Poor Delivery Planning has Consequences
A poor home delivery experience undermines the perception of a retailer with the consequence of bad reviews and lost repeat sales.
Retailers need to understand the potential impact of poor delivery planning and the consequences that a bad home delivery experience can have. Not only can it lead to bad reviews online, but diminished customer loyalty and lost sales.
Read - Overcoming the challenges of last-mile delivery
In recent research conducted by SAPIO on behalf of Descartes (Home delivery consumer sentiment study) it was discovered that deliveries are failing to achieve complete customer satisfaction, with 67% of consumers experiencing a delivery problem in the period surveyed and 63% of those taking some kind of action against the retailer or delivery company.
With two in three UK Consumers reporting a delivery problem in a three-month period. The most common issue was a late delivery (26%) but they were almost just as frustrated with a delivery at a time other than when it was expected (22%), and around one in ten had experienced a failed delivery when the products didn’t arrive at all. Many consumers also wanted the products faster than could be delivered with 22% of consumers complaining about delivery times that exceeded their acceptable wait times.
Last-mile delivery planning - routing and delivery mistakes
More consumers are buying products online than ever before, so the efficiency of last mile delivery planning is even more important. Home delivery planning will become increasingly difficult with the growth of online shopping, continuing shortage of delivery drivers, increasing fuel prices and the growing number of clean air zones. The associated costs of last-mile delivery will only keep increasiong. Retailers and delivery companies need to use all of the tools available to them to maximise productivity and delivery density to control operational costs.
Traditional delivery planning
Traditionally delivery operations have relied on batch delivery planning. This involves taking all the orders for the next day and planning their deliveries the night before. This is time consuming, inefficient, and inflexible especially if the delivery planning is done manually. A dynamic delivery optimisation software solution is the answer. Delivery schedules are updated in real-time as and when new orders are taken. This works right up to the point when the vehicles are loaded and dispatched. Dynamic delivery planning over a number of days maximises delivery efficiency and optimises the fleet and delivery density to its full potential.
Poor delivery planning - The issue
Poor delivery planning is hugely inefficient and leads to late or missed deliveries or untapped delivery capacity. To avoid missing deliveries delivery planners will allow a contingency in their schedules. However, when drivers are ahead of schedule, they would park and wait rather than deliver to a customer early. While others will attempt delivery ahead of the allotted time and miss the recipients only to leave the parcel in a “safe place”, with a neighbour, or worse, on the doorstep. In the Descartes research, 18% of UK consumers suffered from items being left in an insecure location and 17% experienced damages to their delivery. (Descartes UK & EU Home Delivery research ) This leads to an increase in customer service calls, refunds or replacement goods that will also need delivering.
A customer’s perception of a retailer is profoundly affected by delivery problems, 24% of consumers lost trust in the retailer and 23% said they did not buy from that retailer again. (Read the Research Here)
Consumers that experienced a poor delivery are more likely to share their negative experience with their friends and family (19%) and 14% decided to make fewer online purchases altogether. This loss of customer loyalty and sales is damaging for online retailers, especially now with consumers having the option to visit physical bricks and mortar shops.
Providing a top-quality delivery experience not only maintains consumer loyalty and increases future sales, but also keeps costs down. Consumers who are able to select a delivery time slot at their convenience are more likely to be in at the time of the delivery and be satisfied with their delivery. This also has the added bonus of reducing goods returned to depot, being lost or damaged because they were left in an insecure location. It also eliminates the need for a second delivery, keeping costs down and delivery slots free for future new orders.
Conclusion
Retailers saw a boom in online shopping during the Covid-19 pandemic, but unless they invest in their delivery planning and meet their customers’ expectations, they risk losing them to other retailers. Improving the whole shopping customer experience must include the delivery. Just 16% of UK consumers said they were totally satisfied with the delivery service their receive and retailers that improve their home deliveries through more effective delivery planning will gain a competitive advantage over the others.
How Descartes can help
To avoid the pitfalls of poor delivery planning and failed home deliveries, delivery companies should utilise Descartes' delivery scheduling and route planning software.
Descartes' dynamic delivery optimisation updates schedules in real-time as each order is received, avoiding over booking deliveries and disappointing customers. Being able to offer a delivery date and time at point of sale will also decrease shopping basket abandonment. Being able to offer customers delivery slot selection, provide accurate ETAs, and send automatic delivery updates improves the customer experience.
Descartes’ delivery management platform can also provide contactless proof of delivery and photographic evidence of delivery, reducing customer service calls and potential disputes. While the customer engagement platform enables order tracking and notifications to be sent automatically at each stage of delivery, keeping customers informed and helping to ensure first attempt delivery rates are high.
Using Descartes' solutions enables companies to increase delivery capacity and productivity, reduce miles driven, and improve on-time delivery rates, all of which enhance customer satisfaction and eliminates the negative consequences of poor delivery experiences.
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