How do we manage courier information, orders, and order shipments?

Perhaps the most frequently asked question in companies involved in logistics and operations is, "Who was supposed to deliver this shipment? Where is it now? When will it arrive?" These questions clearly indicate a specific challenge in your organization: the challenge of managing order information.

Usually, online stores and e-commerce businesses manage the part related to order information, including the type and quantity of goods, customer information, etc., well with the online store panel. However, once the order is processed and ready for dispatch, monitoring and correctly transferring information to different departments or individuals in the organization becomes problematic.

What's the solution? How valuable is having this information that the organization should spend time and money on this part?

The Importance and Benefits of an Order Dispatch Management System

What is such a system supposed to do? Well, like most existing systems, order dispatch management systems have various types and features, but a mature order dispatch management software at least allows you to simultaneously have vehicle tracking information and parcel status. In simpler terms, you know at any moment:

1. Exactly where your parcel is
2. Who is transporting it
3. Where it is going
4. When it will arrive
5. And in more advanced systems, the health status of the parcel is continuously monitored

Having answers to these questions can greatly assist organization managers, especially in transportation, where there is high risk, pressure, and stress.

However, if we examine the effects of having such a system over time, we reach interesting results:

• Immediate Effects: Having answers to all those questions at any moment is an incredible event. This information helps you increase flexibility in the supply chain, meaning that by continuously monitoring changes in the fleet, customer, or parcel status, you quickly notice changes and react accordingly. For instance, imagine a scenario where your delivery truck or motorcycle courier suddenly breaks down, and without such a system, you find out much later.
• Long-term Effects: According to the author, the main effects and benefits of having such a system reveal themselves in the long term. With an order dispatch management software, you can easily store information. But isn't information stored on paper? So why is such a system needed? Can't the same be done with Excel? The answer to both questions is no. The information you store and manage with a developed software system is storable, analyzable, and transferable, and most importantly, this information is clean, meaning that your Excel operator might make several errors entering data, but a tracker or GPS does not make mistakes in determining your fleet's location. Note that unclean information is not exploitable or analyzable. Last year alone, about 2 billion dollars!!! was spent in the USA to clean government data. Take the cleanliness of information seriously.

How to Have Your Own Order Dispatch Management System?

Many managers mistakenly think that buying vehicle tracking software or hardware can solve their problem alone, but this is not the case at all because these matters are extremely important and need to be reviewed and improved:

1. An organizational culture that embraces change and improvement
2. Training employees, including in-house operators and couriers, to work with the order dispatch management software
3. Support for change by senior and middle managers
4. Finally, selecting a software system suitable for the organization to manage dispatches

If you are inclined to use such a system, you must first ensure there is sufficient will to use a new tool and create change in your organization, then carefully arrange and select your requirements, and ask different departments to express their problems and challenges so you can set expectations with open eyes. Of course, know that all organizational expectations are not met in one step and by purchasing software; rather, it should be completed gradually and step by step, sometimes with the help of the software provider. Many companies that offer these services also provide customization services for you.