Do
you regularly struggle with optimizing the last-mile delivery channels?
Is
it becoming hectic to manually schedule the delivery orders and timings for the
delivery partners?
If
yes, you are probably doing things in the wrong manner. With the changes in the
technological field, there is no need to complete every task manually or adhere
to the old and traditional methodologies. It’s time you make severe changes in
your delivery business process, starting with integrating a delivery
management system.
Delivery management
software will make most of your jobs easier, whether scheduling the deliveries
and pickups or gathering information about the live locations. There is a
plethora of such applications on the market, but you need to use only the best.
We have prepared a complete list of eight primary and most vital features
every pickup and delivery scheduling software should have at
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Integrations with POS
Integration
is the first and foremost feature that every delivery management system should
have. In other words, you should be able to integrate the software with the POS
system from where the orders will start filling in.
This
way, you won’t have to extract the orders and then use them as input. This will
also obliterate the use of any other third-party software that could have acted
as a bridge between your sales POS and the delivery management software.
Delivery prediction module
With
the prediction module in pickup and delivery scheduling software,
it will become much easier to know the expected orders for the next quarter,
the approximate number of vehicles and delivery partners you need for smoother
operations, sales and revenues, and many more.
It
would be best to choose software with an AI-based prediction algorithm since
the results will be more accurate and precise.
Automated dispatch
system
You
also need to ensure the chosen delivery management system comes
with an automatic dispatch system. It will scan the orders, ensure they are
appropriately managed in a tiered form, and allocate them to the delivery
partners.
This
way, you won’t have to manually sort the order deliveries or decide which
person will handle how many orders every day.
Pickup and delivery
scheduling
Another
essential feature in the delivery management software is pickup and delivery
schedules. Based on the number of orders to be dispatched, the distance of the
delivery points, and the addresses that fall on the same route, the software
will help you to schedule the deliveries and pickups accordingly.
This
way, you won’t have to go through the hassles of organizing everything yourself
and facing further problems. After all, manual scheduling of tasks is way more
cumbersome and can get overwhelming at specific points.
Route planning and
optimization
Choosing
a delivery management software with an additional module for route planning and
optimization would be best.
Once
you extract the live status of the drivers and the traffic conditions, you can
easily modify the routes. As a result, making deliveries earlier won’t be an
issue, and the drivers won’t even have to get stuck in traffic. This will make
your delivery business more efficient and productive.
Real-time vehicle
tracking
Whether
the parcels to be delivered are valuable or simple, tracking the live locations
of the vehicle drivers is your responsibility.
To
do so, you can integrate the delivery management software. It will help you
track multiple drivers simultaneously, reducing the hassles of entering each
driver’s details in the map and then pointing out their current locations.
Feedback and
reporting module
While
looking through different delivery management applications, you should
shortlist those names featuring a feedback module. This will not help you
communicate with the drivers but also ensure that customer relationship are
maintained.
With
the help of feedback from the drivers and customers, you can understand the
drawbacks or loopholes in your delivery route. As a result, implementing
actionable strategies won’t be a hassle anymore, especially if you manage the
entire delivery route and not just the last-mile section.
Push notifications
The pickup
and delivery scheduling software should also have the feature to send
push notifications to the drivers’ and users’ mobiles.
It
can be an update on the delivery date and time or the latest news about the
dispatched order. In short, people can know the updates about their order
deliveries and more.
Conclusion
Since
you know the features every delivery management system should
have, you need to ensure the selected software is up to the mark. Apart from
this, the software should have an intuitive and user-friendly user interface
with better navigation, a simplistic and functional layout, and maximum
security.