What is last mile delivery?
In a product’s journey from warehouse shelf, to the back of a delivery truck, to a customer’s doorstep – the “last or final mile” of delivery is the last step in the process. This is the point when the package finally arrives at the buyer’s door. This step is both the most expensive and most time consuming but is hands down the most important.
What are some challenges business face when it comes to last mile delivery?
Inefficiencies
The problem most businesses face with last mile delivery is inefficiencies. This is caused by multiple stops with low drop sizes for the delivery services. Drivers either face delivery points that are long distances apart with small drop sizes at each point in more rural areas, or they face heavy traffic delays when the delivery proximity is closer together as in cities.
The continuous rise in e-commerce sales led to dramatically increased number of parcels needing to be delivered each day, only further compounding the costs and inefficiencies of the last mile problem.
For more on last mile delivery, here is a great article from Business Insider: