You Can’t Afford Not To… (A.K.A. Don’t Be That Guy)
— Me, about to drop logistics wisdom like it’s 1999!
Ever feel like you’re flying blind with your last-mile deliveries?
Shane’s here to talk about exactly that — and spoiler alert: that “blind flight” is probably costing you way more than you think. We're not just talking delays or some cranky customer emails. We’re talking serious cash leaks, unhappy clients quietly window-shopping for better service, and competitors casually zooming past while you’re stuck updating a spreadsheet named “FINAL_FINAL_V3.” In classic Shane fashion, he’s broken it down with a totally unofficial (but painfully accurate) formula that’ll make you laugh — and maybe wince a bit too.
TL;DR
If you can’t see what’s happening in your last-mile ops…
You’re losing money, time, opportunities — and probably your Friday nights.
So don’t be the person saying “we’ve always done it this way.”
Be the person saying: “We used to do it that way. Now we track in real time, win more business, and actually make it to family dinners.”
Flashback:
25+ years ago, I was studying for a logistics certificate. We learned about the Cost of Lost Sales. I don’t remember the formula, but I do remember the point:
You’re losing money you don’t even know you’re losing.
So today, I’m pulling out the whiteboard (mentally) to talk about a modern version of that sneaky silent killer.
-1.png?width=936&height=700&name=image%20(7)-1.png "Shane in 1999")
The Cost of Poor Visibility (PV) in Last Mile Transport
(Or: Why your delivery ops are lowkey ghosting your profits.)
Here’s my formula. It’s as real as your team’s daily delivery panic:
C_PV = C_LC + C_CS + C_MO + C_FOMO
Where:
- C = Cost
- PV = Poor Visibility
- LC = Lost Capacity
- CS = Customer Sentiment
- MO = Missed Opportunities
- FOMO = Fear of Missing Out (Yes. This is business now. Also my kids taught me.)
Let’s break it down — with some very real side effects:
1️⃣ C_LC = Cost of Lost Capacity
The business bit:
Your ops team is burning hours on calls, emails, and spreadsheets instead of letting software do what software should be doing for them.
The personal bit:
You missed your kid’s soccer game…again.
Little Toby scored a hat trick. You weren’t there.
Now the other parent (the one with the label printer) is getting the high-fives.
You’re working harder than a dial-up modem in 2001.
2️⃣ C_CS = Cost of Customer Sentiment
The business bit:
Your customer says everything’s “fine” — which, as we all know, is the customer service version of “we’re not mad, just disappointed.”
Meanwhile, they’re shopping around for someone with actual delivery updates.
The personal bit:
You think you’re in a committed relationship.
Your customer? Secretly texting your competitor, who has an app.
It’s giving: “He shows up on time — with a POD” vibes.
3️⃣ C_MO = Cost of Missed Opportunities
The business bit:
You didn’t have the right data when you needed it. You missed the upsell. You lost the cross-sell. You forgot the follow-up.
The personal bit:
Your calendar said, “Finish up that quote.”
Your partner’s calendar said, “Birthday dinner.”
Now you’re eating cake alone in the car. Again.
It’s giving: "Sales team sadness + couch bed" vibes.
4️⃣ C_FOMO = Cost of FOMO
The business bit:
Your competitor’s dashboard sparkles. Their clients get real-time updates, slick interfaces, and proactive alerts.
You’ve got… version 13 of a shared spreadsheet and someone named Gary “checking the status.”
The personal bit:
Everyone else is out there slaying.
You’re at home wearing socks with grip soles and playing Candy Crush between Zoom calls.
It’s giving: “Big FOMO, fam. Competitors out here launching features, and I’m just trying to find my charger” vibes.
Let’s talk math (the scary bit):
Let’s say:
- Lost capacity = 10% of your team’s time (that’s half a day per week x every employee)
- Customer sentiment drops? Say goodbye to retention
- Missed opps = lower conversion rates, slower growth
- FOMO? That’s your relevance slowly walking out the door in a competitor’s hoodie
Over to you:
Have you ever calculated the true cost of poor visibility in your transport ops?
Or better yet — what’s your funniest “missed moment” because of work?
Let’s connect and keep the conversation going — it’s time we normalised the chaos, and then fixed it together.
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