What is Last Mile Delivery?
Last Mile Delivery refers to the final leg of the service delivery process. In a B2C environment this is the stage where the parcel goes from the warehouse or distribution centre to the customers doorstep. For Field Service Technicians Last mile delivery encompasses the transportation and delivery of goods or service parts in order to provide a service directly at to the customer location. For field service teams, last mile delivery is tied heavily to first time fix rate and being able to meet customer Service Level Agreements (SLAs).
The Customer delivery or last mile element of the logistics process for a field service technician involves on site installations, repairs or maintenance, ensuring the successful completion of the service request for the customer. Understanding some of the challenges associated with Last Mile Delivery can help field service teams and service managers optimise and enhance overall customer satisfaction and drive better service outcomes for customers.
The Last Mile in Field Services Defined
Last Mile delivery in a field services environment refers to the final leg of the service delivery process, where field service technicians or engineers transport and deliver goods or provide services directly to the customer's location. An example of this is a lift technician arrives on site with the required parts to repair or upgrade the on site lift/elevator that required the call out from the customer.
This stage of delivery includes everything from on site installations, repairs, regular maintenance or anything that ensures the completion of service task or request.
The Last Mile Problem
The last mile problem in the world of logistics refers to the inefficiency that often plagues this stage of delivery.
If you've ever stared at your parcel tracking and watched as your expected delivery day updates later and later, only to find a missed delivery card on your doorstep when delivery finally happens, then you'll have a clear idea of the problem.
Traffic congestion, route changes, and delays can all cause issues for last mile delivery efficiencies. When your business is to meet customer SLAs, having delivery times blow out can cause a big headache when it comes to keeping clients happy and getting critical fixes done on time. So the Last Mile Problem gets bigger in Field services, where technician productivity is dependant on accessing necessary parts to complete jobs.
When it comes to field services, every customer location presents unique challenges, such as restricted access, specific security protocols or limited available working space, add to this a missed parts delivery or time spent searching for a parts delivered on site and you could lose hours of productive time, putting pressure on scheduling and additional jobs.
Customer Satisfaction
We all understand how important it is to keep customers happy and this is truer than ever when it comes to fixing business critical machinery or meeting fast turn around SLAs for key service requirements.
When downtime is costing your business money, solving the last mile delivery problem is paramount to keeping your customers on board and keeping costs down as well as helping to increase your technician productivity.
In field services technicians may be needed for different jobs in different areas of the city, or miles apart, and getting the right part to the right place, so technicians can get the job done, and move on quickly can cost your business millions of dollars a year in unproductive time if not managed. A technician stuck in traffic on the way to a job is costing money.
Improving Last Mile Efficiency
Having your parts logistics pre-empt the challenges associated with last mile delivery in a field services specific instance, means you're going to have improved customer satisfaction rates and a more productive field service team.
Droppoint's Material Orchestration Solution allows you to send parts into the Droppoint network that are delivered overnight to a Droppoint location right next to the job site of the technician. This means that before the day starts, your technician has the parts they need to complete the days scheduled jobs, making your last mile service delivery simple.
With less time lost as technicians balance competing job priorities with the logistics of getting the right parts, you'll find it easier to meet you customer SLAs. Droppoint was specifically designed to solve the Last Mile Challenge for field service teams by putting the parts you need next to your field service technicians.
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