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How Real-Time Visibility Can Improve Last-Mile Logistics

Covid-19 has changed the way we view business as usual. Many who operated in traditional storefronts had to transition solely to selling online and delivering their products. Others, like construction or plumbing services, had to halt work entirely or create new working standards for employees. While this was happening, companies still had to make deliveries — some with a reduced work force that made it even harder to deliver on time.

AJ Jankord

December 13, 2021

Covid-19 has changed the way we view business as usual. Many who operated in traditional storefronts had to transition solely to selling online and delivering their products. Others, like construction or plumbing services, had to halt work entirely or create new working standards for employees. While this was happening, companies still had to make deliveries — some with a reduced work force that made it even harder to deliver on time. 

As we recover from the pandemic, businesses will have to overcome new challenges. They now face supply chain issues with limited product availability, making it difficult to meet customer demand.  

The question is, how can businesses adapt to keep up? They need to ask themselves, what kind of technologies should they invest in to help solve this problem when everything is changing so quickly? 

One solution that can help them continue to deliver to their customers is Dispatch Connect.

Although Connect may not be able to tell you where your product is at sea or how long it will take to get to your warehouse, the role it plays in the supply chain is crucial. There's a misconception that the supply chain only deals with companies receiving their product from a supplier. But actually, it also accounts for the delivery process of that product from the company to its final destination. 

With Connect, companies can get more visibility into their last-mile delivery. They can see where their trucks are at all times and generate the most efficient and fastest routes for their drivers. These features can help companies Deliver More*. 

A Better Understanding of Last-Mile Visibility

The best thing a company can do right now is to control their part of the supply chain process to the best of their ability. That’s why last-mile visibility is important. Connect provides this visibility by letting companies or managers know the location of their delivery vehicles in real-time. And being able to do this allows them to make more well-informed decisions.

Last-mile visibility also helps with customer support. If a customer calls and asks where their order is, you have the ability to respond quickly and confidently with where the vehicle is and give them a time approximation to when the order will arrive. Without this visibility, you can only guess where the truck is or call the driver and hope they answer to let you know where they are. Using Connect, however, you can set up order notifications that go directly to the customer via text or email. These updates include ETAs too!

Route Optimization

Delivery visibility is essential to improving your company's delivery process. But when paired up with all that Connect has to offer, like future delivery scheduling and route optimization, it becomes the key to solving the delivery puzzle. These are the processes that get your delivery schedule started on the right foot and help you proactively solve potential problems. Once your driver is out on their route, issues or challenges may still arise. That’s why tracking their location is necessary and can help you provide the best solution for your customers. 

Being on the Same Page 

Having last-mile transparency allows all parties involved to be on the same page and lets you loop everyone in on the location of your vehicles, the estimated time of arrival, and if a driver is running late. At the end of the day, companies that can achieve last-mile visibility can improve operational efficiency and be better equipped to manage the unexpected.

But there's another perk of integrating a delivery management software like Connect into your day-to-day delivery process: the Dispatch Marketplace. Not only can Marketplace provide overflow and seasonal peak support, but it has also helped many businesses navigate the current labor shortage. 

The pandemic has created many challenges for everyone. But what makes a company great is how they respond and adapt to those challenges. To find out more about Dispatch Connect and how it can help make your company even better, talk to a Delivery Expert today.

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