On customer satisfaction in the last mile delivery

We can consider the customer as the most important asset of any business. E-commerce in the modern era, by employing various methods and techniques derived from results based on experience, trial and error, and customer behavior psychology methods, strives to provide services at the highest possible level.

Today's article on the Logiico blog is about methods and strategies to increase customer satisfaction in last-mile delivery. In previous Logiico articles, we examined the challenges businesses face in last-mile delivery. In part of this article, we categorized some of the existing challenges in last-mile delivery as follows:

• Possibility of one-day delivery
• Customer expectations and needs
• Return of shipped goods
• Numerous routes and lack of sequencing
• High costs of last-mile delivery

In the continuation of this article, we will look at the discussion of customer expectations and needs and methods to increase customer satisfaction in last-mile delivery. Stay with us.

Customer-selected delivery time

The method of order delivery in e-commerce businesses is done in two ways: On-Demand delivery and Time Window delivery. For example, FMCG stores and restaurants deliver on-demand, while most online stores deliver customer orders within a time window.

One of the strategies that can be used to increase customer satisfaction in time window delivery is allowing the customer to choose the delivery time slot. For example, many people who shop online are busy during the week and often find the end of the week more suitable for receiving their orders.

By doing this, in addition to gaining customer satisfaction and encouraging repeat purchases, you also reduce shipping costs such as fuel consumption to some extent. Because when a customer's order is sent and the customer is not present at the location, it not only wastes time but also incurs costs and fuel consumption.

Sending tracking SMS to the customer

With the growth of internet-based businesses and the increasing tendency of people to shop online, we are witnessing the provision of various services by business owners to attract more customers and increase their share of this competitive market.

To achieve this goal, business owners try to analyze customer needs and behavior and provide their services according to customer needs.

One of these services, which has gained a lot of popularity today, is the ability to track orders through sending tracking SMS to the customer. This feature allows the customer to track the courier's route online using the tracking link in the SMS and be informed of the estimated time of order arrival.

In addition, recording customer feedback on the courier's behavior by rating the motorcycle courier helps you categorize drivers and couriers significantly.

Improving the shipping process

The two points above, namely customer-selected delivery time and sending tracking SMS to the customer, are features that can provide a good competitive advantage for your business.

The more important issue is addressing fundamental challenges and problems in the shipping process and improving last-mile delivery. The higher the quality and speed of customer order delivery, the more customer satisfaction from online shopping increases.

So, what can be done to improve the last-mile delivery process?

Order tracking

In many traditional shipping methods, customer orders were monitored until loading, meaning until the moment of order dispatch, and after that, there was no supervision over order delivery. The result of this was nothing but the emergence of various problems in order delivery.

Thanks to the growth and development of technology, the best way to solve this problem is to use a comprehensive infrastructure for order delivery management. By using a comprehensive infrastructure, you can have comprehensive monitoring and control until the order is delivered to the customer, ensuring the correct and secure delivery of goods to the customer.

Driver management

Having a strong database of driver information and work status can be a good solution for categorizing and purposefully managing drivers and couriers. A suitable database for driver management can include information such as:

• Driver details
• Daily, weekly, and monthly working hours
• Distances traveled
• Fuel consumption of each driver
• Customer rating for each driver
• Salaries and wages received by each driver

This information helps the courier management unit to make more strategic decisions during the delivery process and collaboration with couriers.

Data analysis

Smart routing and sequencing play a crucial role in reducing logistics costs, last-mile delivery, and the supply chain. The potential of this feature, alongside real-time data and information, creates a good combination for reducing and managing costs in last-mile delivery.

Using analytical reports and having information such as:

• Number of daily, weekly, and monthly orders
• Driver activity heat map
• Peak order time chart

is a good tool for analyzing and reviewing weaknesses and strengths in order delivery and can attract more customers to your brand as a competitive advantage.

The points we mentioned are all things that large global businesses in e-commerce use today to improve and address existing challenges in last-mile delivery. Solutions with a principled and smart investment have a significant impact on increasing efficiency and reducing costs, including fuel consumption, and most importantly, increasing customer satisfaction.

Conclusion

Customers are the main asset of any business. To increase customer satisfaction in e-commerce businesses, it is necessary to understand customer needs and provide comprehensive solutions accordingly.

One of the most important points in increasing customer satisfaction that needs attention is the continuous improvement of the delivery process, from the time the customer places an order until it is delivered at the customer's location.

Incremental improvements and the use of technology and smart infrastructure for this purpose are a smart investment in managing and reducing costs and increasing efficiency, and consequently, increasing customer satisfaction.

For more familiarity with customer purchase psychology, we recommend reading the article "From Clemente to Fogg, examining customer purchase psychology" on the Logiico blog.