Should a Company Build its Last-Mile Distribution Network or Partner up?

Should a Company Build its Last-Mile Distribution Network or Partner up?

Last-mile delivery aims to transport or deliver an item to its recipient in the quickest way possible. Consumers look for alternatives if a company fails to deliver top-notch supply chain services which include user-friendly last-mile delivery software. The success, and perhaps the survival of a business depends on keeping their customers happy, which is what makes the last-mile distribution network so important. 

COVID-19 has altered many aspects of our daily lives and nothing is more noticeable than the soaring demand for last-mile delivery. Once regarded as a ‘valuable addition’ has slowly transformed into a ‘must-have’ capability. It has become increasingly important for a business to differentiate themselves from others in their last-mile delivery strategy. 

While most of the bigger companies look to build and develop their last-mile delivery network, it has been seen that some of the smaller companies prefer to partner up with DNCs to handle the delivery. 

The traditional approach to last-mile delivery which is owning an operational fleet poses a high risk and added costs whereas a delivery network carrier (DNC) model enables retailers to transfer a portion of the risks to one or more DNC providers. DNC providers often adopt a “gig” mindset, which allows companies to transact and operate at a fraction of the cost of retaining and operating a delivery fleet. 

During these uncertain times with evolving business landscapes, the rapid development of technologies, and increasing customer expectations, an appropriate solution today might not be the right choice tomorrow. Careful consideration is required when deciding on the right delivery model for your business. 

How can TraQiQ help?

TraQSuite, by TraQiQ, is a unique, flexible, and responsive platform, that will ensure timely customer service, increase productivity, and business profitability. TraQSuite analyses customers’ omnichannel behavior and using leading data analytic tools and AI models for commerce, it can deliver real-time, automated, and targeted recommendations with personalized content across all customer touch points. 

For more information regarding TraQSuite,

Explore more updated news

TraQiQ, Inc. is a Global Technology company with a suite of products designed to identify customers, facilitate payments, and fulfill transactions.

© 2022 TraQiQ.inc All Rights Reserved.

Has the Last Mile Revolution Changed the Supply Chain Forever?

Has the Last Mile Revolution Changed the Supply Chain Forever?

Consumer demands and expectations are increasing, and the last mile revolution has enabled businesses to provide goods and services to the end consumer as quickly as possible. 

Let us have a closer look at how the last-mile revolution is affecting and transforming the supply chain. A few trends which are having a positive impact in the industry are mentioned below: 

Speedy resolution of deliverables:

The prime objective of the last mile delivery is to deliver the package to consumers as quickly as possible. This is pushing companies to develop and sustain a delivery eco-system that is efficient and effective. 

Employing effective tech tools for tracking:

Emerging technologies like IoT and even AI are playing a crucial role in the success rate of last-mile logistics. Now, it is easier to track your shipment with smart technologies at your disposal. 

Data Analytics reduces last-mile logistics costs:

With the amount of data at a company’s disposal, analytics allows supply chain entities to isolate the cost-impacting factors across all shipments and provides a solution for its optimization.

Increased Profitability:

Last-mile delivery software boosts productivity, optimizes delivery routes, scales your business, enhances consumer satisfaction which in turn increases consumer retention. All these factors combined increase the profitability of your business.

Streamlined and flexible delivery options:

The last-mile delivery solution automates repetitive tasks thereby saving on time, money, and energy. Flexible delivery options allow consumers to change the time and location of delivery thereby increasing customer satisfaction. 

Exciting things are happening in last-mile logistics, and the level of technology leveraged to push the frontiers of last-mile delivery is growing in complexity and scope. Is your organization prepared to handle the rising demand for more last-mile logistics deliveries by consumers? 

TraQSuite, by TraQiQ, is a unique, flexible, and responsive platform, that will ensure timely customer service, increase productivity, and business profitability. TraQSuite analyses customers’ omnichannel behavior and using leading data analytic tools and AI models for commerce, it can deliver real-time, automated, and targeted recommendations with personalized content across all customer touch points. 

A Happy Customer and Lower Operational Cost

A Happy Customer and Lower Operational Cost

Need to maximize operational efficiency, make better use of on-field capital, increase vehicle utilization, meet more customers and boost customer satisfaction? Efficient logistics management is the main differentiator that determines the performance of many businesses. Increasing consumer demands and deliveries from the doorstep only add to the complexity of supply chain processes. New-age deep-tech companies provide a variety of value-added services to meet demand in the logistics space. 

As logistics and transportation expenses take a bigger bite out of every dollar of revenue, companies are constantly evaluating this expense related to their overall business cost. Logistic expenditures usually account for 8–10 percent of a company’s operating costs, and most companies are attempting to control the dynamic operations by implementing resources of technology. A business can make significant strategic changes and increase its operating performance with an integrated, cost-effective logistics system. This also increases scalability, reduces human errors, and offers a constructive approach to satisfying the customers. 

Traditionally, corporate managers have treated transportation as an unavoidable bucket of costs. However, top-performing businesses like Amazon now understand that it can be more than managing supply chain operations: it can be the source of competitive advantage. 

Factors to be considered to save cost and time:

Consumer satisfaction:

Customer loyalty is important, as attracting a customer costs five times more on average than maintaining one. To keep customers happy requires that the logistics costs per order are low. By retaining customer loyalty, companies can keep up and thus spread the logistics service costs over a larger number of orders/customers. Because of this strong link between customer satisfaction and overall cost savings, customer service should accordingly be factored into every calculation of improvements in logistics costs.

Labor costs:

Every project should be seen through the prism of labor costs and attrition rates. If well structured, incentive programs for field executives really work in reducing both. Automation systems that provide end-to-end metrics of success in terms of distance travel, number of tasks performed, time on the road, and transaction time can help to build the much-needed incentive programs.

Faster processing and delivery:

It results in more pleased consumers and a lower cost of transporting inventories. Reaction time is a strategic tool of rising significance in the competitive arena. Leading firms seek to respond to orders in a minimum amount of time as delay costs directly affect prices, operating policies, sales, and the profits of the firm in a competitive environment. These time-based strategies can be dealt with through the use of technological innovations. In an era of free shipping, one-hour delivery, and drone drops, customers have high expectations about efficient product delivery.

Failed deliveries:

This raises retailers’ prices, both in terms of redelivery fees and the logistical expense of rescheduling orders, and deciding the exact addresses. It also contributes to disappointed customers who are unlikely to return to your site, and who can harm the credibility of your brand.

When the appropriate tools to manage complexity are in place, organizations have greater opportunities to continuously create operational efficiencies and keep customers happy. This where TraQiQ can help businesses build the right solutions for their customer in the digital age. 

Blockchain: Foundation for the Future

Blockchain: Foundation for the Future

Is it possible to connect 8 billion people across the world and enable them to do 1:1 transaction in a scalable, secure and convenient way? 

Well, yes… in due course. 

We live in a world of small transactions. We get a car via Uber. We rent a room or an apartment via Airbnb. However, if you really think about it, the transaction is between 2 individuals – one who needs a car and one who has a car. 

Big economy companies like Uber and Airbnb have heralded a new era of transactions and commerce. The current generation of users lead a slightly different life than the previous generation – they ride with Uber, pay with Venmo, and have food delivered by Grubhub. If you really think about all these small transactions that they are conducting, a few thoughts come to mind – 

So, why do we need companies to facilitate these transactions? Do they really deserve 30-40% of the transaction value? 

Visa and Mastercard have earned billions of dollars by taking a small percentage of transaction value for decades. 

Exploring Blockchain provides some key answers. 

There is a maturation process for Blockchain. There are issues…. 

As technology matures and there is widespread adoption, there will be tremendous growth, as everyone on the planet becomes a node and transacts with other nodes. There will be contracts, payments and relationships. Why does a user need to rely on AmEx membership points? Why not use the Blockchain model to build a model for loyalty points? 

So, will companies like Airbnb and Uber go away? No, they play a vital role in our ecosystem. They help facilitate the transaction. They recruit drivers and homeowners, certify them and make sure that suitable security elements are in place. They also have technology that works globally. They will stay – however, as individuals start acting as Blockchain nodes, it is likely that they will not want to pay that 30+% for these facilitators. Perhaps a one-time charge of a few hundred to get certified.

Blockchain offers us a lot of potentials – starting with decentralized apps. We have seen innovative solutions in 1:1 transactions in the supply chain. However, Blockchains are limited in their ability to scale today. But there is a tremendous amount of innovation that we are yet to see. 

TraQiQ has begun the process of moving the core platform for supply chain to Blockchain. As the company moves to leverage the power of transactions on this platform, it is likely that the Digital Currency component will play a significant role in fulfilling these transactions. 

Building and Scaling a Network of Task Workers in the New Economy

Building and Scaling a Network of Task Workers in the New Economy

Let’s look at a small business that has about 25 employees managing about 1,000 independent professionals (agents) making deliveries. Do they grow this model to 10,000 or 100,000? Do they bring in VC money and shoot for the moon?? Ultimately, it is a function of their customer base and their revenue projections. They can choose to build/grow their own network, leverage a partner network (fuel station or bank kiosk) or outsource it to another company. 

When we look at the notion of scaling your own network, there are several factors that should be considered. 

Customer projections:

Having insight into customer growth is going to be a primary factor as the company plans for growth. Are customers going to grow nationwide, regionally, or in very specific segments? There is a very specific model that will have to be built – merging together the growth of existing customers and future prospects. 

Geography:

It is a whole lot easier to grow in one state or region. Having nationwide or global presence requires significant resources to monitor, maintain and run the network across multiple time zones. 

Capital:

Hiring, training, and maintaining agents will consume a lot of ongoing resources, and the company needs to be able to monitor its capital requirements. Ideally, there need to be at least 12 months of cash in the bank to support this plan. 

Technology:

In a world of managing large teams, technology can play a huge role. AI/ML models can take the ongoing load off employees’ shoulders. In addition, the core software stack needs to be able to scale rapidly as the number of agents grows. 

Employee team:

This is one of the largest investment areas. Employees are needed to recruit, train, and support these independent professionals. There needs to be a clear role definition to ensure success. In addition, there needs to be a significant investment in the knowledge base that the employees use to build and run the network.

Agent wages:

The independent agents that are making deliveries get paid when they complete a task – they make a delivery or get a document signature and get paid $1 to $25. As the company builds out the network, there has to be a very clear path for each of these agents to make the wages that they expect. There is no point in investing in recruitment and training if there is inadequate customer revenue to support the team. 

When dealing with large groups of people, and supporting their livelihoods, it is critical to ensure that growth is measured. Analytics can help in architecting the right model for every company. There are software solutions like TraQSuite from TraQiQ that can help in building the right distribution platform for the new economy.

Building a Successful Last Mile Delivery Engine

Building a Successful Last Mile Delivery Engine

How does one build out an awesome distribution engine for the company – specifically focused on Last mile delivery? Most responses would include words like “great people”, “route optimization software”, “Supply chain logistics”, etc. However, as we explore the new economy and the independent professionals who are driving the growth in these segments, there are a variety of factors to keep in mind. 

Given the rapid pace of innovation in this space, there are clear elements that stand out. 

People:

The human factor is critical. Getting the right people to deliver/pickup is important. They need to be able to follow instructions, be punctual, and follow instructions. In most cases, they will interact with customers, so they need to present the right image of the company. 

App experience:

When you have thousands of employees, agents, and customers using the app, it is critical that it be easy to use, require minimal training and work on the opulthear (and lower-end) mobile devices. A lot of folks who are looking for entry-level jobs are not likely to have the latest iPhone. Effortless onboarding is critical – the absence of which will result in huge training and support costs.

Payments (collection/disbursement):

Will the agents be collecting/disbursing funds? This is a significant feature to consider. In addition to payments via credit/debit cards, how does the system handle payments by the unbanked? Does the customer or agent have a wallet that they can use? If they are picking up checks what sort of processes need to be followed? There is a significant amount of financial liability involved, so the system needs to be able to document every element and provide proof at every step. 

Real Time data:

The need to track the agent is critical. This allows the customer to estimate the time of delivery. Geo tagging of the delivery agent at the customer site is an essential element of the “Proof of delivery”. The best scenario is all that plus watermarking of the documents that were picked up in a manner that cannot be duplicated. All elements of a winning system.

Communications:

How do people communicate – agents, customers, and system admins. In the edge cases where there are delays or weather issues, or roads are blocked, there have to be open channels of communications to ensure that everyone’s expectations are met. Ideally, this communication needs to be inside the app, and not just texting – sometimes devices have to be replaced. However, the persona on the app remains the same. 

Dashboard:

How many admins do you need to manage a field agent force of 10,000 people? 1, 2, or 100. That is entirely a function of the capabilities of the dashboard that these admins are using. This is where the right AI/ML tools can be powerful in automating most functions. Human intervention should only be needed as an extreme escalation.

Analytics:

Optimizing routes, accepting business where the agents are active, using past data in predictive models – these are all elements of using analytics to build a better distribution model. In addition, there have to be multiple levels of feedback on the agents, employees and the app.

Programmability:

The right software platform has to conform to the product or service that is being offered. It is important to set up SLA’s. However, how does a system prioritize life-saving medicines being delivered over routine paperwork? Similarly, meeting delivery commitments like “Pizza in 20 minutes” have to be factored in.

There is a lot of innovation in this segment right now. A variety of companies are offering technical solutions and services. TraQiQ offers the TraQSuite product which is a category-leading solution for distribution services. Companies like Mimo offer leading-edge last mile services in India, with a nationwide network of people. 

The Value of Gig Economy Independent Professionals for Your Company

The Value of Gig Economy Independent Professionals for Your Company

What is a gig? A term that originated in the music business now represents a form of employment that has been impacting scored of business (and employment) models around the world. We have all used contractors in some form. We have hired people for a couple days to make a modification to our house, and we may have hired someone to build a website or write some software. These “contractor” type of employment models has been around for a long time – some last for hours, and some for months. 

Let's look at 2 very specific scenarios where this flexibility is powerful.

One example comes from the Technology universe. Amazon’s EC2 elastic computer service lets their customers rapidly add/reduce capacity depending on their needs. No need to buy servers, etc. Press a button and you have a few hundred more boxes (or equivalent) instantly! 

The second example comes from the people universe. When millions of people hit Las Vegas at an event Like CES, thousands of Uber and Lyft drivers supplement the conventional taxi service. 

Companies like Uber have become the poster child for this, even though Taxi services have existed for a long time. The same thing applies to office space – WeWork made some economic and management mistakes, however, their impact on how we evaluate and manage office space is very long term. 

The gig economy is a very broad representation of the flexibility that we seek. It is currently represented via temporary, or freelance jobs, often involving connecting with clients or customers through an online platform or mobile app. These assignments are typically very short term or adaptable and fulfil a very targeted need. The Uber business model started as short gigs and now a large part of their workforce works full-time. Compensation continues to focus on payment for every ride/task completed. 

Another great example is Mimo-Technologies in India. The company has built a network of over 10,000 task workers across semi-urban and rural India. Their “agents” deliver documents, small packages and also collect payments. In addition to being very successful commercially, the company is also serving a very significant social need – they provide employment to thousands of people who may have a high school education (at best) and provide a significant boost to the local economy. 

The gig economy can benefit workers, businesses, and consumers by making work more adaptable to the needs of the moment and demand for flexible lifestyles. There’s no denying the growth of the gig economy. Economists estimate that the portion of U.S. workers earning a living as independent contractors, freelancers, temps, and on-call employees jumped from 10% in 2005 to nearly 16% in 2015, and the trend shows little sign of slowing. It is estimated that by 2027, 60% of the workforce will be independent professionals. 

TraQiQ offers a software platform that can power the distribution engine for the new economy. It brings together the software needed for Last mile delivery, agent management, customer analytics, payment mechanisms and geo-tracking. It is a platform tested by multiple customers, thousands of agents and has had billions of dollars of transactions flow through it.