Last-mile delivery is considered as one of the most important and most expensive parts of the fulfillment chain since it is the last step before inventory finally arrives in the hands of your customers. At the same time, last-mile is by far the most expensive part of the process, costing businesses an average of $10 per package and accounting for 53% of total shipping costs. Studies estimate that the growth of e-commerce has led to a 33% increase in B2B delivery and a 67% increase in B2C delivery over the last two years. The increased demand and cost of last-mile deliveries has made it difficult to maintain efficiency and manage costs. More companies are spending more money to ship products to customers than on the products themselves, yet with escalating labor shortages and increasing fuel costs, meeting customer demands without a proper plan can be a sure path to financial strain. Therefore, maintaining a consistent and efficient T&L process that adapts to rising demands and manages costs is critical to the profits and customer satisfaction of your business.
While last-mile costs are a shifting and unavoidable problem, it doesn’t have to be so detrimental to your T&L operations. Businesses are turning to solutions that create a smoother flow of information and streamline visibility across the supply chain. Heartland maximizes communication, tracking, and processing in your last-mile delivery with:
- Establish long-range communication - Effective communication helps create smoother information flows in your supply chain so your warehouse can communicate effectively with delivery drivers. Effective communication provides your delivery drivers with real-time updates on important delivery, manufacturing, and shipping information to improve T&L and reduce last-mile costs. Ensure your workforce is connected and productive with expert assistance from Heartland’s AlwaysConnected. We integrate wireless connectivity and push-to-talk capabilities by fixing wireless connectivity issues, disturbances, and signal drops.
- Enhanced barcode printing quality and efficiency - When your assets are properly labeled with RFID tags, you can track them throughout the T&L process. This gives T&L workers access to real-time information during the shipping process, which empowers them to be notified of any challenges. This helps maintain a smoother T&L process and a more accurate inventory to reduce stockouts and last-mile expenses. Reliable and accurate printing solutions, like Heartland’s mobile and industrial printers, empower logistics workers with higher visibility and reduced return shipments. This reduces last-mile costs and maintains a consistent shipping process in your business.
- Real-time tracking - Implementing automated data capture solutions achieves real-time tracking and improves inventory management to help streamline visibility in your T&L operations. A more accurate inventory and real-time tracking of your assets ensure T&L delivery times are met. A consistent T&L process reduces expenses and improves customer satisfaction. With Heartland’s barcode hardware solutions, our solutions help supply your transportation and logistics operators with real-time access to valuable insights, which helps them consistently meet delivery times.
Effective communication, real-time tracking, and enhanced label printing can reduce last-mile costs. CONTACT US today for a free assessment of your transportation and logistics operations.