With the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak ravaging the world, the need for social distancing and reducing physical contact points in business operations have become urgent priorities.
In last mile logistics operations, there are inevitably many human to human interactions involved in moving goods from the warehouse or distribution point right to the recipient’s location where the delivery is completed.
For instance, the operations team has to interact with one another to prepare and organize delivery stops into runs for the drivers. There is usually group work involved in preparing, printing and distributing delivery notes and run sheets to the drivers. Briefings are also held with drivers to go through special instructions for the deliveries. Finally, the operations team will also likely come into contact with the drivers when overseeing the loading process to ensure that the correct parcels are loaded onto the right truck.
Drivers are a vulnerable group as they come into contact with many recipients during the course of their delivery work thus putting them at a higher risk of virus exposure. At the same time, recipients are also concerned that these drivers whom they do not know personally may expose them to the virus when they come into contact with them.
The good news is, human interactions in the last mile of the supply chain can be effectively reduced or replaced with the use of technology.
Detrack, a cloud-based SaaS solution, offers your business a fast and easy way to on board a contactless delivery workflow that you can implement today and instantly enhance customer experience, capture important proof of delivery, and still be able to keep your drivers and recipients safe at the same time.
The Contactless Last Mile
Let’s take a look at how the smart use of technology, particularly Detrack, can help to reduce the need for human to human interactions in the last mile of the supply chain.
At Warehouse / Distribution Point
Current Manual Process
At the warehouse or distribution point, dispatchers usually meet in the afternoon / evening to plan for next day delivery routes (or in the morning to plan for the day’s delivery routes). Given the manual and tedious route planning process, dispatchers usually work in a group to divide the addresses into different zones before distributing and planning the sequence of the stops.
New Automated Process
Dispatchers can now use ElasticRoute, Detrack’s route planning and optimization module, to replace the manual and tedious route planning process by automatically planning and distributing routes to drivers with just the click of a button. ElasticRoute will distribute all the stops into different clusters (runs) before optimizing the sequence and then assigning them to the best driver.
Delivery Notes / Run Sheets For Drivers
Current Manual Process
Drivers need delivery notes to know what to deliver and where to deliver to, and run sheets help drivers to keep track of all the deliveries to make for the day. Unfortunately, preparing paper delivery notes and run sheets involves a lot of manual work and human interactions e.g. passing the delivery notes and run sheets to the respective drivers.
New Automated Process
Using Detrack, dispatchers can simply click a button to push the list of deliveries (think digital delivery notes) to the drivers’ smartphones. The respective drivers will then see their own list of deliveries (think digital run sheets) in the Detrack app on their Android phones or iPhones. This replaces the need to print any paper delivery notes or hand over any run sheets to the drivers in person.
Drivers In-Person Briefing
Current Manual Process
In day-to-day last mile delivery operations, it is quite common for dispatchers to hold a roll call and brief drivers before they move out. Usually such briefings are conducted to inform drivers on special instructions and arrangements to take note for certain deliveries, and also to brief the drivers on certain items to take extra care for.
New Automated Process
By sending all delivery information including instructions and item SKU, description, quantity, etc. straight from the dashboard to the drivers’ smartphones, Detrack eliminates the need for dispatchers to hold any in-person briefings with the drivers. Because of this, drivers will no longer need to gather at a single point for face-to-face briefing, effectively ensuring proper social distancing. Contact us to find out how Detrack can help your business today.
Delivery At Recipient’s Location
Current Manual Process
When the driver arrives at the recipient’s location, the usual workflow would be to hand the parcel over to the recipient, get the recipient to sign on the paper delivery note, and then eventually returning the paper delivery note back to the warehouse or admin office for record keeping. Inevitably, this traditional workflow introduces many contact points.
New Automated Process
With Detrack’s latest Contactless Signature feature, recipients can now receive a text message (SMS) or scan a QR code with their own smartphones to be redirected to a page to sign for the delivery using their own devices. All signature and photo proofs will then be captured and sent back in real-time for electronic record keeping, effectively reducing all contact points in the last mile.
Detrack’s Contactless Delivery
In these trying times, businesses must continue to innovate to stay relevant and remain on top of the game. Detrack’s Contactless Delivery allows delivery businesses to continue capturing important proof of deliveries while maintaining social distancing and ensuring safety amongst both the drivers and customers. Sign up now or contact us to learn how Detrack can help your business today.
