Top Last Mile Delivery Trends in 2020
2020 has been a big year for the last mile delivery space, forcing new innovations in the retail and e-commerce worlds. From malls being turned into delivery hubs to new logistics technology, retailers are looking towards last mile delivery for the future direction of the industry.
The last mile market is marked by exponential growth, estimated at $44.88 billion by 2024. This year has only disrupted the market and increased growth even more. Here are some cool trends we've seen grow since the start of the year.
AI Development
Companies are starting to answer their problems in logistics and supply chain management with AI solutions. This is something we've been hearing about for a while, but it has definitely developed more this year. There are countless figures you can find across the internet about the trillions of dollars a year that will be saved in the supply chain through new AI innovations, but we wanted to focus on one addition to the discussion in particular: delivery automation software.
Many businesses are looking for AI and machine learning solutions in their supply chain and logistics software that will make the scheduling and routing of deliveries automated. What this means for the last mile is efficiency and productivity in the operations. There's no need for a dispatching communications crew if you have a software that handles it for you.
The Last Mile in the Omnichannel
The growing omnichannel focus in retail bleeds into all different aspects of business in the industry, including the last mile. You can read about omnichannel retail in our recent blog post about it, but it's a trend that has been expanding in 2020 where retailers offer the most seamless experience for consumers, letting them choose their own buying path across an integration of all different channels (online, social media, in-store, etc).
What that means for the last mile is an integration of the fulfillment channels. Through automation in the supply chain, companies are able to access real-time data to use to connect these channels, making the delivery and fulfillment of the consumer's products fast, seamless and satisfying.
Omnichannel retail also offers the chance for consumers to control their fulfillment through an integration of the online ordering platform with in-store inventory systems. Through this, companies are able to maximize their last mile delivery by offering the products from the shelves of their local stores. OneVim is a solution that can help with this integration, automatically scheduling a driver to pick up and deliver the product to the local customer when they need it.
Customer Expectations
One of the biggest things the retail industry has been reminded of in 2020 is that customers always win. Their expectations are what drives the industry, and it's never acceptable to be slow to meet their needs. Even though in-store shopping has been massively slowed down in 2020, the customer's need for convenience has only grown. Innovations in the last mile allow companies to keep up with this expectation by offering fast and reliable delivery from their local stores.
Optimizing last mile operations satisfies the need for convenient delivery to the consumer, getting them their items instantly when they need them. Utilizing the integration of online ordering platforms and in-store inventory systems makes ship-from-store fulfillment the perfect answer to the last mile problem in 2020. OneVim offers the fleet you need to keep up with this new assumption from your customers that aren't leaving their homes.