A well-designed delivery schedule is necessary for logistic managers and schedule planners to plan and guarantee the delivery of goods from your warehouse to the clients within agreed-upon schedules. Delivery companies began by offering house deliveries to clients using a manual delivery environment and planning, and they continued to do so for years.
Customers were satisfied a couple of years ago if firms offered home delivery and were willing to wait a few days for the delivery. Because of the constantly shifting demands and expectations of customers, the traditional method of manually organising delivery routes was no longer adequate to provide the comprehensive experience that today’s customers require.
Therefore, let’s delve deeper to have a better understanding of what manual route planning is and the drawbacks of using it.
What Exactly Is Traditional Route Planning in Logistics?
Traditional logistics route planning is working with clients’ locations and delivery locations for your logistics service provider. Using the manual route planning method, the delivery company calculates the transportation costs, the total delivery distance, and the delivery costs.
Why Is It Vital for the Logistics Industry to Plan Routes?
Traditional route planning in logistics is an imperative process for logistics managers to calculate the best way to deliver goods from the warehouse to the client within agreed-upon schedules. A well-designed route helps the logistics company to provide more efficient delivery services and guarantees that all deliveries are on time at a reasonable cost.
Why Traditional Route Planning in Logistics Fail?
1. Detail-Oriented & Time-Consuming Work
The main drawback of this manual method is that it takes a long time for delivery companies to plan routes. Delivery companies enlist the help of logistics managers and route planners who utilise their vast knowledge of the logistics industry and its clients. In most cases, the planning process can take several days to complete.
2. There Is No Real-Time Information
The logistics company has limited real-time information with the traditional route planning method. It is difficult to know your customers’ needs, whether they are willing to wait for a couple of days for delivery, and their preferences unless they are essential clients of your company.
3. Potential for Human Error
With the amount of data to process and the amount of time it takes to finish one route, there is an excellent possibility that human error could occur. In the traditional route-planning method, most of the fields are inputted manually. If the wrong facts are written, the calculation of transportation costs, distance, and delivery costs will be incorrect.
4. Delays in Deliveries
Because of the time-consuming nature of the route planning process and the unavailability of real-time data, it is often difficult for logistics companies to adjust the route if new information arises. This is especially an issue during inclement weather and other situations which can delay delivery attempts.
5. Customer Experience Is Subpar
A traditional route planning process does not provide customers with a seamless and smooth delivery experience. Customers want to know when their package will arrive, when it will be delivered, and how much it will cost to insure a convenient experience. If the logistics company does not provide these answers, the customer is likely to find another service provider that can.
Conclusion
In today’s fast-paced world, customers want easy access to information to help them make informed decisions. They also want the ability to contact their service providers and make adjustments on the fly. The traditional route-planning method does not provide this service due to its time-consuming nature and limited real-time data.
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