How to optimize delivery operations for your on demand delivery business

No matter, whether you are delivering food, grocery, courier, etc., delivering a product right at the doorstep of the customer is getting complicated with changing customer preferences and requirements. Sustainability and operating a lucrative business require that businesses keep innovating and improving to meet the evolving customer needs and the highly competitive landscape.

In a spree to offer outstanding customer experience and stand ahead of competitors, businesses adopt various strategies in their on demand delivery software - some of them include the typical ones like hiring more delivery boys, increasing the marketing spend, broadening the area of their delivery, etc. The problem with these strategies is that they require additional investments and incur initial costs to the business. But optimizing the delivery management system and operations of the online delivery platform is an innovative cost-cutting strategy that helps businesses stay ahead of the competition as well as generate sustainable profits.

What is Delivery Optimization?

Whether one is running a standalone delivery business, an online delivery platform, or an on-demand delivery software, creating better delivery routes and optimizing the operational strategies is the key. This is more important, particularly when the online delivery platform is handling deliveries of food, grocery, courier, etc. where customers expect delivery within minutes after placing the order.

Delivery optimization is about 

• Leveraging customer analytics from the delivery management system, and insights derived from their changing preferences
• Reducing and managing the cost of delivery operations
• Automating mundane, repetitive tasks on the online delivery platform so they can reduce labor and operational costs.
• Planning and deciding optimal routes using an effective on-demand delivery software.

Studies reveal the magnitude of impact that delivery operations produce on customer experience. They also show how delivery optimization and customer experience are important to drive business profits. Companies with on-demand delivery software that prioritizes customer experience are more likely to have 60% higher profits than their counterparts and 90% of customers are willing to pay higher for better customer experiences. 

Why optimize delivery in online delivery platforms?

Implementing delivery optimization strategies using on demand delivery software offers the following benefits. 

• Increases the efficiency of the deliveries, 
• Reducing the fuel costs, 
• Reduced turn-around time for delivery,
• Monitoring the behavior of the delivery person,
• Enhance the performance of the delivery person,
• Eliminates the delay in delivery,
• Route optimization reduces carbon footprint
• Improved customer experience and satisfaction

Delivery Optimization strategies

Fleet Optimization

Enhancing the performance of the delivery management system is the key to reducing the cost of delivery and thereby, increasing profits. Automated fleet scheduling through a feature-rich on-demand delivery software helps manage and optimize the delivery operations. An automated delivery management system reduces manual errors and also increases the efficiency of operation.

The fleet management system in the on-demand delivery software helps identify bottlenecks occurring in the delivery field as they plan deliveries using automated software. To manage the fleet manually, one has to record the details of the delivery boy, route taken, fuel consumed, the number of orders delivered, etc. Doing this manually could turn out to be a cumbersome process. An online delivery platform can automate fleet optimization and hence increase the efficiency of delivery and lower the costs incurred.

Optimizing the fuel consumption

An efficient on demand food delivery software offers insights into the duration of the fleet and details of the stops they may endure. Using these insights, the delivery management system offers suggestions on the most efficient route and so this helps reduce unnecessary stoppages in the course of their travel.

Using the details of the fleet position, the delivery management system dispatches the person who is located the closest to the pick-up address and also recommends the most efficient route to the destination.

Enhances driver performance

As mentioned earlier, the on-demand food delivery software allocates the delivery person who is closest to the pick-up address which is impossible with manual procedures. With the availability of data on driver location, the algorithm offers information about the optimal route to the drivers who can then plan their travel. This reduces the idle time of the drivers and improves the run time. The fleet manager can use the data and insights derived from the online delivery platform to train drivers and create instructions on runtime and halts. Also, the manager can ensure that the delivery is complete without communicating with the driver. With online delivery platforms, the manager doesn’t have to make calls or messages to the driver and request the status.

Identifying delays

On-time delivery is a key determinant of customer satisfaction when it comes to online delivery platforms. As the on-demand food delivery software helps identify delivery delays, the stakeholders can use the data to make strategic decisions say narrowing down the deliveries in a route that is consuming more time and seems to be not so profitable.

Shortening the turn-around time

The common expectation of customers with on-demand delivery platforms is to want the product as soon as they place the order. A poor delivery or a delayed delivery adversely impacts all of the stakeholders. Say, for instance, you are running an on-demand delivery platform. When a customer is ordering food from a restaurant registered on the platform, and in case the delivery is delayed, there are chances that the customer may choose to abandon the restaurant as a whole. This means that you have lost a customer and so an opportunity to make a profit.

If you are looking to build an on-demand delivery software to handle the delivery of food, grocery, etc?