Deliver in times of logistical crisis

As orders increase while the number of drivers decreases, retailers risk having unhappy customers. Consumers may have forgiven slow deliveries at the height of the pandemic in 2020, but their expectations have returned to normal. In 2021, Royal Mail received over a million complaints from households about late delivery. Slow, missed or late deliveries could easily damage reputation, such as a negative review on social media or the total loss of a customer.

To remain competitive and stay one step ahead of an increasingly dense market, distributors must optimize and innovate their delivery cycles in order to win and retain new customers.

Whatever the organization, whatever the sector, whatever the product; speed, efficiency and accuracy are top priority.

Speed ​​and efficiency are entirely dependent on accuracy. If a driver can’t find the right drop-off location for a package, they lose valuable minutes, which can lead to further delays or failed deliveries.

The reason for this is that the underlying location data is often centered around the postal code. In the UK, postcodes cover 15 to 100 properties and vary widely in size – the largest postcode is 442 km². Any driver unfamiliar with a local area faces non-specific location data, which can lead to delays or missed deliveries.

Additionally, some logistics companies are encouraging their delivery teams to use popular and common digital mapping apps to find delivery addresses. While this works for some locations, these generalize best to street ranges, leading drivers to totally inaccurate streets or houses.

In addition to harming the end-customer experience and potentially jeopardizing the organization’s reputation, these inefficiencies also impact the employee experience. Inaccurate data, confusing drop-off points and time constraints can leave drivers feeling drained and overwhelmed.

There is a clear and current need for an addressing solution that provides local-level accurate information that can help support decision-making. Certainty of a chosen delivery route is key to unlocking great customer and employee experiences. Customer expectations can still be met; drivers can be more confident that their addressing solution is getting them to the right place via the most efficient route.

This can only be achieved through highly accurate, detailed and reliable geospatial data.

Solutions based on Ordnance Survey data use Unique Property Reference Numbers (UPRN) and Unique Street Reference Numbers (USRN) to represent the most up-to-date property and street location information and more precise. Through data matching and cross-referencing, geospatial solutions enable delivery drivers to effectively plan their logistics decisions and better meet customer expectations, ensuring they find the right address every time.

As the demand for fast deliveries continues to grow, geospatial data will become a competitive differentiator. Members of our partner network offer AddressBase solutions; ones that can help organizations in the logistics industry reduce delivery failures, cut costs, make deliveries more efficient and, essentially, keep them competitive.

Our partners have achieved this by creating new software, such as ‘frictionless checkout’ for mobile devices, while others are developing solutions in conjunction with new technologies; for example, the emerging market for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones.

Logistics organizations need to consider their existing address data because leveraging the most accurate data and keeping up with the latest technology is what will help achieve customer satisfaction and increase profitability, in these challenging circumstances. .

We work with several Partners who offer AddressBase solutions to improve logistics efficiency; find out more, and even choose the partner that’s right for you.

Or if you want to learn more about our AddressBase products and see how you can gain a competitive advantage, read our information, ‘The race for faster deliveries‘.