We all knew it was coming, but these 5 solutions prove that the automated delivery era has well and truly arrived.

John F. Kennedy once said that “automation doesn’t need to be our enemy”, but for UAE e-commerce businesses struggling to meet the demands of modern retail logistics, it’s quickly becoming the best friend they never knew they had. 

In a competitive online retail industry, speedy but cost-effective order fulfilment and delivery processes are no longer ‘nice to have’, but essential – and automated retail logistics solutions are providing a lot of the answers. 

Spanning the entire retail supply chain, from procurement and warehousing to real-time order tracking, it’s allowing modern delivery processes to meet tough consumer demands and giving small online retailers a fighting chance against the might of Amazon Prime.

What is retail logistics?

Retail logistics is simply the flow of a packaged product from a business to a consumer. A retail logistics company is responsible for making this process as smooth and efficient as possible, either working with the seller as a third party, or as a direct-to-consumer (DTC) business.

Modern technology is aiding logistics management in the retail industry, particularly in the United Arab Emirates, where automated processes are growing in importance.

Why automation is crucial in today’s retail logistics sector

When the pandemic struck in early 2020, experts found it difficult to estimate the impact it would have on logistics in the retail industry.

Yet, with the benefit of hindsight, we can now see how it not only accelerated pre-existing trends, but also shone a light on underlying vulnerabilities. 

As the world struggled back to a normal way of life post-lockdown, the cracks in old-school retail logistics services quickly became apparent. Fragmented and out-of-date supply chain order management led to severe delivery disruptions and inventory miscalculations.

Internet shoppers, by now used to the perks of same-day delivery, only had so much patience. In Dubai alone, complaints rose by 228% in May 2020 compared to the same point the previous year. Ahmad Al Zaabi, director of consumer protection in Dubai’s CCCP (Commercial Compliance and Consumer Protection) sector, put it down to “changing consumer behavior” sparked by a global lockdown. 

Online retailers could hardly afford to wait for things to get better: they had to act. 

Automation has since helped to put out the flames of burning customer anger and has given retailers some invaluable breathing space. Not only that, it’s pushed them to the frontier of a streamlined digital delivery service fit for the modern world.

Research from Ernst and Young found that increased efficiency and visibility is the top post-pandemic priority for senior-level supply chain executives over the next three years, and automation is at the heart of this.

The top priorities of supply-chain management from 2023 onwards

Online retailers that can use automated supply chain solutions to make huge time and cost savings have a formidable competitive advantage within reach. As part of a cutting-edge logistics strategy, automation will allow them to:

• Quicken the order fulfillment process by automating basic warehousing tasks

• Empower and incentivize human workers to carry out much more complex tasks than previously

• Slash shipping costs with transformed delivery and return services

• Greatly enhance customer satisfaction with the guaranteed perks like same-day delivery and payment-on-delivery.

In short, logistics in the retail industry is beginning to look a lot different to what it was just a few years ago.

Want to automate your logistics process but not sure how? swftbox’s five-minute registration is the first step toward quicker, more cost-efficient deliveries that will put your business ahead of rivals.

5 ways automation is changing the face of retail logistics services 

Automation is powering modern retail logistics solutions by removing many of the friction points that bog down fulfillment and delivery. 

If we want to understand exactly how it does this, then we need to peer under the cover of automated logistics technology use cases that e-commerce businesses are employing today.

1. Digital procurement and inventory management

When most people think of deliveries, they picture a courier ringing a doorbell or signing a form, but few give thought to the engine room behind this service. 

Digital inventory systems are the first stage of today’s retail logistic network, with automation quickening and improving basic but important tasks. A warehouse automation system that locates products, updates stock levels and even calculates the ideal box size and storage temperature is now commonplace. 

But how does this influence delivery? 

Well, Internet of Things (IoT) technology makes it easy for third-party retail logistics LLCs (3PLs) to plug in their own software to an warehouse ecosystem, creating a seamless transition from storage shelf to delivery vehicle. Plus, customers benefit from receiving products in perfect condition in the quickest possible time. 

The technology is so popular that well over two-thirds of online retailers planned to invest in it in 2021, according to research firm Zebra.

Retailers’ investment priorities

                                                     Source: Zebra

2. Automated delivery scheduling

Online retailers tend to be very busy, but then so do the customers that they’re trying to please. Getting the two parties to be in the same place at the same time, then, has always been one of the most difficult parts of the delivery and returns process. 

Automated scheduling software bridges this communication gap by being an integral part of the digital logistics ecosystem. Upon receiving a delivery or return request, it sends the customer a note to schedule their preferred time slot from a list of AI-generated possibilities, all of which are based on the pattern of the rest of that day’s orders. These slots are typically only several minutes long, avoiding those nightmare customer experiences of waiting at home all day for a parcel. 

Scheduling like this helps deliver the flexibility that ranks so highly with consumers, who want to receive the package on their terms.

What modern retail customers demand from last-mile services

As we all know, customers who get what they want when they want it are much more likely to leave positive feedback.

3. Smart routes

Once the software has its list of preferred time slots, its automated algorithm generates the quickest and most cost-efficient delivery course possible, known as a smart route. 

Such route optimization minimizes the wrong turns, U-turns, and unnecessary trips to fulfillment centers caused by simple human error. It even avoids hazards that are out of our hands, like traffic jams, by using live GPS data to update the route in real time. 

Smart addressing, too, is a further feather in this software’s cap. When a customer enters incomplete or illegible address or phone number information, it uses a special set of algorithms to predict the location and feed that into the smart route. While it doesn't guarantee success, it dramatically improves the chances of it. 

Most systems even have an inbuilt metric that measures performance and provides automatic upgrades to saved data so that it’s continually self-improving.

4. Delivery paperwork

A key sticking point to traditional delivery systems is the reams of paperwork that use up valuable labor hours and space. 

Now, the moment the customer confirms receipt of the order, a digital data capture system instantly uploads a delivery note and invoice to the logistics system ready to complete the process.

No more lost files, incorrect figures or document backlogs. Just digitized documents that boost efficiency across the board.

5. Order tracking

Why was Uber so successful when it first came out? Most industry experts would point at its inbuilt GPS tracking system that keeps the customer informed of the taxi’s location right down to the second. 

The same is true of courier services. The businesses that keep their customers ‘in the know’ at all times by providing automatic updates are outperforming their rivals — and then some. According to route optimization tool OptimoRoute, almost nine out of 10 customers reported a more enjoyable experience thanks to this tech.

An SMS confirming the package’s ETA kick starts the process, after which the customer can keep tabs of the courier’s location via GPS mapping within an app. They can even message the driver should a problem arise. 

Together with automated scheduling and smart rout-miles, order tracking provides a holy trinity of automated last-mile technology that streamlines deliveries and helps retailers meet those dreaded SLAs. 

Ready to incorporate these automation tools into your retail logistics operations? Sign up to swftbox in just five minutes to slash shipping costs, meet tight SLAs, and boost customer satisfaction.