Last Mile Carrier Checklist: 5 Tips to Hiring the Best Delivery Partner in the UAE
When it comes to deliveries, following this expert advice is crucial if you want to meet SLAs and keep customers happy.
Remember the days when a last mile carrier just needed to get goods from A to B sometime in the near future?
Well, for UAE online retailers competing in a rapidly growing e-commerce marketplace, choosing the right last mile delivery service is now a make-or-break decision: one that’s often the difference between gaining customer satisfaction, or entry on their blacklist and lost business to a rival.
UAE customers are making it clear time and again that they expect timely delivery. A recent survey by tech firm Oracle found that half of UAE residents consider the delivery ETA to be the chief factor when deciding where to order from. Delayed deliveries are likely to push them elsewhere.
Not just that, but they want the service with a smile, multiple payment options, and convenient delivery times that contribute to a fully rounded customer experience.
In short, they want the Amazon and FedEx experience at the same price that these multinational firms are able to provide.
For small online retailers, this may appear to be a step – or mile – too far. If you’re one of them, you might find yourself grappling with potential roadblocks, including:
Achieving the last mile carrier delivery times that can help you meet tough SLAs and keep customer satisfaction high
Funding top-class last mile delivery services that meets such high expectations
Integrating a third-party logistics provider (3PL) into your own business operations.
Despite these challenges, new logistics solutions are emerging that are helping small retailers complete this vital last section of the supply chain. Cost-effective, customer-centric, and equipped with last mile carrier tracking technology, they’re taking the fight to the delivery Unicorns.
That said, choosing the right solution is tough.
Making such an important decision for your business comes fraught with difficulties: after all, what is last mile delivery in 2023 exactly, how long does a last mile carrier take, and what do we look for in a modern 3PL provider that helps us fulfill it?
This article aims to give you the lowdown on the qualities that make top-class last mile logistics in 2023, and how one platform is currently making huge waves in the UAE delivery sector.
Want to get your last mile carrier call just right? Plug swftbox into your online storefront in just five minutes to get world-class delivery and sky-high customer satisfaction at a fraction of the cost of a typical 3PL provider.
5 tips for choosing the best last mile carrier for your UAE business in 2023
Amid all the online noise about same day delivery and instant notifications, it’s easy to lose sight of the core components that make a successful modern carrier.
When we strip it down, we’re looking for the same fundamental features that we always have, only adjusted for the demands of today’s hyper-digitized marketplace.
Here’s a summary of what you should bear in mind when choosing a carrier for your business.
High delivery success rates
When we get to the core of top-class delivery, it’s really quite simple. Getting the package to the end customer within their preferred time frame.
This is what makes success rates the most valuable part of a last mile carrier’s job. If they don’t get these right, then everything else crumbles away as a result.
Flashy tools like real-time visibility and GPS shipment tracking are all very nice, but what’s the point if they result in a missed delivery?
Not just that, but success rates need to be high regardless of the delivery type or payment method. Whether same-day delivery or cash-on-delivery, we must deliver the package on time and how the customer wants it. Failure to do so means missing out on those tough SLAs that define the UAE delivery market.
As a rule of thumb, a delivery success rate of at least 90% is now a given, rather than a luxury. Using Europe as a barometer, Germany, the UK, and France managed to improve their success rates during the pandemic to between 90% and 94%, according to analysts Parcel Monitor.
Improved delivery success rates during the pandemic
Source: Parcel Monitor
UAE carriers now equipped with similar capabilities should be aiming for the same nine out of 10 success rate when it comes to getting packages to their final destination.
2. Robust yet flexible support
Getting the package delivered on time is the result of a smooth delivery process, but what happens when things go wrong and how do we respond to it?
For last mile carriers, having a robust yet flexible support system is the answer. From the warehouse to the customer’s address, they must have the tools to quickly solve ad-hoc problems that can pop up, from locating misplaced packages to dealing with angry customers.
Technology plays a huge role here, too. The best 3PLs come with fully integrated processes that keep all supply chain stakeholders in touch with each other via connected Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Automatic detection software flags up missing items while in-built algorithms minimize the chance of drivers getting lost.
To top it off, live chat must always be an option for customers who demand quick, ready answers to their issues.
In the era of instant communication, dial tones that ring out and unanswered emails are no longer an option for efficient delivery services.
3. Customer experience
Moving on a level from dealing with hitches in the delivery process, we’ve dealt with the one core customer expectation: getting it delivered.
Yet, to deliver the full immersive customer experience that today’s ultra-connected young customer base expects (30% of the MENA ecommerce market is aged between 15 and 29) a last mile carrier must come with full digital user functionality.
Clear ETAs and real-time communication must keep the user up-to-date at every stage of the last mile process. The best way of doing this is via an integrated app
Modern features that give the client a sense of control this way include,
A choice of multiple precise delivery options that they can arrange themselves
Frequent SMS alerts
GPS last mile delivery tracking of the parcel
In-app chat with the driver, in case of last-minute issues.
Choosing a carrier with these tools is a big plus when it comes to achieving that high level of customer satisfaction that not only keeps people coming back to you for more, but also leads to new purchases.
4. Automation
One of the chief causes of poor customer satisfaction are delayed or erroneous deliveries that are typically caused by human error or inadequate supply chain management.
Automation is set to transform the delivery process by taking these issues out of the equation. From automatic warehouse management, through sorting and batching, to generating smart delivery routes, the last mile process already comes with an intelligent AI layer for the leading carriers.
The advantages to this are so significant that choosing a carrier with no integrated automation will cease to become an option very soon.
5. Fleet management
Drivers can end up being proxies for the face of your company. If the customer meets someone linked to your brand for the first time, it will usually be them.
Friendliness, adaptability and organization, then, must be at the top of any courier’s priority list if they are to deliver the goods successfully. This calls for professional fleet management from behind the scenes, including customer service training, an automated system of reminders, a great workplace culture, and smart employee incentives.
Carriers that don’t get this right can endanger your reputation through a poorly organized fleet, missed deliveries and unprofessional behavior. When vetting service providers, look out for red flags, including bad customer reviews, negative social media comments, and poor official safety ratings.
Why swftbox ticks the box when it comes to choosing the best carrier
Having got to this stage, you may be wondering how exactly you can find a last mile carrier that ticks vital delivery boxes without costing you the earth.
A sleek and affordable shipping process that meets crucial SLAs and easily integrates into your sales operations sounds great, but is it realistic?
swftbox is fast making a name for itself in the UAE retail sector for providing SME e-commerce retailers with a state-of-the art plugin solution that’s super-charging their delivery service, helping them attract new customers and boost their revenue.
Central to swftbox’s rise has been a delivery success rate of over 96% across the board, whether next-day, same-day, or bullet delivery (within two hours), with higher success rates coming in each month.
Its easy and intuitive tech bridges the communication gaps between shippers, couriers, and shoppers, bringing them together via an integrated dashboard and creating a seamless delivery experience.
To understand how it does this, let’s peek under the hood of swftbox’s well-oiled engine and examine the nuts and bolts of its award-winning service.
swftbox takes only minutes to plug into your delivery system.
Rather than working as an external entity, it uses API software to easily integrate with your storefront, ecommerce platform or WMS, allowing it to slot into your processes and eliminate the hassle of onboarding. Swftbox is already integrated with major ecommerce platforms such as Shopify, Woocommerce, Magento, Carriyo and many more. You also won’t need to manually enter orders each time.
The dashboard is the digital hub that every stakeholder can access via a state-of-the art mobile app, piecing together crucial pieces of the delivery jigsaw and providing a top-class customer experience.
Once you activate the order, the customer has full access to the fulfillment process, from when the product leaves the warehouse to the moment it lands on their doorstep. They get to choose from a list of convenient delivery slots, receive real-time GPS updates of the courier’s location, and communicate with them via an inbuilt live chat.
Automation plays a huge role behind the scenes, too. Automatic sorting and packing systems ensure that the product is ready for shipping at the last possible moment. Smart addressing autocompletes patchy customer details to accurately guess their location.
AI-powered algorithms build smart routes that maximize time and fuel efficiency by cutting down on wrong turns and zigzagging. The courier can also instantly upload a proof of delivery, too, which is automatically stored on the system for future reference.
A map view of a smart route generated by AI algorithms
A swift and efficient support system backs up the delivery process, acting quickly to shut down bottlenecks, from notifications for low stock counts to hard-working customer service agents on hand to deal with your queries.
In short, swftbox pulls out all the stops to eliminate those dreaded missed delivery costs and get your package to its final destination on time and in perfect condition.
swftbox’s live chat support
swftbox also comes with an built-in fleet management system.You’ll have the option to onboard or remove couriers, choose the best-fitting vehicles for your goods and set flexible work schedules as a part of your swftbox dashboard. Insightful analytics will help you understand your deliveries and provide you with insights.
swftbox’s built-in fleet management software
With swftbox, you have all the tools you need to transform your delivery service into one fit for the demands of UAE’s digital ecommerce marketplace – and at a fraction of the cost of hiring a 3PL provider.
With just one click, upload all your orders onto your swftbox dashboard and start delivering!
Ready to jump onboard with swftbox? Sign up in just five minutes to slash shipping costs, meet tight SLAs, and boost customer satisfaction. Your rivals won’t know what’s hit them.
