Last-Mile Delivery in E-commerce 2024 Crucial Aspects, Trends, and Hurdles

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LAST-MILE DELIVERY FOR E-COMMERCE IN 2024
IMPORTANCE, TRENDS, AND CHALLENGES
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Changes in last-mile delivery trends are mainly
determined by changing consumer habits and
delivery expectations for fast and accurate
deliveries. According to a report by the World
Economic Forum, fast deliveries have been
normalized. All the big brands, like Amazon and
BigBasket, have grown by just focusing on
last-mile deliveries and making them more
efficient. In 2020, the importance of last-mile
delivery intensified with the boom in
e-commerce. In the third quarter of 2022, U.S.
retail sales jumped by 10 to 250 billion over
Q3 2021. The importance of last-mile delivery is
increasing expeditiously with the quest to meet
customer demand. However, certain challenges
have made last-mile deliveries challenging. The
article will discuss the importance, trends, and
challenges in last-mile delivery. HOW IMPORTANT
IS LAST-MILE DELIVERY FOR A BUSINESS? According
to a report by Accenture, last-mile delivery
accounts for 53 of the total cost of
shippingand 41 of total supply chain costs.
And this high last-mile delivery cost adds to the
head operational costs. Regardless of business
size, businesses must streamline their last-mile
deliveries to survive and grow in a competitive
market. Here are some points that might explain
them better Enhance customer experience
Customers love on-time deliveries (OTD) and
prefer to buy online where they can track their
orders. This enhances the customer experience and
increases the customer satisfaction score
(CSAT). On-time and accurate deliveries help
boost repeat sales, bring in references, and
retain existing customers. A good customer
experience increases customer retention rates
and helps acquire new customers while reducing
the cost of acquisition (CAC).
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Increase efficiency Effective last-mile
delivery can increase the efficiency of the
last-mile delivery. Businesses can streamline
last-mile deliveries by implementing effective
route planning and sequencing. Using route
optimization software, which can create the
shortest delivery path and sequence the orders
accordingly, can achieve this. Increased
efficiency can help reduce transportation costs
and carbon footprints. Increase sales Happy
customers are much more likely to refer the
service to their relatives, which not only
retains existing customers but also acquires new
ones. Referral customers reduce the cost of
acquisition and add to net profit sales.
Efficient last-mile delivery opens new
opportunities to penetrate demographically and
acquire customers, ultimately boosting sales and
revenue. Also Read 6 Last Mile Delivery Trends
You Wont Want to Miss in 2024 TOP 6 POPULAR
LAST-MILE DELIVERY TRENDS FOR 2024 Contactless
deliveries COVID-19 is a new trendsetter in
last-mile delivery, where contactless deliveries
are one of the crucial features. With rising
health concerns, most customers still prefer
contactless deliveries. Businesses that have
opted for contactless delivery have increased
digital payments, minimized the chances of
spreading any infection, and helped build more
trust. Last-mile delivery visibility Tracking
and visibility are two major concerns in
last-mile delivery. GPS tracking has enhanced
last-mile visibility. Enabling real-time order
status and tracking the order once it is out for
delivery with an estimated time of arrival to
the customers is just the beginning. Using a GPS
to track the order, provides their customers
with the transparency and traceability they seek.
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Enable faster order fulfillment Auto-order
assigning and optimizing the delivery routes
contribute to faster order fulfillment.
According to the Retail Industry Leader
Association, 90 of customers expect two or
three days of delivery. Whereas, a study by
Shopify suggests that 32 of customers abandon
their cart if the estimated shipping time is
longer. Increasing customer demands and
expectations have pushed businesses to optimize
and streamline their delivery operations to step
up competition. Businesses have integrated route
optimization software to optimize their last-mile
delivery. Sustainable deliveries Customers
have become more aware and conscious about the
environment and have started changing their
shopping habits. Every time, fast deliveries are
not sustainable. Many businesses have started
opting for scheduled deliveries to make
last-mile deliveries more sustainable. They can
create schedules and customers can choose any
delivery schedules according to their
preferences. This promotes both sustainable
deliveries and sustainability scores. Last-mile
delivery insourcing Earlier, many businesses
used third-party logistics to make last-mile
deliveries. However, because the costs of hiring
third-party logistics are so high, many
businesses have begun to use their vehicles for
delivery. Last-mile logistics, unlike outsourced
logistics, can be managed and tracked
in-house. Cost-effective with analytics
Predictive analytics can help make decisions
related to optimizing future last-mile delivery.
Technology can help provide such intuitive data
that a business can manage its entire delivery
business on a single platform. It can automate
and streamline the entire delivery process, along
with the auto-generation of analytical data that
can be studied and analyzed to level up the
last-mile delivery process. According to a
report by the World Economic Forum, 25 rise in
consumer e-commerce deliveries in 2020, with
some of the increased demand expected to last
well beyond the pandemic.
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CHALLENGES IN LAST-MILE DELIVERIES FOR E-COMMERCE
Last-mile deliveries have undergone significant
changes over the last decade. This
transformation is technology-driven, changing
customer expectations and evolving business
models. The key challenges in e-commerce that
led to these advancements are High logistics
costs Logistics alone costs 53 of the total
shipping costs. Moreover, customers do not want
to pay higher prices for quick
deliveries. Evolving customer expectations
Customers expect fast and free deliveries, which
makes it hard for businesses to cope with the
delivery costs. Damage to the packages While
focusing on delivering fast, handling is
hampered, leading to damaged packing. It doubles
the cost. Inefficient return management Not
having a seamless return process can reduce
revenue. The increased rate of return has
brought up many challenges which lead to
unrealized losses. Rigid workflow Changing
consumer demand does not allow a rigid delivery
workflow. E.g., It demands flexibility for
consumers to edit their delivery addresses and a
rigid workflow can not offer it. Visibility
issue Lack of visibility can lead to delays,
diversions, high fuel costs, vehicle idling, etc.
The lack of such flexibility is a great
challenge. High first-time delivery failure
Unsuccessful deliveries can incur extra costs.
Extra man handling, route turnaround, and time
consumption can increase overhead costs.
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CONCLUSION
The future of last-mile deliveries in e-commerce
is defined by technological innovation,
sustainability efforts, and changing consumer
preferences. Companies that can effectively
integrate these elements into their delivery
strategies will be well- positioned to meet the
challenges and opportunities of the rapidly
evolving e-commerce landscape. Customers have
become more environmentally sensitive as they
buy items online. They consider the environmental
and health impacts when buying online. Using
technologies has fueled the last-mile ecosystem
revolution, urging businesses to optimize their
last-mile delivery to be consistent in the
competitive market. If you are looking forward
to leveling up your delivery business, schedule
a call with our last-mile delivery experts to see
how Trakop, a delivery management software, can
help your business streamline and optimize your
deliveries. Hope You Enjoyed the Read! Resource
Link https//www.trakop.com/blog/last-mile-delive
ry- for-e-commerce-importance-trends-and-challeng
es/
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