What: a fact sheet about what we need to know today about last mile delivery.

Why it is important: the last mile delivery defines the customer experience, so a perfect execution is needed. At the same time, the notion of profitability and CSR are also impacting the options chosen by retailers to define their services.

Global Retail News compiles an interesting fact sheet about the issues raised by last mile deliveries. They represent 30% of the total product’s transportation cost, and, last year, 30% of total deliveries did not reach their right recipients at first attempt (which is an issue : 60% of customers would not return to a website following a failed delivery).

There are many solutions at hand, answering to critical questions : shall retailers opt for an integrated or outsourced fleet ? What about delivery platforms (25% to 30% fee taken by operators), personal shoppers or collaborative delivery?

The most critical topics are CSR (how to make deliveries green and sustainable) combined with the need to be profitable by encouraging customers to opt for instore pickup as often as possible.

Faster, greener, more cost-effective. The last mile challenges