Golf enthusiasts likely remember the remarkable tale of the 1999 Open at Carnoustie. The French representative, an otherwise unknown entity to all of the United States, played nearly 71 holes of perfect golf and took to his final tee with an inconceivable lead. This notorious golfer’s name is Jean Van de Velds, and his tale ends tragically. That 72nd hole at Carnoustie would cause him to shoot a triple-bogey, leading to a three-way playoff where he’d go on to lose to Paul Lawrie.
It wasn’t just golfers that would go on to learn from Jean Van de Velds’ story. Businesses have also come to understand that ‘performing’ to their best ability all the way through is what’s most important to their customers, especially when it comes to order fulfillment. Businesses can exceed a customer’s expectations in every other regard but failing them in the last mile of the delivery of their products may result in one less loyal customer.
For any reader unsure of the steps of order fulfillment, last mile delivery is considered the final phase of the fulfillment process. In this phase, a product moves from the fulfillment center or hub in which it was warehoused to the final point of sale. This seems simple enough, right? As easy as it sounds, last mile delivery has become one of the toughest issues to crack for businesses operating in the retail space.
This wasn’t always the case, however, as previously last mile delivery wasn’t such an important phase in the fulfillment chain. Before the ‘prime’ and next day shipping options took hold, online shoppers would place an order from a retail store and would know little to nothing about the details of how or when it’d arrive to their homes. Of course now the times have changed. It’s not even just retail shoppers who expect the best when it comes to shipping, both B2B and B2C consumers have seen their expectations rise.
As the online retailing landscape changes alongside the demands of customers, last mile delivery today has drastically evolved. This phase now utilizes sophisticated inventory management systems that work to eliminate all of a businesses’ backorders. In order for these systems to efficiently operate, they require warehousing space scattered throughout the country for the sake of reducing the travel distance the product will have to go through. These systems, in addition to more advanced delivery options, are designed to accommodate to any unique shipping preference that a customer may have. Through the utility of these systems, customers can more accurately track their order and even work in tandem with carriers to schedule a delivery time when necessary.
No organizations should ever come up short like Jean Van de Velde, especially when it relates to order fulfillment. Maintaining competitive shipment speeds is a key to a competitive advantage. For additional information related to last mile delivery and improving your businesses’ order fulfillment strategies, be sure to review the infographic coupled alongside this post. Courtesy of WAREHOWZ.
