What is Delivery Management? How Can You Get More Out of It?

Have you wondered about managing deliveries successfully with minimal to no hassles in the entire delivery process?

Over two billion people in 2020 shopped online, which only suggests that the need for efficient delivery is more than ever.

Successful and timely deliveries are essential to customer retention. And frankly, one doesn’t enjoy having to wait for days to receive their long-awaited package. As a direct consequence, delayed deliveries substantially reduce your customer base.

To address that and several other concerns, you need an effective delivery management service.

But first, let’s understand what is delivery management essentially.

What is Delivery Management?

Delivery management is the process of effectively and efficiently making deliveries from one dropoff location to another. At times, it is also called fleet or dispatch management. A continuous rise in consumer expectations has undoubtedly established that this optimized process of making deliveries has never been in more demand.

Delivery management involves metrics like maintenance of fleets, fuel usage, driver’s behaviour, idle hours of fleets, and total usage.

In 2020, over 131 billion packages were shipped all around the world. And as you must know, in the eCommerce industry, customers expect fast delivery ranging from same-day delivery to 2-3 day shipping. This is one of the critical reasons why the delivery management process continues to be an essential part of running a flourishing supply chain in eCommerce.

Another crucial factor to consider in delivery management is that inventory management and order fulfillment play integral parts. These two factors have the ability to either slow down or speed up the last-mile delivery process.

Now that we have understood what is delivery management, let’s learn about some of the substantial benefits it offers.

Benefits of Efficient Delivery Management Process

Successful delivery management is the most crucial and difficult aspect of any delivery business. It not only enables faster delivery and better operational management but also aids with the discovery of efficient routes and increases customer satisfaction.

Here are nine benefits of effective delivery management:

1. Increase in Customer Retention

A great customer experience doesn’t just stop with making a purchase. The rapid shipping and delivery process is the key to achieving customer loyalty.

Customers mostly expect their orders to be delivered in a day or two of making the purchase. However, having access to several reliable shipping processes for customers to choose from can certainly help build customer retention.

An efficient delivery management process can ensure that the delivery service is:

• Meeting shipping expectations
• Assisting in discovering the most optimized routes  
• Tracking shipping costs
• Estimating delivery times

This also ensures that customers are able to receive their packages on time, considering their preferred shipping method.

2. Profitability in Delivery

Established business models have been optimized through delivery management by

• Efficiently utilizing route optimization and fleet management tools
• Implementing the latest and advanced technological innovations 
• Increasing the usage rate of fleet capacity 

A good delivery service entails not only punctual or speedy delivery but also ensuring that the shipments do not incur any damage during transit. Nevertheless, delivery profitability can be accomplished by auto-scheduling and automating routine tasks.

3. Real-Time Data Accessibility

Tracking orders in real-time visibility gives you greater insight into the delivery process. This allows you to automatically update your customers on when their shipments will arrive.

Delivery management software also offers shipping and delivery insights, allowing delivery managers to track shipping records and monitor expected delivery dates. It also enables you to analyze shipping methods based on the preferences of the customers and delivery performance.

With real-time visibility and accurate data at your disposal, delivery managers work closely with the product manager (product owner). They have everything they need to make logical decisions and improve their shipping operations.

4. Reduction in Operational Expenses

An efficient delivery management structure targets minimizing delivery costs in order to boost profit margins.

As you must know, shipping rates are influenced by a variety of factors. It is critical, for instance, to keep an eye on various transport options. Different transport or carriers such as regional parcel carriers might offer lower prices than what you are now paying depending on the places you ship to. 

Another factor that can influence shipping rates is how orders are fulfilled. For instance, you will want to prevent common packaging errors that drive up expenses, such as using too much packaging material.

5. Faster Delivery Possibilities

Delivery managers can provide their clients with faster turnaround options if they have an excellent delivery management system in place.

There are various factors that contribute to quick turnaround, including where you keep goods and ship products geographically. The closer your warehouse is to your clients, the sooner shipments can reach them at a lower cost.

Also, implementing a goods allocation system can dramatically improve delivery by allowing you to offer a cheap 2-day delivery service to all your customers.

6. Improved Supply Chain Communication

A large amount of data must be shared along the supply chain, and it must be collected, analyzed, and shared with the appropriate parties in a reasonable timeframe.

A delivery management system can assist in the improvement of supply chain communication among third-party companies involved in the shipping and delivery process. This is because third-part logistics operates with multiple fulfillment center locations.

Delivery managers can streamline the supply chain and ensure orders are sent and delivered efficiently by integrating outbound and inbound logistics operations with the help of appropriate technology.

7. The efficiency of Fuel

By streamlining route planning, the consumption of fuel can be reduced. Delivery management can help discover efficient routes depending on:

• Delivery priority
• Customer proximity
• Delivery driver’s availability
• Weather
• Traffic conditions

Effective route planning can also minimize empty miles, which saves fuel.

8. Carbon Dioxide Footprint Is Reduced

Effective delivery management driven by electronic logistics systems reduces fuel consumption by minimizing route detours and vehicle inactivity. It does so with the help of effective route planning.

It also decreases the number of miles driven for each delivery service and the reliance on paperwork by adopting electronic documentation. All of these elements contribute to organizations having a lower carbon footprint.

9. Improved Compliance

It ensures that the proper research and compliance needed to deliver goods are updated and easily accessible. 

Effective global trade compliance management is crucial in a worldwide supply chain to expedite customs clearance and regulatory compliance to destination countries. 

Better compliance can be achieved at the local level by employing information technology for enhanced real-time visibility and information.

These benefits are clear enough to understand why is delivery management important and how you can access more out of it with the aid of effective delivery management software.

Apart from giving you access to these benefits, effective delivery management software can also aid in optimizing your business operations. 

Let’s learn how!

How Can a Delivery Management Software Help Optimize Your Business Operations?

An efficient delivery management software is an application tool that can help you optimize your business operations and performances. It monitors all the tasks that entail the delivery processes to ensure a hassle-free delivery experience of shipments.

Here are some of the key features of efficient delivery management software:

• It enables you to assign tasks to delivery drivers, automate dispatch, and keep track of the availability of delivery drivers.
• It has built-in features such as e-signature record proof of delivery to verify that the shipment is delivered to the correct recipient.
• It contributes to increased consumer satisfaction.
• It increases the overall exposure of your courier delivery services with live tracking links, enabling you to earn your clients’ trust with customer communication.
• It allows you to quickly and effectively create efficient route planning with several stops and locations and even follow the traffic patterns to optimize the delivery routes. 

Upper Route Planner Can Help Grow Your Business

Do you want to optimize your delivery operations by saving your delivery team time and helping them reach their final destination within the estimated time?

Do you want to improve profit margins by making deliveries efficiently, providing customers with services of the highest quality, and achieving customer satisfaction?

If your answer is a staunch yes to any of these questions or both of them, Upper Route Planner is the software solution that can help grow your business.

With Upper Route Planner, you can optimize your delivery service business by simplifying the management process. This software enables you to become an efficient delivery manager and also ensures a great customer experience with its exceptional features.

With our route planning software, you can:

• Save up to 95% time in route planning
• Get a comprehensive view of your delivery operations
• Serve 40% more customers by optimizing delivery windows, and achieve customer satisfaction

So what are you waiting for? Go for our 7-day trial period for free and streamline your everyday delivery operations with automated planning of delivery routes.

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Final Words

For any delivery business, it is important to provide fast and efficient deliveries to stay competitive in market. An efficient technology for delivery management allows faster shipping by optimizing delivery routes and fulfilling orders from the most efficient location.  Proper delivery management can save your company money and keep the customers happy.

At Upper, we aim to help businesses of all sizes in making their deliveries perfect. Some of the advanced features like route planning, route optimization, and route scheduling, can assist you in achieving your business goals.

Book a demo to learn how Upper works in delivery management.