We have already discussed in another blog the significance of last mile delivery. The last mile tracking is not a single process that deals with the final delivery process after a freight gets moved from its origin to the final destination. Instead, it encompasses a lot more activities, the most important being the tracking status. Last mile delivery tracking is a must-have as customers expect their parcel to get delivered on the same day as scheduled. If a business’ shipping partner cannot hand over products or if they cannot keep the customers informed about the status of packages in transit, the chances of repeat purchases from such customers are unlikely.   

Today, online businesses get only a single opportunity to prove how they value their customers. Customers make up their minds if they cannot track the progress of goods transit once they place an order and check out online or when they could not receive the delivery on the scheduled date. These are all red flags that prevent customers from making further purchases.

As an online seller, what happens if you are only keen on providing the best customer experience concerning the entire touchpoints except shipping, where you have little control over shipment delivery? Nevertheless, a business has to select a logistics company that offers real-time visibility for its customer orders, one that can offer last mile tracking, communication regarding customer location, live order tracking from a single dashboard, real-time updates on order delivery status. 

Last mile carrier tracking helps business keep their customers updated concerning the progress of the movement of their packages. Before we discuss why it assumes importance, we shall briefly explain the term itself, i.e., last mile delivery tracking.

1. Last Mile Tracking 

As aforementioned, the term delivery tracking embodies the entire shipping process right from the start to the end. Once the packages leave the distribution hub/warehouse facility, last mile tracking takes over by monitoring their location in real-time. Indeed, livetrack service provides a great customer experience and benefits the business as well. Customers can forget about the WISMO calls and monitor the status of their orders with a single tap of a button. Meanwhile, organisations can go one step ahead in customer satisfaction that their customers are feeling contented. 

With next day delivery and same-day delivery options in place, customers have their preferences and expectations while they checkout online. At the very moment, they want to keep track of the order to check if the order gets processed by the seller, picked up by the courier partner and preparing for delivery. From beginning to end, customers prefer to have final mile carrier tracking during the course of the journey until they receive the order, invariably. Also, customers always look for the fastest delivery and hence businesses should make sure that their shipping partners are capable of optimising the last mile service.  

As aforementioned, the term delivery tracking embodies the tracking of goods during the entire shipping process right from the start to the end. Once the packages leave the distribution hub or warehouse facility, last mile tracking takes over by monitoring their location in real-time. Indeed, last mile tracking provides a great customer experience and benefits the business as well. Customers can forget about the WISMO calls and monitor the status of their orders with a single tap of a button. Meanwhile, organisations can go one step ahead in customer satisfaction that their customers experience contentment as they can track last mile carrier, expected delivery time of packages and proof of delivery, all from a single dashboard!   

With next day delivery and same-day delivery options in place, customers have their preferences and expectations while they checkout online. At the very moment, they want to keep track of the order to check if the order gets processed by the seller, picked up by the courier partner and prepared for delivery. From beginning to end, customers track the course of the journey until they receive the order, invariably. Also, they always look for the fastest delivery and hence businesses should make sure that their shipping partners are capable of optimising the last mile service through tracking carriers.  

2. Last Mile Tracking from the Viewpoint of Customers  

We have already discussed how last mile tracking enhances customer experience. The customer experience moves ahead while offering them the freedom of tracking their orders as and when they wish to. Also, it is one of the possible ways to avoid unnecessary customer churn and WISMO calls. Further, it can provide customers with information regarding their order delivery, not only for prompt delivery but also under any instances of delayed delivery, in the unlikely event of sudden hindrances.

Even if the shipping can’t make it on time, the customers can be kept informed about the reasons why the package has not been delivered. Generally, customers prefer tracking in real-time rather than sending them status information at regular intervals. Also, as tracking involves the details of the journey starting from the pickup until packages arrive at the destination, proof of delivery (POD) is another significant component that needs to be updated with the handing over of orders. If a customer cannot receive packages at the scheduled location, POD helps locate them during a failed delivery. 

3. Last Mile Tracking from the Viewpoint of Business 

Every business considers time correlates with money. Last mile tracking ensures that it saves a lot of money by making wise use of time. As we all know, there’s cutthroat competition existing in the shipping industry, and the only way to keep the business sailing is by reducing the costs while taking advantage of the time required for order delivery. Delivery tracking at the last mile provides end-to-end visibility and enhances reliability among its clients and customers.

With proper transport management software (TMS) in place, it is easy to track drivers to check the efficiency at which they deliver packages, the impact of traffic on delivery and also, route planning optimisation. By way of Geofence alerts, the tracker system informs when a vehicle enters and exits an area, which further helps the transport company optimise schedules. Besides, customers prefer to shop from stores that offer speedy shipping with prompt deliveries at the scheduled time and place. Transparency is what they want, and last mile delivery tracking is the only solution!  

Conclusion 

Online sellers and merchants should always provide live tracking for their customers, regardless of the products they sell. Last mile tracking is of paramount significance that if they let their customers know where is their order. Keeping them informed and sending updates is easy, but only when you partner with a shipping service provider that offers end-to-end visibility through tracking status in real-time. At Ianis Cargo, apart from providing timely delivery (99.7% of our deliveries are in time), we provide live tracking when the goods leave a facility until it arrives at the customer destination. Plus, we also send electronic proof of delivery through email once the packages get delivered to the recipients.