Tech Innovations Reshaping Last-Mile Load Planning

Updated on January 04, 2024 by Yulia Miashkova

The efficiency of last-mile logistics is a make-or-break factor for businesses in today's e-commerce-dominated landscape. 

As discussed in a recent webinar by Track-POD, ensuring that the right packages reach the right customers on time is not just about timely deliveries; it's a reflection of a company's commitment to customer satisfaction and operational excellence. 

This commitment is being increasingly facilitated by cutting-edge technology, particularly in the areas of load confirmation, load planning, and load optimization.

Load Confirmation: Precision in the Final Mile

Load confirmation, or load check, stands as a linchpin in the last-mile delivery process. Imagine meticulously planning and optimizing a delivery route, communicating estimated arrival times to customers, only to find out at the doorstep that the wrong package has been delivered. 

This nightmare scenario results in customer dissatisfaction, wasted driver time and fuel, and the need to reconstruct an entire delivery route.

Fortunately, load confirmation provides a solution to this challenge. Leveraging technologies such as delivery driver apps, like Track-POD, load confirmation ensures that every package loaded into the vehicle aligns with the orders in the route and is in the correct quantity. It is about guaranteeing that the promises made to the customers are fulfilled accurately.

The Threefold Benefits of Load Confirmation

Minimizing Returns:

At the heart of load confirmation lies the ability to significantly reduce returns. Making a return trip due to a delivery mistake not only incurs extra fuel and driver time but can lead to customer frustration, negative reviews, and disputes. 

By implementing load confirmation, businesses can introduce simple precautionary steps into their workflow, preventing most return scenarios.

Increasing Delivery in Full (DIFOT):

Delivery In Full and On Time (DIFOT) is a critical metric in logistics, reflecting the efficiency of a delivery workflow. 

Load confirmation plays a pivotal role in ensuring that all items in an order are delivered correctly, contributing to an improved DIFOT rate. 

Particularly crucial when dealing with orders containing multiple items, load checks become instrumental in achieving full and accurate deliveries.

Re-load While at Depot:

Despite the sophistication of load planning technologies, human errors can still occur. 

Load confirmation offers the flexibility to correct mistakes at the depot or warehouse without incurring additional costs. 

This eliminates the need for a return trip from the customer's location to the depot, enabling drivers to rectify loading errors before embarking on their routes.

Implementing Load Confirmation: Streamlining with Technology

Executing load confirmation, especially in the context of a commercial truck loaded to capacity, presents challenges. However, technology comes to the rescue. 

Utilizing QR/barcode scanners simplifies the load check process, allowing for quick and efficient confirmation of the cargo loaded correctly. 

Track-POD's delivery management software, for instance, seamlessly handles the generation of shipping labels and provides a scanning solution out of the box.

Load & Delivery Confirmation with Track-POD: A Comprehensive Workflow

Implementing Track-POD's load and delivery confirmation workflow involves several key steps:

1. Print Shipping Labels:
   The process begins with the generation of shipping labels, supporting various barcode types. Track-POD allows for the creation of shipping labels for both optimized orders grouped in a route and ungrouped orders.
   
2. Enable Load Check:
   Load check is made mandatory before the start of a route, ensuring that drivers cannot commence their routes without completing the load confirmation process. Alternatively, load check can be enabled without making it mandatory, or requiring only the driver's signature for confirmation.
3. Scan Items and Orders:
   Using the Track-POD delivery driver app, staff can efficiently scan items and orders before commencing their routes. Real-time feedback informs drivers if the scan was successful or if there are issues to be addressed.
4. Confirm Delivery:
   Track-POD goes beyond load confirmation, incorporating additional security measures for order and delivery confirmation. Scanning at the customer's address upon arrival provides an extra layer of verification. In cases where issues arise, drivers can indicate partial deliveries and specify reasons for rejection, which are documented in the electronic Proof of Delivery (ePOD) shared with the customer.

Load Planning: Unlocking Efficiency through Strategic Cargo Arrangement

Load planning, a critical aspect of last-mile logistics, revolves around the strategic arrangement of packages within a vehicle to optimize space utilization. 

While it might seem straightforward—fit as much as possible into a van—load planning is a nuanced and complex task, especially in the logistics business where various factors come into play.

The Role of a Load Planner: Balancing Complex Variables

A load planner shoulders the responsibility of cutting transportation costs by optimizing truck and container loading. With a fleet of vehicles boasting different capacities, load planners navigate the intricacies of maximizing space utilization while ensuring compliance with regulations.

In scenarios involving multi-stop routing, cargo loading considerations extend beyond space and include factors such as the final destination of each package, cargo type, weight, size, and special requirements, not to mention driver working hours.

Load Planning vs. Load Optimization: Unraveling the Layers

Load planning is the foundational step, focusing on the manual arrangement of cargo within a vehicle. However, load optimization builds upon this foundation, introducing a layer of intelligence and automation that is impossible to achieve manually.

Much like the relationship between route planning and route optimization, load planning and load optimization complement each other seamlessly.

The Compelling Advantages of Load Optimization

Fewer Routes:

Load optimization contributes significantly to efficient route planning. By combining multiple orders into a single route based on order priority, cargo specifications, geographical considerations, and driver working hours, load optimization results in fewer routes per day. This reduction translates into decreased fuel consumption, lower emissions, fewer vehicle inspections, and shorter driver hours.

Learn how Imperial Dade Canada cut driver time by 1 hour per day using Track-POD

Fewer Returns:

Precise cargo loading, facilitated by load optimization and integrated solutions like barcode scanning, minimizes the risk of loading errors. This, in turn, reduces the need for return trips, ensuring that the correct packages are delivered to the right addresses.

Lower Costs:

The magic words every load planner longs to utter—lower costs. Achieved through a combination of fewer routes, fewer returns, and shorter driver hours, reduced costs per delivery contribute to more affordable or even free delivery options for customers. Lower costs, coupled with satisfied customers, form the cornerstone of a successful business model.

Best Route Optimization Software for Load Planning: A Closer Look

Several route optimization software vendors seamlessly integrate load planning and optimization into their workflows. Among them, three notable options stand out:

Track-POD:

Track-POD's electronic Proof of Delivery (ePOD) software features an advanced route planner with integrated load optimization. The platform allows users to set parameters for vehicles, including weight, volume, and pallet capacity. Barcode scanning ensures accurate load checks.

OptimoRoute:

OptimoRoute combines electronic Proof of Delivery with route optimization and load planning. While lacking load scanning in its mobile app, it provides robust load planning and optimization capabilities, considering factors like delivery time windows and driver breaks.

Route4Me:

Route4Me offers route planning and optimization software with a focus on building staging and loading plans for each route. While lacking load check features, it incorporates truckload capacity optimization for Full truckload and Less-than-truckload carriers.

Navigating the Future with Technological Prowess

In conclusion, the integration of technology into last-mile logistics, specifically in load confirmation and load planning, brings about substantial improvements in accuracy, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. 

Businesses that harness the power of advanced tools and software solutions, such as Track-POD and others, position themselves for streamlined workflows, reduced errors, and enhanced customer satisfaction. 

As the last-mile logistics industry continues to evolve, embracing these technological innovations becomes imperative for staying competitive and achieving optimal results in last-mile load planning. The journey into the future of logistics is paved with the intelligent use of technology, ensuring that every mile counts toward success.