How to Track Progress of Delivery Drivers?

A few years ago, real-time delivery driver tracking was available only to larger companies with bigger budgets to buy expensive gadgets and devices.

Also, tracking drivers required custom hardware that was often clunky and difficult to integrate into your delivery vehicles.

But we’re in 2022 now; we have all the right tools to support delivery businesses through their process. These tools and software allow companies to monitor and capture driver locations on the road.

This real-time driver tracking is essential for a business to avoid mistakes and deliver packages on time. Let’s see how to track delivery progress of delivery drivers using apps.

What Do You Need to Successfully Track Delivery Driver Progress?

Here are some functionalities that can help you track the progress of delivery drivers:

1. Delivery Management Software

The first thing you need is a delivery management software that helps you plan routes and deliveries and keep track of them through a single dashboard.

A good delivery management software must allow route planning, create optimized routes, track driver behavior and driver’s location, record proof of delivery for delivery confirmation, and will enable you to send notifications to customers.

2. Driver Tracking Capabilities

The software must gather and record real-time data like the driver’s location and actual distance to be covered. This data allows a deep dive into the delivery operations throughout the day.

When you know what is happening out on the field, you are better positioned to inform your customers and plan.

3. Driver Location on the Map

When dispatchers, managers, and customers look into the delivery process with the package tracking feature, it provides more information about the route in progress. Customers also get more details about where their package is. This helps in improving customer satisfaction.

4. Delivery Confirmation with Proof of Delivery

Electronic proof of delivery is essential as it allows managers and dispatchers be sure about the delivery of packages. It can also help get an idea about the total number of successful deliveries throughout the day.

5. Reports & Analytics

Comprehensive reports of the daily logistics operations allow dispatchers to get a detailed look into the overall progress of the daily delivery routes. These reports describe the number of stops covered, the total distance and time covered, including proof of delivery, and any additional notes from delivery drivers regarding the delivery routes or the stops.

Delivery progress doesn’t stop at driver tracking. All these elements mentioned above help managers and dispatchers in gauging the actual progress of the delivery drivers.

How Do Dispatchers and Managers Benefit from Tracking Drivers?

1. Improved Safety

The safety of your drivers must be the top priority. When you can track the location of drivers, it allows you to see if they are smoothly completing their tasks or not. Any indication of a hurdle or mishap can be known instantly through delivery driver tracking.

2. Increased Productivity

Managers and dispatchers can know the time spent at delivery locations, time spent being stuck on the road, or time spent taking breaks. When there is a clear demarcation of when and where the time on the road is being spent, it helps in improving the overall productivity of the delivery operations.

3. Helps Clearly Communicate with Customers

The same driver information that dispatchers receive also helps in giving a clear answer to the customers if asked about the location of the delivery driver and packages. The same link is also provided to customers through email or text so they can track driver behavior and contact them if need be.

4. Drivers’ Progress and Performance Tracking

Finally, it also helps in overall performance tracking. It provides dispatchers with the status of all delivery tasks, delayed deliveries, missed deliveries, successful deliveries, driver break times, service time for each stop, and more. It helps in gauging the efficiency of your delivery drivers.

How Can Driver Tracking Improve Delivery Services?

Driver tracking helps improve delivery services in the following ways:

• Improving the customer experience by providing an accurate ETA based on GPS location data
• Helps encourage safe driving behaviors during the delivery process
• Ensuring that all delivery tasks are being carried out successfully
• No more wondering or guessing as to why your driver is stuck on the route
• Record and analyze metrics related to drivers’ progress and performance
• Helps make better decisions in the delivery process

Conclusion

When businesses use delivery driver tracking and live location in addition to route optimization, it can have a positive impact on the efficiency of the delivery process.

Driver tracking was a complex thing to integrate years ago. It is much simpler to keep track of your drivers without clunky hardware attached to their vehicles.

This is something the route planning software allows today. Upper Route Planner helps businesses get to know their driver’s location and keep their customers informed by allowing the same access.

Such visibility into the delivery process makes the delivery business more reliable for its customers. To learn more about the software, like how it benefits your delivery business, get instant access to 7-day FREE trial and explore a range of features and functionalities.