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Real-time customer communications and collect accurate PODs
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Improve address accuracy, ensure first-attempt delivery success, reduce costs and boost customer experience
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The quick commerce economy is expected to be USD 335 BN by 2025 and is disrupting transportation, food, grocery, healthcare delivery, and many other industries. With robust solutions and integrated planning, businesses are rapidly scaling up their operations to deliver goods quickly and stay ahead of consumer expectations.
However, every business has its own set of requirements. Before investing in a platform, they need to identify the key features of on-demand delivery solutions that will enable their enterprise complete order fulfillment without a hitch.
This blog will focus on the various aspects of on-demand delivery, core challenges in on-demand industry, and what are some of the key features of on-demand delivery solutions businesses must look for while investing in automation.
On-demand delivery solutions are AI-enabled platforms that allow businesses to receive orders online and execute scalable, quick, and cost-efficient deliveries. The software comes with various features such as intelligent order allocation, dynamic order clubbing, dynamic routing, and a unified dashboard that offers diverse capabilities, such as real-time operations tracking.
Depending on the SLAs and service portfolios, the on-demand delivery solution can have multiple features, such as real-time order tracking for customers, floating fleet management, electronic PoDs, etc. While these features can vary from one business to another depending on the use case, the core functionalities remain the same – integration with OMS and WMS or repository management system, delivery orchestration, etc.
All the incoming orders are caught and managed by the OMS. There is automatic and instant scheduling of drivers based on order volume, SLAs, customer location, distance, and more. These criteria are also called delivery constraints that can vary greatly depending on the type of delivery, the length of the delivery window, vehicle capacity, rider type, etc.
Businesses pick up and deliver from local stores for faster delivery of items but may use their own warehouses for orders that have longer delivery times. They keep buyers updated with the real-time shipment status and also offer alerts via end-to-end communication channels regarding every step like order dispatch, arrival for pickup, out for delivery, and scheduled arrival with dynamic updated ETAs.
Here are some stats from the global on-demand scene that show the importance of having a reliable, robust, scalable, and efficient on-demand delivery solution:
Source
Key features of on-demand delivery solutions enable businesses to manage, monitor, track, control, and optimize their operations from a single dashboard in a streamlined manner. The on-demand delivery model reduces operational costs with a sharp focus on asset utilization and efficient utilization of human resources. The cost reduction enables businesses to offer better pricing and benefits that allow them to remain competitive. Hence, the on-demand delivery solutions cater to enterprise needs across multiple industry verticals.
These solutions also help process and visualize data such as order history and buying preferences, and can be analyzed automatically to predict demand, generate targeted offers, and suggest products to customers.
We will now explore the various kinds of on-demand delivery solutions used in different sectors.
Also called QSRs or Quick Service Restaurants, these businesses have very strict delivery SLAs and delivery windows. Some common examples include less than 30-minute delivery, specific delivery instructions, multiple pick-up points, and safe delivery requirements.
So, the key features of on-demand solutions in the QSR segment involve:
The medicine delivery segment is huge and is gaining an audience across the globe. While the delivery SLAs and quality of service remain key drivers here as well, the fleet requirements are significantly lower as compared to QSRs, retail, etc.
Hence, businesses end up grappling with too few or too many resources in terms of vehicles and riders. The best option is a floating fleet where multiple sellers or outlets share a fleet as per the delivery volume.
This is where automation has a critical role to play and some of the key features of on-demand delivery software would be:
The on-demand delivery model has disrupted the retail and eCommerce sector by enabling customers to place an order and get it delivered within minutes. While the race to deliver delight to the customer within minutes has really picked pace in the retail segment, the majority of deliveries come with a delivery window spanning over a few hours, such as next-day or same-day delivery.
Hence, the optimization variables for automation and on-demand delivery management solution change here. Some of the key considerations include the following:
Another extremely popular and definitely segment with the most time-critical delivery SLAs is on-demand grocery delivery. Here, the delivery window is extremely small – less than 10 minutes; right from order placement to delivery!
Hence, this is the most compelling test of automation-based optimization, planning, management, and orchestration in the on-demand sector.
As the stakes are higher here, some of the key features of on-demand delivery solutions for groceries involve tight control over operations, such as:
Now that we have discussed the segment-wise key considerations for on-demand delivery solutions, let us move on to discuss the core business offerings that are relevant to every business model.
On-demand delivery platforms are able to deliver instant satisfaction and delight to customers in various forms, such as food, transport, gadget purchase, services, etc. Customers can fulfill their needs for a product or service by using a mobile-based app for quick delivery while seated in the comfort of their homes.
The on-demand delivery solutions allow businesses to amplify their reach and serviceability at any time of the day. Holidays, or no holidays, they can deliver happiness to their customers in multiple forms, by leveraging smart functionalities such as upscaling or downscaling the operations via floating fleet or mixed fleet.
Some key features of on-demand delivery solutions include businesses being able to directly reach the end consumer without any middlemen like distributors, dealers, eCommerce partners, etc. As a result, there is greater visibility throughout the process and seller accountability. Customers also feel more comfortable when dealing with the brand directly.
Businesses can offer a diverse range of delivery options – same-day delivery, next-day delivery, delivery within a few minutes, etc. Also, they can do so without having to shuffle multiple delivery management solutions for all these services.
A single dashboard allows them to deliver a highly curated customer experience and ensure first-attempt deliveries in a timely manner. They can place multiple checks on all the assets and processes to trap redundancies as well.
One of the key features of on-demand delivery solutions is 360-degree visibility over all the delivery operations. The businesses can see which person is delivering which order, the current status of a particular order, whether a rider is deviating from the system-generated route, etc.
The customers can check where the driver has reached with the order, the order details, rider details, etc. The 3PL provider can check detailed status reports etc for all their assets.
So, all the stakeholders have access to the real-time operational status and granular insights on all the processes.
Poor inventory management can lead to huge business losses, especially if the inventory comes with a short life, such as fresh produce or medicines. Anticipating the market demands, and planning the recruitment of resources accordingly is extremely crucial for proper inventory management.
Smart on-demand delivery management solutions offer advanced analytics that helps businesses take smart inventory decisions via predictive insights related to demand patterns, fleet trends, etc. Thus, the businesses in the fresh produce segment can either plan for urgent sourcing from a dark store nearby, or stock the essentials well in advance.
Inability to forecast demand based on factors like festive seasons, climatic changes, weekends, etc. Businesses need to have demand forecasting algorithms in place based on the data available to them.
Demand forecasting also leverages smart in-built data algorithms for predictive insights. With such reliable information for order-related variables, businesses can make smarter, better, and highly profitable business decisions.
Simply put, the number of customers ordering online is increasing with each passing day. Legacy point-to-point transportation models find it difficult to meet the surging demand. Often, specific packages get delayed as a result of unexpected traffic, vehicle breakdowns, bad weather, etc. It becomes difficult to ensure the on-time delivery of multiple packages while maintaining a cost-effective schedule.
Smart features of on-demand delivery solutions, such as automated workflows, real-time optimization, and dynamic computation for extremely efficient operations enable businesses to minimize ETA SLA breaches to a bare minimum.
Customers, as well as dispatchers, need complete visibility to meet customer needs and enable operations as and when required. In case the rider faces any roadblocks, the customer must be informed regarding the delay and the exact reason should be conveyed to all the parties.
Automation enables this via extremely granular insights into the order movement, order allocation, order delivery, and every single process or person involved in the entire ecosystem. Thus, businesses can track as well as trap fake delivery attempts, incidents such as wrong deliveries, customer-not-available errors, etc. This reduces the overall operational cost and also instills trust and transparency in the entire system.
On-demand delivery suffers from its personal demon – speed!
When the entire focus is on speed, it is very easy for the operations to spiral out of control, wherein the fuel costs or leased vehicle costs burn holes in the pockets. Further, this also increases the carbon cost of home deliveries.
Smart end-to-end delivery management and orchestration platforms help businesses realize their sustainability goals via:
Such platforms also offer many other smart functionalities that override the benefits of standard off-the-shelf delivery management tools.
Next, we share some of the must-have features of an on-demand delivery platform that every business should consider while investing in one.
Intuitive on-demand solutions enable businesses to scale on-demand deliveries by deploying AI/ML capabilities. The software auto-allocates orders based on numerous parameters such as pin location, rider availability, consignment load, etc.
The businesses can upscale or downscale their operations as and when required depending on the demands and evolving business use cases. They no longer have to pitch in increasing amounts of resources for catering to large order volumes as in-built smart algorithms help in optimized delivery orchestration and maximizing the asset use.
Another crucial feature is workflow automation for processes, people, and customers. Automated smart workflows enable intelligent order allocation via an auto-allocation engine that comes with dynamic order clubbing and geocoding capabilities. Similarly, workflow automation for driver management helps manage all the driver activities during on-demand deliveries.
Automated workflows for customer experience help businesses in ensuring a highly transparent and guided customer experience throughout the order journey. They can share real-time order movement insights via omnichannel customer communication over SMS/WhatsApp/Email.
All the people in the on-demand delivery ecosystem, such as businesses, store managers, drivers, 3PL providers, customers, etc. get automated alerts and notifications. All these alerts and notifications are sent to relevant people with relevant information.
This makes the entire process extremely transparent and trustworthy. Further, the businesses can collaborate, communicate and manage all these conversations via a single dashboard-like interface.
Multiple orders are assigned to the driver based on the customer’s preferred time and demand scenario. Drivers are also provided with an optimized schedule and route to complete deliveries without any roadblocks.
All this is done in an automated manner, such that:
On-demand delivery systems keep the customer updated regarding every important milestone throughout the journey. A centralized dashboard with ETAs allows the businesses to track the order status and contact the rider directly if required.
In case of unforeseen circumstances such as sudden traffic surges or bad weather, the route is dynamically altered, and both the delivery manager and agent are notified in real-time with the latest updates.
A key feature of an on-demand delivery solution is the aspect of sustainability. Upon receiving multiple orders, dynamic order clubbing enables riders to fulfill numerous deliveries simultaneously and ensure SLA adherence.
Various on-demand platforms also come with smart geocoding features to avoid unnecessary misrouting or delays. Moreover, vehicle-based geofencing optimizes fuel waste, reduces delivery time, and helps businesses maintain sustainability goals.
Shipsy is one such platform that offers all the key features of on-demand delivery solutions and adds value to the business model via smart offerings, such as DIY business analytics, in-built route planning & optimization, smart NDR and ePoD management, etc.
With Shipsy’s on-demand delivery solution, businesses can scale up their business for greater efficiency with smart order allocation, dynamic order clubbing, and geocoding capability. They can manage shifts with smart rosters for peak-hour rider availability and execute faster deliveries with vehicle-based geofencing.
They can keep the customers updated in real time with live tracking and enhanced communication channels for special requirements.
Businesses across the globe have overcome operational hurdles and derived great value using Shipsy’s on-demand solution in various forms, such as:
For more information on how to get started with Shipsy’s On-Demand Delivery Solution, please get in touch with our experts or schedule a custom demo today!
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