a great last mile delivery service?
They include speed, timeliness, accuracy, and precision. Let’s get into how you can assess the qualities of a last mile delivery service based on these.
Choosing A Final Mile Delivery Service
Fast delivery
Perhaps the number one question a customer will ask about a product being shipped is when it’s going to be delivered. All other things being equal, why wouldn’t they choose the fastest delivery service? In some local situations, that can even mean same day delivery.
Because of that, you’ll want to understand the assurances the last mile delivery solution makes with regard to speed and timeliness.
Order tracking precision
Running a business is rarely about doing one thing at a time – or only doing it once. As your business grows, it’s about serving more customers more often.
Because of that, it’s crucial to know how the final mile delivery service processes the flow of information. From customers knowing the status of their shipments to companies managing their resources, information should be accessible.
In the past, courier companies might have been able to offer a general indication. Modern technologies make precision real-time tracking more than possible – they make it necessary.
Insurance and security
The movement of goods from one place to another is always involved with final mile delivery solutions. With that, there is always a risk that something happens, even if it’s accidental or force majeure.
A good final mile delivery solution understands that risk – and also understands how being transparent about their approach can help them to be more trustworthy.
Most courier services will add a small insurance surcharge to indicate their understanding of the risk, with additional options for goods that are damaged or lost in transit.
Specialization
In many industries, the last mile delivery is not just about getting a good from Point A to Point B. It’s also about how that good travels. Take medical specimen delivery as an example. Yes, timeliness is important, but that cargo must also travel safely at a certain temperature.
Depending on your business’s sector, it’s worth looking for a courier service that offers services catered to you.
How Expedite Delivery System Solves The Final Mile Problem
At Expedite Delivery System, we understand the importance of making that delivery. Whether it’s to customers in congested downtown areas or in rural towns, we are capable of delivering to where the goods need to go.
We can deliver to docks and curbsides, we have vans and semis of different capacities, and we can even make same-day deliveries. We’re here to pick up your overflow and fill in the gaps in your supply chain to make sure your goods are delivered.
We provide the accountability your business needs. That includes technology to create the most efficient route maps, parcel-tracking services, and expertly trained drivers. For more information on our last mile delivery services in the mid-Atlantic region, get in touch with Expedite Delivery System today.
