When it comes to the world of eCommerce, time is everything. When customers make an order, they want it delivered as close to instantaneous as possible, and the company who can make that happen often is the winner in the crowded field of online retailers. Yet, ecommerce, or transactions conducted online, shows no sign of slowing down. In fact, every year, more people order people online. By 2021, the number of people in the United States who order at least one thing online is expected to reach 230.5 million, a figure that is about ⅔ of the United States population, or the majority of adults. This means that there is still ample opportunity for startups and small businesses to enter the field of eCommerce and come out on top. However, you will most definitely need help in order to do so.
GetSwift offers the best eCommerce delivery management software that can shrink delivery times, offer real-time tracking, and compile your data so you know exactly which parts of your business are working and which aren’t. Our mission is to help you eliminate inefficiencies and make on-time deliveries to your customers every time. Below, we’ll take a look at what exactly is eCommerce delivery management software and how GetSwift can help. Contact us today!
What is Ecommerce Delivery Management Software?
Ecommerce delivery management software is software that allows you to manage your orders through your online store. There are certain key items that you will need in your eCommerce delivery management software that will help streamline your deliveries and ensure your orders are on-time. Remember, in the world of the internet, time is a lot faster than your deliveries. The trick is to make time go by faster with lightning-quick delivery services. Here’s how:
Automate. The more you can automate your eCommerce business, the better off your customers will be. If you are still manually entering order and tracking information and you’re doing things that computers can do instantaneously, you will lose the game. When your customers make an order, it needs to go straight into the system for fulfillment. If you are still using spreadsheets, it’s time to kick those to the curb.
Real-time updates. Real-time updates are now almost the norm for eCommerce. After all, your customers ordered online, so in their mind, their products are closer than they truly are. Thus, by managing expectations, telling your customers where their package is and how long it will take for it to arrive, you will help to temper the expectations of instantaneousness. You will also eliminate a lot of wasted time by responding to customers’ emails of “where’s my package?” You’ll want to choose an eCommerce delivery management software that offers real-time updates, such as GetSwift.
Integrate. Running a startup or a small to medium-sized business often takes numerous programs that have different functions, from running payroll to tracking customers’ information and sales. You most definitely need an eCommerce delivery management system that is able to integrate with every other program and software you are running. This also ensures that in the future as more apps are released that you want to use to maximize other areas of your business that your eCommerce delivery management software won’t be out of date any time soon.
Numbers. While most people don’t exactly enjoy numbers, someone in your organization does, and that person will need the number from your eCommerce delivery management software in order to discover inefficiencies, see if there are any problems with drivers, see which delivery routes are the most profitable, see which products sold the most at a given time, and lay all of this information out for your number/accountant guru and for those who simply need a nice pie chart.
Optimize routes. It’s a given these days that most eCommerce delivery management software systems will optimize routes. However, some are much better than others, are more user-friendly, and some take into account current traffic conditions as well. There can be a lot of money lost in drivers getting lost, not to mention a delay in the delivering of packages, which is what matters most to your customers. Thus, if your eCommerce delivery management software does not optimize routes, you should run the other direction.
Why GetSwift Is Your Choice For Ecommerce Delivery Management Software
If you’ve looked into delivery management software or last mile delivery software for your eCommerce-based business, odds are, you found a lot out there. While on the surface these softwares look alike, you will find that there are miles that actually separates them from one another.
GetSwift is the best eCommerce delivery management software, hands down. We offer all of the aforementioned tools, as well as advanced dispatching, real-time driver-tracking, an easy-to-use driver app, a proof of delivery system, the ability to manage your fleets, and the ability to track driver’s cash payments, floats, bonuses, and more. As a Top Rated Local® delivery logistics software company, we take pride in being the best in the industry, yet we are never content to sit on our laurels. We are constantly innovating to make your delivery business more efficient, which in turn gives you more free time to grow your business.
GetSwift offers amazing customer service who can troubleshoot any problems you may be having and get you back on track in a timely fashion. When you succeed, we succeed.
Using Delivery Management Software as a Tool to Grow Your Business
GetSwift offers the best delivery management software, offering you powerful tools so that you can maximize your last mile delivery services. We started GetSwift because we were in the delivery business and realized that there had to be a better way to do things. We set out to create a solution to solve our problems. Once we did, we realized we had to share this with other startups and small to medium-sized businesses. Hence, GetSwift was born.
We’ve been taking a hard look at the basics of delivery management software in this ongoing blog series. Today, we’ll examine how delivery management software can transform your startup or small to medium-sized business. Contact us today for your free trial!
How Delivery Management Software Can Transform Your Business
Maximize the Customer Experience
Consumers these days demand more and more because businesses are able to deliver more. One hundred years ago, there was no such expectation, especially if there was just one person in the town who could deliver a said service. For example, when you only had one doctor in town, when you were sick, you didn’t have a choice — you had to see that doctor, whether they were good or not. Today, you have dozens of doctors to choose from, and if you believe one to be incompetent, there’s another to try.
This applies to your delivery business as well, whether you are a courier business, or a cannabis business. If you don’t meet your customers’ expectations (and preferably exceed them), your customers will go elsewhere. Thus, you need a delivery management software solution, such as GetSwift’s, that can notify customers automatically by sending them text message with an estimated time of arrival and by giving them a live tracking map. You also can solicit customer feedback by way of reviews that can help grow your business and by way of suggestions that can help you improve your business. You can give your delivery driver the power to make order changes, if for example, you own a milk delivery, water delivery, or cannabis delivery system, as well as the ability to take payments and problem solve as well.
In sum, you need a delivery management software system that not only can meet customers’ demands, but also can expect their future needs. An example of this is future delivery needs, such as subscription services, which is growing by leaps and bounds. Subscription services are recurring orders, such as weekly milk deliveries and water deliveries to your office. By allowing customers to subscribe, you are taking one more task off their plates every day, thus making their lives easier. And when you make their lives easier, they become raving fans, who recommend you to their friends and family, and the next thing you know, your business is exploding — all because of delivery management software.
The real power of delivery management software is in its ability to take one more thing off the plates of you, the small business owner. The process is cyclical; you make your customers’ lives easier with your products and/or services; they make your life easier by helping you to grow your business. The way to improve lives is to anticipate your customers’ needs before they know they need something. Delivery management software gives your customers’ access to not only the last mile part of your delivery system, but to the whole shebang.
GetSwift strives every day to make our delivery management software optimal for our clients. By constantly innovating our services, offering integrations with other applications, and streamlining our processes, we hope to pass this along to you, who then can pass it along to your customers. GetSwift can maximize routes, offer real-time driver tracking, and help you with fleet management services. You can track your cash and analyze your data to find inefficiencies and work to fix them.
There is so much that our powerful and robust delivery management software can do that you truly have to try it to experience it for yourself. We offer a free trial, so you can see how our system truly can transform your business.
Running a small to medium-sized business or a startup is definitely no walk along a white, sandy beach, with the sun setting over the ocean, and a pina colada in one hand. In fact, most of the time, it’s quite the opposite. It’s an all-out sprint from the moment you get up in the morning till the moment you go to bed that entails jumping over hurdles, avoiding the barracudas, and trying not to get eaten by the sharks.
GetSwift has one mission — to help ease the lives of small business owners across the nation and the world by providing the best delivery management software. Designed to fit your business no matter the size, our best delivery management software can revolutionize the way you do business. Below, we’re going to take you back to the basics and explain exactly what delivery management software is and why we are the best. Contact us today for a free trial or demo!
What is Delivery Management Software?
Delivery management software is much what its name says it is: software that aids in the management of deliveries. This can include the organization, administration, and the supervision of the people who are doing the actual packaging and delivering of the goods, as well as encompassing the processes and technology to do so.
In the grand scheme of things, the delivery portion of your business should be the easy part. After all, the hard part was getting the sale in the first place. You had to get the lead, turn the lead into a prospect, make the sale, and then close the deal. After that, it’s simply a matter of delivering the product agreed upon. Sounds simple? Far from it.
The delivering of your goods is basically what will determine if you keep your customer or lose them. For example, your customer expects goods that are undamaged, are delivered on time, and are what they ordered. If you deliver the wrong product, a damaged item, or your delivery is late, the chances of keeping this customer that you’ve worked so hard to cultivate plummets, even with a great customer service team. Because if you delivered what turns out to be the birthday present for a six-year-old late, you can guarantee you have almost no chance of recovering that customer.
This is why having a top-notch delivery management software system in place is so vital to the health and well-being of your business, whether it’s a startup or a more established small to medium-sized business. You need a robust software that can help reduce driver times, track your vehicles, optimize your driver’s route, have a smart dispatch system, and ensure the delivery of the proper items. You’ll want a delivery management software that puts the power of deliveries in the driver’s hands, so that they can communicate to the customer, process orders, and make changes on the spot. Never underestimate the power of a phone call when a driver is running late due to a hail or snow storm or a traffic accident. Most people understand unforeseen delays and forgive them; what they don’t forgive is no communication about these delays.
Why We Offer the Best Delivery Management Software
GetSwift offers the best delivery management software, with automatic customer alerts with live-tracking maps and ETAs, customer feedback opportunities, and data analysis so you can track delivery times and driver’s individual performance. Our best delivery management software can be integrated with our top-rated Scheduling+ software and Delivery Biz Pro’s software to help you better manage your deliveries and personnel. With so many options and features, your business truly can’t afford not to have the best delivery management software right at your fingertips. And the best part of all? All of our best delivery management software can be customized, making it perfect for your needs.
Many apps work great with GetSwift and can be used as additional tools for your startup or small to medium-sized business. From Spotify and Grubhub to WordPress and Square, our delivery management software requires very little change on your end, besides the use of it. You are simply migrating your small business delivery operations to our software, which we’d be more than happy to heap with.
If you’ve ever run a race, you know that the last mile can be the most difficult part. Yet, when you see the finish line, you usually have a last burst of energy to plow you through to the end, mainly because you just want the pain, agony, and, oftentimes, the mental struggle to be over. Yet, once the race is over, and you look back and see your accomplishments, you often feel elated and extremely proud. Sometimes, last mile delivery can feel the same, but the struggles you endure are worth it.
GetSwift specializes in offering last mile delivery software for start-ups and small to medium-sized businesses. You will increase efficiencies, maximize your employees’ time, and cut down on late deliveries, making your customers extremely happy. And these are just some of the benefits of our last mile delivery software. Below, we’re embarking on a blog series to explain exactly what our powerful last mile delivery software can do for your business. We invite you to try a free trial and experience our delivery management software today!
What is Last-Mile Delivery?
Just like what it sounds like, last mile delivery is when goods are moved on the last mile of its delivery route, usually to the consumer’s or the business’ home or office. So, when you place an order with a company, that company packages the goods and then ships it out. With the US postal system, for example, it usually has multiple stops before it reaches you. The last mile would be considered when the package reaches your local post office and is sent with your postal delivery person for delivery.
Similarly, when you purchase an item from a delivery business, say from a milk delivery business, the last mile could be just one stop — from the milk business to your front door. Regardless of the situation, the goal is the same — to deliver the goods to you quickly, efficiently, and cost-effectively. As the internet continues to grow and more people order online than ever before, there is growing demand for goods to arrive extremely quickly — sometimes in 24 hours. To compete with the likes of huge corporations, such as Amazon, small to medium-sized businesses have to level-up their last mile deliveries. They do this through finding and implementing a powerful delivery management software system that lives up to its hype.
As a startup of a small to medium-sized business owner, you have a lot on your plate. Sometimes, it’s not worth reinventing the wheel, and when you have a powerful last mile delivery system already in place that is cost-effective and saves time, it just doesn’t make sense to start over.
GetSwift’s last mile delivery software features advanced dispatching, route optimization, real-time driver tracking, driver app, automatic customer alerts, customer feedback, proof of delivery, data and business intelligence, and so much more. No matter your business, from ecommerce to healthcare and courier services, we can help. After all, the name of the game is maximizing the margins. When you can shrink delivery times, your business expands. When you give customers notifications of delivery and exceed their expectations, you gain customer loyalty and valuable referrals. When you have a delivery management system in place that works, your business has no choice but to soar.
Choose GetSwift For Your Last-Mile Delivery Software
In a race, it’s often not how you start that matters, but how you finish. It’s the last mile that often determines the winner; it’s the one who has the stamina and endurance to push through the mental barriers to finish strong.
With GetSwift’s last mile delivery software, your startup or small to medium-sized business will have the tools it needs to finish strong. There truly is no risk. We offer a free trial, so you can determine for yourself is GetSwift’s delivery management software solution is for you. Our sales department can answer all of your questions so that you can get started, or our customer support team can help you with any problems you may run into. We can walk you through the process, explain all of the software logistics, and make sure you understand all of the powerful last mile delivery tools available to you.
Last-mile delivery is becoming more and more important, regardless of the type of goods you sell. With the rise of e-commerce, the competition has gotten fierce — not only among ecomm competitors, but for brick and mortar stores looking to stand their ground. But succeeding in this arena can be difficult, especially when the very nature of last-mile delivery is highly inefficient. Without proper planning and the use of current technology, it’s easy for businesses to succumb to this ever-changing world of delivery. Today, the delivery optimization experts at GetSwift are here to explain some of the biggest challenges of last-mile delivery. Keep reading to learn more.
Cost
Last-mile delivery is the final step in the distribution process that brings the desired goods to the customer. It’s part of a shift that’s been happening in the marketplace over the last decade, and now it’s become commonplace to be able to get everything from your groceries and fast food to your clothing and cannabis delivered right to your door.
Unfortunately, it’s very costly to be able to deliver goods from multiple sources directly to customers’ homes. The process is highly inefficient — many small, low-dollar deliveries require more time, more fuel, more people and more vehicles to get the job done. There’s no doubt that you’ll see a rise in your logistics costs when you offer your customers home delivery, but if done correctly, it can give you a clear advantage over your other competitors.
So, how do you keep your delivery costs from getting out of hand? The answer lies in technology. Using delivery management tools like those available from GetSwift will help you optimize your operation with automatic dispatching, route optimization, and delivery tracking. All of these tools can help you do more and deliver more, all while providing the best customer experience possible.
Efficiency
When it comes to efficiency, the goal of last-mile delivery is to be able to deliver goods to customers as quickly as possible. Amazon set the bar several years ago with their two-day delivery, and since then, the bar keeps getting raised. More and more people are finding ways to optimize their processes so they can stay competitive. In today’s market, whoever can deliver the right products the fastest will win in the delivery business.
If you’re finding today’s delivery expectations to be completely unachievable, it’s time to take a look at your current process and evaluate some of the areas that need improvement. Does your team spend way too much time tracking down delivery drivers? Is your growth limited by the number of deliveries you can make in a day? Are your customer reviews less than stellar?
If you answered “yes” to any of the above, you need to take action now.
Communication
Today’s consumers have come to expect much more from their shopping experience than just receiving an automatically-generated order confirmation email. They expect to receive frequent status updates about their order as well as real-time delivery notifications. Keeping each and every customer in the know can require a small army of people to do it — unless you rely on technology to help you.
GetSwift’s delivery management software can help you meet your customer’s expectations while also helping you to run your business more efficiently. Our easy-to-use app keeps you connected with your customers as well as with your drivers. With instant communication through SMS messaging, you can get the information to the people that need it in the fastest way possible.
Rapid Change
Commerce has changed significantly in the last decade. It has become almost impossible to capture and retain customers without tapping into home delivery. Unless you’re catering to the growing percentage of customers who look for businesses that can provide them with the fast delivery they require, you’re going to lose out. Businesses can no longer survive by continuing to do what they’ve always done.
If you own a business, change can be difficult — especially if you’re small and have limited resources. But choosing not to change is not an option. At GetSwift, we offer two different pricing options, so even the smallest businesses can take advantage of the tools they need to optimize and grow their business.
Contact GetSwift
If you’re struggling to compete when it comes to last-mile delivery, let the experts at GetSwift show you how the right delivery management tools can make all the difference in your success. Our software can help you work smarter by minimizing manual work, automating dispatching, and providing you with data reports that allow you to make more informed decisions about your business.
Trust the delivery experts at GetSwift. We’ve helped hundreds of companies in over 70 different industries conquer delivery and we can help you! Sign up today for a free, no-risk, thirty-day trial or visit our pricing page to learn about all of the features our software has to offer.
Walmart is taking aim at Amazon’s dominance of online retail, and a big part of its strategy is using more than a thousand of their physical stores essentially as delivery warehouses. By the end of 2020, Walmart plans to deliver online orders from 1,600 of its retail stores. In comparison, Amazon has only 110 warehouses across the country, making most shipments significantly more expensive.
This is big news for the last-mile industry because fast delivery and fast returns are critical when it comes to customer satisfaction — and expectations for speed will only get more intense. Amazon Prime has made huge leaps by offering free, one-day shipping, but if Walmart can win the battle for two-hour delivery, they will be able to meet a lot of demand.
Walmart’s success is also big news because for those competing with Amazon (and its willingness to spend $11 billion this quarter on shipping) in last-mile delivery, the future often looks dim. Not for Walmart, it appears. Its stock has even grown faster than Amazon’s since March 2019. Meanwhile, its online grocery business, now aided by a robot grocery picker, has already been a star for the company.
While not every company has Walmart’s enormous resources, there’s a lesson here: develop a strategy that fuses your retail and online presence, which has been the smart move for years now. Walmart is beginning to demonstrate that. Even though the Amazons of the world seem to be gobbling up market share, retail stores still have one advantage: physical proximity. If a store can take advantage of that, along with streamlined delivery and pickup software, that’s a way to grow in such a competitive space.
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