Consumer demands are constantly changing; they want more convenience, quicker delivery times, and a more personalised experience. Meeting these changing demands can help to grow loyalty, expand your customer base and improve margins. Inability to meet these can put a business out of the market, as today it is easier for customers to switch suppliers, as disappointing customer service costs up to $62 billion to businesses every year.
Customer satisfaction has a huge impact on a business’s success, and the service you provide relies on having teams that are efficient, and a system that lets them do their jobs effectively. It is therefore essential to look for ways to streamline deliveries with control over the entire process and achieve clear communication channels between teams and customers.
So, how can you make sure your delivery service are reliable to keep customers coming back?
Route optimization is more than just finding the shortest route to a place. You need to factor in other aspects of delivery, such as: how many deliveries can be covered on a route, delivery windows, traffic situation on different routes, and fuel available on the route at the time the driver will need it, along with various other constraints in the field.
Taking out the guesswork from your route planning helps you meet these demanding customer expectations more easily, while having the side effects of lower costs, better use of resources, and time savings from office teams to drivers.
When planning using manual processes or even a digital planning system that may be complicated to use, planning teams can have a difficult time making sure every delivery is scheduled on a route for the right day and the right time. The result can be inefficient plans that miss deliveries and leave customers without their orders at the agreed times.
Bringing all of the delivery data, ETAs and customer notes onto a single-screen helps planners to easily see which orders need to be scheduled and the route they need to go on. They can quickly pass this information directly to drivers, improving the efficiency of the process, ensuring orders are fulfilled.
When you have thousands of customers, it becomes nearly impossible to determine which customer should be serviced first, and you lose valuable sales opportunities. Also, salespeople can sometimes prioritise a few customers over others (based on how they are treated by customers) and change their frequency of visits accordingly—something that is not ideal for the business.
Being able to visit customers at the frequency they need helps them get the products they need so they can manage their own demand and customers. Unfortunately, finding a solution to this when you rely on manual planning processes can be challenging.
Digital planning systems like RouteMagic can suggest to you the right territories and frequency at which the customers need to be visited, to ensure customers get what they need while your business maximizes sales.
Delays and disruptions happen daily, and each delay impacts the route time and the driver's ability to meet ETAs. Customers, although not happy with delays, are usually understanding as long as they are not left waiting for their delivery past the delivery window.
Usually, drivers will need to pause their route to contact customers to let them know of any delivery changes or delays. This means more time lost and further delays.
Delivery apps are excellent tools for drivers because they can help to divert them from congestion or road closures while updating customers automatically. They can work alongside an office system and a customer service web app that lets both teams see where their deliveries are.
Clear and easy communication is the most important bridge between your business and your customers. A web application that allows your customers to interact with your business, right from placing orders to tracking shipments, is the only way to serve today’s customers.
Self-service web apps help customers place orders conveniently without the need to phone in or email you, get automatic updates, and make any adjustments to orders without hassle, reducing the need for them to phone or email you. This means customers can focus on their work while you can focus on yours, while everyone is kept up-to-date and informed.
RouteMagic is a digital route planning, optimisation, and proof of delivery solution to improve efficiency, profits, and customer satisfaction. The mobile and web applications work together in real-time to give you complete control over your delivery process, helping your teams to carry out their jobs in the most effective way.
In a market where your customers’ preferences are shifting fast, companies are having a tough time keeping pace with it while also maximising returns on their investment. These quick ways of becoming more efficient with your van sales distribution will have a significant impact on your profits. Make your business smarter and more prepared to face the new world with higher profits and tighter control over processes.
RouteMagic has been around for over 20 years now, providing solutions for a range of industries, sectors, and business models. We support over 100 customers and thousands of daily users, continuously improving our software to alleviate a range of challenges.
