The difference between good and poor customer service often hinges on delivery updates. Almost all (91%)) of retail customers say that they want to receive proactive updates on their deliveries. Real-time delivery updates improve the speed of fulfilment, reduce the risk of a failed delivery, and can enhance customer loyalty. And they are now one of the core functionalities of the best location intelligence and route planning solutions – solutions like Here Last Mile.
Frustration and financial damage
Failed deliveries are annoying for customers and costly for shipping services. Accurate real-time notifications and predictive updates allow customers to plan ahead – helping all parties.
Real-time delivery updates improve visibility – for shippers and customers alike. Without them, e-commerce sellers and logistics providers have little way of knowing where a particular package is at any given moment. With real-time notifications, if any stakeholder within the delivery process wants to change delivery slots or simply receive an update on their item’s whereabouts, this is straightforward to achieve.
Not keeping customers up to date can cause them a great deal of frustration and anger, especially since it can be quite difficult and time-consuming to get information from customer service hotlines or through online service tickets. It is far more efficient and hugely beneficial for customer satisfaction and retention to make use of emails or SMS to communicate with clients in real-time. This boosts customer loyalty – and reduces the cost of your deliveries.
HERE Last Mile is an end-to-end planning application that provides the real-time visibility that shipping services and customers are asking for. In light of the increasing pressure being placed on last-mile deliveries (it’s estimated that over a quarter of the world’s population now shops online), the need to optimize the last mile is greater than ever. HERE Last Mile can help you achieve this and unlock the following benefits:
> Control
Using highly accurate location data, HERE Last Mile gives fleet managers insight into the real-time state of their deliveries. A digital dashboard provides information like driver availability, their hours of service and current location. Instead of being in the dark, delivery firms can access turn-by-turn navigation with real-time delivery updates on traffic flow, route disruption and proof of delivery. With this kind of insight, you can gain control over order fulfilment.
> Communication
Using an effective communication channel greatly increases the chances of successful delivery on the first attempt. It is also important to note that most customers expect to be kept informed about their delivery time slot as well as failed delivery attempts by delivery carriers and couriers.
By offering delivery tracking and feedback, you can create a two-way dialogue with your customers so they feel reassured about their package, have a closer connection with your brand, and can let drivers know if they need to re-arrange delivery. With real-time notifications, drivers can also be kept updated on run sheets, route progress and completed deliveries. When everyone is informed, customer service is enhanced.
> Cost
Real-time delivery updates aren’t just for the customer’s benefit – they have genuine impact on retailers’ and delivery firms’ bottom lines. HERE Last Mile can increase the number of stops per route by up to 30% and leverage advanced geocoding to reduce fleet operating costs by up to 21%.
HERE Last Mile’s real-time updates can also increase the accuracy of your ETAs by up to 25%, alleviating customer frustrations and making it more likely that they’ll make a repeat order. 85% of customers will not buy from a retailer again after having a single poor delivery experience. If real-time notification can increase the likelihood that their experience is a good one, you’ll strengthen customer loyalty – which means more sales in the future
Service your customers can rely on
Customer expectations are changing. Not only do they want fast, reliable delivery; they want to be informed of where their package is throughout its journey. This is only possible with real-time delivery updates.
Powered by the HERE Location Platform, Local Eyes provides real-time notifications, delivery tracking and feedback channels to ensure the needs of your drivers and customers are met. With Local Eyes’ real-time updates, you no longer need to leave any part of the last mile to chance.
