When it comes to end-customer satisfaction and service, final mile delivery is a critical and complex step in the supply chain. Often, final mile delivery can be the most expensive part of a brand’s supply chain—making up 41% of logistics costs. The combination of service expectations, operational complexity, and capital investment creates the need for precise decision-making. 

To ensure companies are getting the most out of their final mile investment, forward-thinking final mile providers have begun to take on a dual role, acting as both delivery providers and logistics advisors.

Here’s why logistics advisory service matters, and how providers go the extra mile to be brands’ trusted logistics advisors.  

The rising importance of logistics advisory services 

Up to the point of final mile distribution, the supply chain is fairly centralized. One container ship moves goods in bulk to one or two ports. After the ports, destinations expand exponentially. One port can lead to 10 to 50 distribution centers. Then, the goods must go to each individual customer’s home. And this is where things get really tricky, exploding in numbers and greatly diminishing in economies of scale. Because it’s so decentralized, the final mile is much harder to manage than previous steps, and poor planning can lead to spiraling costs. 

To further complicate the problem: many logistics providers just don’t have much experience with this leg of the product journey. This is, in part, because of the constantly changing nature of the supply chain. It’s pretty straightforward to focus on giant ships and shiny fleets of trucks, the linchpins that have been the heart of the supply chain for decades. However, the ascent of Amazon’s 2-day shipping and the e-commerce boom during the COVID-19 pandemic, along with rising inflation, have turned up the pressure on final mile. 

The scope of what types of products customers may choose to have delivered to their homes has changed significantly in just the past few years. For example, many patients now order their prescriptions and medical treatment equipment to be delivered directly to their homes, an option virtually unheard of just 20 years ago. 

New developments like these bring new challenges. In a tightly regulated industry like home healthcare, a delivery has higher stakes—even slightly late deliveries could have major consequences.

With a greater volume of deliveries being made, customer retention is becoming increasingly intertwined with delivery satisfaction. According to a Capgemini study, when customers are satisfied with a company’s delivery service, 72% increase their purchase levels by 12%. On the other hand, when customers are unsatisfied with a company’s delivery service, 48% stop purchasing from the company. Excellent final mile service can help you gain business, while poor service can cost you—making an airtight logistics strategy a business priority. 

How final mile providers are logistics advisors

Now that we’ve covered the why, here’s the how. These are the core components of exceptional logistics advisory service:

Experience

Industry-specific expertise, a tried-and-true strategy process, and a deep understanding of what it takes to deliver a quality final mile experience provide a base for trustworthy advising. Logistics advisors leverage their learned experience to help companies skip the trial and error stage of addressing their final mile challenges and move straight to success.

In the fight for talent, USPack remains one of the largest final mile logistics providers in the country, with providers who are seasoned advisors. Many of our account professionals have been in the field for decades, and new hires learn from these veterans in an extensive training process. Our professionals are armed with the knowledge that can only come from experience and augment this institutional knowledge by leveraging new technological advancements in data capture and analytics to make decisions.

Cutting-edge technology

While technology on its own should never act as a logistics advisor, an experienced professional uses the best tools available to make recommendations. Recent technological developments, like GPS tracking and data analytics solutions, allow advisors to make more accurate routing and scheduling decisions.

USPack’s Adaptive Delivery Driven Intelligence (ADDI) platform gathers insights, optimizes routing, and helps our team and partners make data-driven decisions. As a bonus, it also gives partners an easy way to input new orders and allows them and their customers to gain unparalleled transparency into delivery status, including real-time tracking.

Dedicated partnership

Experienced logistics advisors understand that every company’s needs are different. A logistics advisor works closely with you to understand your final mile challenges, digging into the specifics and mapping out custom solutions.

At USPack, client partnerships begin with onsite, in-person meetings. Advisors work with you to understand your delivery goals and devise routes and schedules. We then remain onsite for two weeks to meet your first fleet of drivers and make adjustments as needed. 

Connect with an experienced logistics advisor at USPack

With 30 years of final mile experience, innovative technology solutions, and a team of expert logistics advisors, USPack helps you maximize ROI on your last mile investment. Optimize your delivery process and cut extraneous costs with the people who know last mile inside and out, all across the country. Contact us to learn more.