Which retailers will be the last ones standing in the race for last mile delivery?
I believe every retailer will need to figure out how to become a last-mile logistics company, or risk going out of business in the next few years.
Why?
It’s no secret that retailers are frantically brainstorming new ways to improve last mile delivery. Supply Chain Dive, Logistics Management, and Material Handling and Logistics are just a few examples of outlets that have covered the topic lately. Crunchbase explains, “The last-mile delivery space keeps evolving. Consumers are demanding to know how long it takes to receive merchandise, food, and groceries. Online retail giant Amazon is at least partially to blame for raising consumers’ expectations since it launched its Prime (two-day) service in 2005. To compete, many larger retailers have entered the last-mile delivery business either by partnering with smaller startups or launching their own delivery services.”
One of the best ways retailers can ensure they have the chops necessary to win at the last-mile game is by using advanced routing and scheduling software. Routing algorithms are the new not-so-secret weapon that have the power to make or break delivery times and associated costs. And traditional routing options, with one or two-dimensional routing calculations, won’t be able to stand up to the rigors needed for last-mile mayhem.
Routing is incredibly complex and difficult to do well. Routing engines should be able to account for hundreds, even thousands, of competing priorities, to schedule around where employees live, hours of availability, delivery zones, pay rates, traffic, weather, you name it. No traditional routing engine solves that problem. It’s why MapAnything has made a deliberate and significant investment to recruit an expert team of PhDs who specialize in applying decision science to routing and scheduling.
Our Optimizers routing team will reshape the industry as we develop brand new modern-day engineering that is smart enough to power the next generation of solutions for retailers, service and sales fleets.
Consumer demands for prompt service and delivery have forever changed. Yet retailer technology hasn’t caught up. Until now. With advanced technology like ours, retailers can equip themselves to compete in the on-demand era of last mile delivery.
Chime in and let us know which other technologies and trends you’re watching as the last mile race speeds up. We’re eagerly watching the last mile race contenders and will continue to share some of the latest developments on this site.
