The Power of Delivery Notification Software in Last Mile Logsitics

Our research shows that 90% of consumers want the ability to track their delivery orders—and we’re willing to bet that for business buyers that number is pretty comparable. Given how competitive modern delivery markets can be, the ability to provide transparency and connectivity to your customers is more crucial than ever. 

The more customers know, the more confidence they feel in their deliveries and the more likely they are to be at the delivery site when the truck shows up. That’s why delivery tracking and timely delivery notifications are so crucial—if you can roll out a steady cadence of helpful notifications and alerts, you can delight customers and improve delivery performance at the same time. 

The flip side is that notifying customers by hand doesn’t scale. Phone calls in particular are a real albatross around the neck of businesses that don’t have better options available to them. 

Luckily, last mile customer delivery experience can be improved by both active and passive communication, with increased lifetime value and reduced operating costs as potential effects. The first step to getting there is making sure you have the right technology—like delivery notification software—for the job. 

The Importance of Delivery Notification Software

Delivery notification software gives retailers and other businesses the ability to notify customers when their deliveries are arriving. Sending a delivery notification to customers is increasingly necessary these days, especially for B2C companies—though it is becoming more prevalent with B2B deliveries as well. 

Many businesses receive multiple deliveries every day, which is why it's more important than ever to notify receiving managers when to expect the delivery truck. There’s a wide range of approaches to this kind of transparency. Some delivery notification solutions offer simple time windows, while other software has real-time maps, along with dynamically updated ETAs.

A robust solution offers essential notifications at every stage of delivery, including automated delivery updates as conditions change throughout the day. Your last mile delivery system should also ensure visibility within your own back office—for instance, your solution might alert dispatchers when drivers are arriving and departing from each delivery location during the day.

You can use delivery notification software to enhance your customers' last mile delivery experience in several ways:

• At the point of purchase: Allow customers to choose their preferred delivery dates, time windows, contactless delivery options, and notification options.
• Pre-delivery: Send delivery reminders to the customer via their preferred method (SMS, email, or phone). Here, you can also ask customers to confirm their delivery appointments and addresses
• In the course of delivery: Enable customers to track the delivery vehicle in real-time, offer accurate ETA updates, and allow them to communicate with the driver. 
• Post-delivery: Provide the customers with a feedback opportunity, and resolve any issues raised promptly.

Keep in mind that communication is a two-way street. Delivery notification software should allow customers to send drivers important information (instructions for getting into the building, etc.) without contacting the customer support team or the dispatch center by phone.

How AI Is Impacting Customer Delivery Experience

Even a year or two ago, we could have talked about delivery notifications across the lifecycle and left it at that—but we’d be remiss if we didn’t spend some time discussing AI’s potential role in these workflows. 

As LLMs have gotten better and more reliable, businesses are starting to deploy them within customer communication contexts in last mile deliveries. This typically takes the form of an AI-powered chat agent that sits within two-way communication channels to handle the front line of customer questions. 

AI can generally deal with simple questions like “when is my order scheduled?” and can seamlessly escalate to a human being for more complex issues. In our experience, the result has been a huge reduction in the volume of messages that customer support teams have to deal with on a daily basis. 

You can read more here about some of the ways that this technology is impacting customer experience in last mile delivery. 

Why Communication in the Last Mile Matters

The kind of functionality we’re describing isn’t something that you should think of as a luxury. Sure, robust delivery management software will require an investment—and that’s exactly how you should think of it: as an investment. Staying engaged with customers and boosting transparency across the last mile gives you the chance to drive positive ROI in a whole host of different ways. 

Here are a handful of the benefits your company will gain by improving its last-mile communication:

Lower number of customer calls

Offering customers access to your delivery tracking and sending them regular updates can reduce the number of customer calls asking about the status of their orders. In turn, this will lead to greater customer satisfaction since most consumers dislike having to wait for customer service teams to answer their inquiries.

This is something that AI can have a tremendous impact on. 

Saved hours of employee time

Fewer requests for updates on orders will, in turn, enable your customer service representatives to devote more of their time to other important tasks, such as responding to and acting on any customer requests that are about more than just asking for an ETA. This means that when customer issues do arise, you’ll actually have the capacity to deal with them quickly and efficiently, boosting customer satisfaction and potentially increasing delivery success rates. 

Improved first-time delivery success rates

A study recently examined the costs associated with missed delivery windows. Combined, retailers, carriers, and consumers incur losses of more than $1 billion every year due to missed delivery windows. First-time delivery success rates are among the most difficult performance indicators to meet. However, providing your customers with accurate order updates can help them plan their schedules more effectively, which will result in a higher first-time delivery success rate.

Enhanced customer trust

Customers often have packed schedules, so late orders are not something they want to worry about. Giving your customers access to real-time information from your delivery fleet will boost their confidence and trust in your company.

Greater customer value

Your customers will feel more valued when your updates are frequent and timely. Ultimately, consumers can save themselves from waiting a whole day if they receive real-time updates on their orders. Customers can also plan their day more effectively to ensure that they are available to receive the order upon delivery. By communicating with customers in real-time, you demonstrate your respect and value for their time.

Lower operating costs

Reducing dispatch and customer service calls made by customers means lower back-end operating costs, and better communication means fewer delays for drivers. Not to mention, you can avoid the costs associated with redelivery attempts when you’re able to keep customers in the loop so that they don’t miss the delivery truck showing up. 

Higher revenue

Research indicates that companies that offer transparent last-mile options are more likely to attract customers than those that don't. Why? For precisely the reasons we’ve been enumerating above: reduced costs, greater customer retention, and more efficient operations overall. 

Putting Delivery Notification Software in Context

Improving your delivery notifications can be a powerful way to improve delivery performance and customer experience. But is a standalone delivery notification software solution the best way to make that happen?

Because delivery notifications are so intimately tied up with route planning and driver tracking, we’d argue that there’s real value to housing all of those functions within one connected software solution. 

By implementing a cohesive last mile delivery platform that can handle the whole journey from end to end, you can seamlessly incorporate delivery notifications into a cohesive, end-to-end process that works for your teams, your customers, and your bottom line.