No Time to Sharpen the Axe; A Familiar Tale of Last Mile Deliveries.

I can’t remember the last time I worked on a project where ‘visibility’ wasn’t front and centre — whether it’s keeping the team informed or meeting the customer requirements.

And nowhere is that need more intense than in last-mile deliveries. Customers will wait weeks for slow Ocean freight shipments or days for Air freight, but as soon as that vessel hits the dock or aircraft the tarmac, the clock is on and time accelerates. “It’s been two hours since the ship arrived - where’s my delivery?” (Okay, maybe that’s a bit dramatic, but you get the point.)

Coordinating last-mile deliveries isn’t for the weak. It’s one of the highest-pressure roles in the supply chain, hands down. (No offence to my Customs Broker friends — you have your own kind of chaos going on 😊.)

"Customers increasingly expect faster deliveries. Studies show that 84% of consumers will not return after a bad last-mile experience, placing immense pressure on logistics teams to provide real-time updates and seamless execution."₁

I’ve commented before that managing those last mile moves often requires the input from multiple disciplines to execute them effectively.

If it’s international, it needs to be customs cleared.
If there’s a payment involved, is it on account or OK to be released?
When is the cargo available, is it all arrived?
Have we got trucking capacity allocated?
Commodity considerations?
Any environmental issues (weather etc)?

And then any myriad of things can compound the actual execution, traffic, excess cargo, someone not doing their task to allow the transport team to execute.

We’ve got tools (mostly) to manage all of the execution requirements but what often surprises me is the lack of continuous and accessible feedback that can be provided to customers (internal and external) that is overlooked.

Is there too heavy a focus on the execution side of the movement? Or is it that the visibility side doesn’t seem to visibly contribute to revenue generation so less effort is focussed on that. My opinion is that it is the latter.

And, you’re right – it ‘mostly’* doesn’t contribute to revenue generation, but you know what it does do. It contributes significantly to cost reduction.

Put your hands up if:

You’ve ever got a phone call / WhatsApp / email / sms to check on the status of a delivery from a customer
Keep them up if that’s then caused you to have to make a phone call / WhatsApp / email / sms to check on the status of a delivery with the contracted carrier
Keep them up if that’s had to be done more than once for the same delivery
Keep them up if you’ve had to prepare a spreadsheet or email to send internally and/or externally (Re-Keying data already available!)

*I say mostly because technically it does in terms of ‘being part of a sales pitch’ / retaining customers and even encouraging more use of your services.

But for the purpose of this blog, it's about:

Lack of continuing investment in understanding the visibility touch points that the customer needs/wants.
Understanding the impact on your human assets (your team) this has.

Did we forget to ask the question of the customer? Or did we just set and forget…..and left them with the original thing we gave them?

Did we not read release notes from our software about available configuration? Did we not invest in time for our people to understand the capabilities and how to configure them?

And the truth is, it probably varies

Lack of time
Lack of awareness
Lack of engagement

Uncover: Talk to your customers, ask them what their biggest visibility issue is

On a recent customer visit, one of our customers told me that our reference numbers were impacting the customer finding their own reference.

"In a 2023 survey by Deloitte, 89% of logistics managers stated that real-time visibility directly impacts customer satisfaction, yet many companies still struggle to provide it."₃

Discover: Talk to your software vendor, or view their resources/knowledge base to understand their capabilities

"Gartner predicts that by 2025, 60% of global logistics companies will use real-time visibility platforms to mitigate last-mile issues and improve operational efficiency. At Yojee, we integrate this capability with highly configurable PODs and live tracking via email and SMS, enabling our clients to keep customers informed and reduce manual follow-ups."₄

Recover: Gain back your time by configuring what your customers want

"Reducing manual interventions in last-mile tracking can save 15% - 30% in operational costs based on McKinsey reports."₅

And then, get up the next day and do it all over again. Those boats and flights are still coming.

Supply chains don’t sleep, and neither should your visibility tools. In an industry where companies with real-time tracking capabilities report 30% faster delivery times and 25% lower operational costs, the question isn’t how to make the time — it’s when do you start.

No Time to Sharpen the Axe; A Familiar Tale of Last Mile Deliveries

In today's global logistics, last-mile deliveries account for a significant percentage of total costs, visibility isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s a must-have.