Same Day Delivery: How Delivery Management Software Can Help

Updated on July 07, 2021 by Yulia Miashkova

If your customers are asking for same-day delivery, it may seem like a daunting request. The reality is that same-day delivery is becoming an increasingly regular feature for eCommerce businesses. Luckily, with the right delivery management software, offering instant delivery doesn’t have to be as scary as it might sound.

Ecommerce has seen a massive boom in popularity over recent years. Beyond this, we have also seen rapid developments in technology for eCommerce, and for handling the management of deliveries. This has resulted in free delivery and same-day delivery being normal features offered by online stores.

Worried about keeping up with this trend and how you can do it? Well, using delivery management software will help your business optimize the way it operates. This could be your answer to offering a new delivery option that keeps your business on top.

Why is same-day delivery important?

Same-day delivery is now a regular feature with major eCommerce retailers. Due to rapidly developing technology, combined with fast-growing competition, eCommerce businesses are always looking for ways to offer more. In an incredibly competitive space, these kinds of offers help attract and keep hold of customers.

So, if you’re in eCommerce order fulfillment, should you care about same-day delivery? Absolutely! Even if you think it will be too challenging for your business, offering same-day delivery is important to gain a competitive advantage. Ecommerce consumers have already become accustomed to this type of delivery offer, so if you don’t have it as an option, they’ll just look somewhere else instead.

Delivery options like same-day or contactless delivery could set your business apart from your competitors. This will help you win more sales. The industry is growing so fast it’s important that businesses do whatever they can to stay ahead. This is especially true for small businesses.

Don’t worry though, incorporating same-day delivery into your system doesn’t have to be hard and will be massively beneficial. It also allows you to up the delivery fee to balance out the added admin. Delivery management software is a must for any small business, and it will make managing deliveries and quickly adjusting them a simple process.

What are the challenges of same-day delivery?

The mere idea of instantly adjusting and rerouting your entire delivery schedule for one last-minute order sounds like a headache. Yes, this type of delivery can be a challenge, but this doesn’t mean that it’s impossible. We’ve outlined some of the main challenges for any business that wants to offer this service.

Logistics

Same-day delivery can be a total nightmare in terms of logistics. It requires logistics managers to instantly update their routes depending on their customer’s needs. Managing deliveries needs to be flexible.

In order to be efficient,  businesses need to have warehouses and delivery vehicles that are always available in the delivery area. Your warehouse will need to be fully stocked every day. If a customer suddenly orders a delivery to be made on the same day, the delivery path will need to be revised and updated straight away. The most suitable delivery driver will need to collect the new order and factor it into their existing plan. This is why having the right delivery management software is so important.

If the delivery schedule you’re using is pre-planned, then adjusting to changes like this can be a real challenge. Keeping deliveries flexible and being able to instantly adjust to any changes is so important.

Staffing

Staffing issues are a big challenge when it comes to offering new delivery types. This is because introducing new processes is required. This applies to staff in warehouses and fulfillment centers, as well as truck drivers.

New staffing processes are tough to manage and organize. It takes time to implement new systems, and it will probably also take time for the new systems to work in a streamlined manner.

Figuring out how you’re going to organize and offer same-day delivery is one thing, the real challenge boils down to adapting to the structural changes. Of course, using the right software solution for this will help keep things organized and operating smoothly.

Costs

Same-day delivery is an exciting and attractive offer for your customers. However, it isn't always the most cost-effective delivery solution. It will require delivery routes to be adjusted, and it might affect the delivery volume your business is able to handle in a day. This could affect your overall profitability.

Because same-day delivery is more expensive, businesses need to come up with a way to balance out the costs. In most cases, offering an additional premium for these deliveries works well.

If you have a small business that operates with a relatively small delivery volume, implementing same-day delivery can really eat away a chunk of your profits. This is why delivery management software for small businesses exists, and it can make a major difference in how operations are organized.

How delivery management software combats same-day delivery challenges

The easiest and most effective solution to same-day delivery challenges is using the right delivery management software. Whether it’s delivery software for small businesses or large operations, it will add valuable advantages to the overall delivery process. We’ve outlined some of the most important benefits below.

Faster routing

Your delivery management software should offer a smart and efficient way to manage delivery routing. Possibly the biggest logistical challenge to offering same-day delivery is adjusting and reordering the delivery routes at the last minute. This can take up loads of time, and become a logistical nightmare. The new schedule might not be optimized for the most timely and cost-efficient deliveries, which slows things down even more.

Route planning software automatically adds new stops to delivery paths and organizes them better. This saves loads of time and effort for logistics managers, making it far easier to adjust delivery schedules according to new orders that may arise.

Good delivery software will take care of optimizing all new routes for successful deliveries. Even when new orders and cargo are added at the last minute, the software will ensure that the order is assigned to the smartest and most efficient vehicle and delivery plan. Doing this helps keep operations moving swiftly, without adding major detours to any vehicle.

With proper delivery management software, these routes can be instantly updated and your schedule can be adjusted each time new orders roll in. This smoothes out any planning issues, making the logistics of same-day delivery far easier to manage.

Cost-effective delivery routes

Beyond just making new delivery operations faster and easier to organize, delivery management software also makes sure that these operations are more cost-effective. This happens because the software takes all of the existing delivery stops and vehicle specifications into consideration when assigning the recently added order to a new vehicle and delivery route.

There will be fewer delays in deliveries, and long detours or re-routing issues are avoided. This is important for keeping fuel costs down while still keeping up with a high delivery volume. Delivery costs will not be as high if this is the case, which helps keep deliveries profitable.

Easier adjustments

We mentioned the staffing challenges that businesses face when they adjust to new operational processes. These challenges can be avoided with the right systems in place. Delivery management software helps manage these tricky logistical challenges. Now your business can take on new delivery schedules and adjust to them with ease.

Routing becomes simplified, communications are improved, and it’s easy to schedule new orders as they are placed. If you are incorporating same-day deliveries manually into your schedule, there are many considerations to make. These can include complicated map planning and rescheduling drivers. Communicating these new orders to drivers can be stressful and often inaccurate. 

Delivery management software can instantly do all of this for you, which makes keeping up with new processes and adjustments far easier. A good delivery management system sets a standard for everyone to follow, so staying updated and keeping communication open becomes clearer.

Efficient order tracking

One of the major advantages of implementing delivery software is its package tracking capabilities. Systems with integrated GPS tracking will keep you up to date with every vehicle and every delivery. This is done in real-time. When a new same-day delivery is requested, fleet managers can see exactly where their vehicles are. This makes understanding the status of each delivery more clear, which makes incorporating the new delivery far easier.

Order tracking in real-time doesn't just make things easier for logistics managers, but it also helps keep customers updated and informed. Customers can check-up and review their order’s delivery status, which improves customer satisfaction. Now, dealing with customer requests is easier. You’re offering customers the experience that they expect from delivery businesses.

Instant updates

To make communications and operations easier, the right software should also offer instant notifications. This helps improve communications, and it makes delivery schedules easier to track and manage.

Instant updates and dynamic ETA help logistics managers stay up to date with each order at all times. As a new delivery is added to the network, an instant notification is sent out, ensuring that everyone is updated and kept on the same page.

Again, this can also go a long way in helping improve customer satisfaction. Instant updates improve the customer journey and help to take the pressure off of answering their queries or communicating with them. Better visibility and communication improve logistics. Managing fast delivery changes also becomes easier.

Better driver communication

Delivery management software isn't just for helping logistics managers, it can also be used to improve communication between logistics managers and drivers. When delivery schedules are quickly changing on the day, maintaining a strong level of communication is essential. Traditional communication methods can be unreliable and time-consuming. This makes deliveries incredibly challenging.

The right software solution can automatically update your existing maps. Doing this will notify the drivers in real-time to keep everyone involved in the delivery process on the same page. This makes communications seamless, which is essential for fast delivery route adjustments.

Other tips for implementing same-day delivery

Beyond using the right delivery management software, there are a few processes that businesses should revise when considering same-day delivery.

Understand your demand

Before diving into same-day deliveries, businesses need to assess the demand for this service and make sure that they are properly prepared. You will never know exactly how many same-day deliveries will be requested on any given day, but it's important to have a good understanding of this first. Start by getting in touch with your customer base to find out the demand for this new delivery feature. 

Check up on stock

Same-day delivery is only possible if you have a readily available supply of stock. Make sure that your warehouse is fully supplied with the goods you’re offering for fast deliveries.

Enhance the supply chain

Understanding the supply chain of your business is important if you plan to make delivery changes. Take a deep look into the supply chain, and try to find areas where you can improve efficiency.

Conclusion

Same-day delivery is an important thing for businesses of all sizes to offer. Having a good software solution for deliveries is a major step forward when it comes to enhancing this process. If you offer delivery on the day, you need to make sure that it runs smoothly for your business.

Same-day delivery doesn’t have to be stressful, and it’s not as complicated as you may think. As long as your business is properly organized to manage these orders, it could add a huge boost to your sales.