It is all too easy for businesses to underestimate the importance of delivery management. After all, you might assume that delivery is a simple operation that services just one purpose – to ensure customers receive their orders. While the purpose of delivery is not complex, the impact that it has can be huge. Understanding the importance of delivery management is essential for all small businesses that are looking to scale up their existing operations.
What Is Delivery Management?
Before outlining the benefits of delivery management, it is first useful to explain exactly what delivery management entails. Delivery management is the process of transporting finished products from one location to another. In e-commerce, this process usually focuses on the last-mile delivery of shipping orders to customers.
Delivery management can be a very complex job, as it requires managers to track a remote team of drivers, manage customers’ expectations, and ensure the highest quality packages. This is why many successful teams rely on the use of technology like a telematics system for commercial vehicles.
The Importance of Delivery Management
Having strong, high-quality delivery management may benefit your business in a range of different ways, some of which are outlined below.
Increased Customer Retention Rates
Your last-mile delivery is a hugely important operation when it comes to customer satisfaction rates. It is very likely that delivery will be the first in-person interaction a customer has with your business. Offering the highest quality delivery creates the perfect first impression. This can increase customer satisfaction rates and the impression of your business before they have even opened your package.
The increased customer satisfaction levels that come from a well-managed delivery experience also benefit customer retention rates. This is because customers are much more likely to make a repeat purchase with your business if you are able to offer high-quality, reliable delivery services.
Reduced Operational Costs
High-quality delivery management can reduce the operational costs that are involved in shipping. There are many ways in which high-quality delivery management can affect your operational costs. Firstly, high-quality delivery management reduces the rate of returns. Secondly, well-managed delivery operations can improve the efficiency of your drivers, reducing the spend on fuel and working hours.
Damaged goods can also drive up operational costs, as they require replacement or refunding. By ensuring high-quality delivery, you can reduce the likelihood of damaged goods and the associated costs. Moreover, a good shipping insurance policy can also help to mitigate these costs in the event of any damages or losses during transit. This poses as a shield for businesses against unforeseen expenses.
Improved Supply Chain Management
The quality of your delivery management can impact your supply chain. This is because high-quality delivery management can increase your access to data that is needed to make more informed decisions about the level of demand for your products. Not only does delivery management provide you access to necessary data, but it also reduces inefficiencies that can lead to returns or damages to your stock. The fewer issues that you experience with your delivery and your stock, the better able you are to manage your warehouse and your products.
The quality of your delivery management operations can have a big impact on a variety of different business metrics. From customer retention rates to operational costs, it is vital that businesses looking to grow their operation never underestimate the importance of delivery management.