In today's business landscape, last-mile logistics can be considered the cornerstone of brand loyalty and profitability. Customers increasingly seek convenience, consistency, and clarity. However, companies cannot expect to meet these demands without first incorporating centralized solutions.
Companies have set high goals that have acclimated consumers to a type of service that has become the norm. Customers want timely service (receiving it when they want), and they want cost-effective delivery (i.e., free). They expect a brand experience where reliability and communication are commonplace. For companies, last-mile logistics, which defines this experience, marks only the end of the transaction.
The comprehensive process of shipping packages, from purchase to delivery, is complex. It involves an entire network of companies that make up the supply chain, often silenced by data. Therefore, they lack visibility and means to act in a timely manner. This is how companies still deliver to the wrong address or with delays, and then offer poor communication about the cause of the delay and responsibility.
Additionally, customers are increasingly pressing for the customization of their orders. Brands are starting to offer more levels of convenience, such as standard shipping versus fast shipping, special packaging, and options for order pickup.
In essence, the problem is this: companies must find ways to maintain growing satisfaction levels, but they must also use sustainable models to prevent profitability from declining. They must strive to keep logistics costs low while fulfilling complex orders with various criteria and restrictions.
Having appropriate transport management and engineering networks are efforts that may not be enough to execute shipping correctly. If processes and systems in companies' operational chains are isolated, network effectiveness is hindered. Different partner companies often use different systems, interfaces, and versions of reality. Many solutions to visualize the operation do not do it entirely; they cover only part of the supply chain or require an additional layer of software. Similarly, many control towers offer visibility but do not have a real means to act on unforeseen events and errors. Platforms like Omnix provide visibility across the entire chain and trigger actions to anticipate and correct breakdowns at various points.
Although it may sometimes seem impossible, the perfect order delivery can be achieved, and this is the case for companies that opt for centralized solutions. The perfect delivery can be achieved with platforms that orchestrate the supply chain, connecting and integrating all the systems that you and your partners use. Thus, everyone connects to a single version of the truth. A centralized and complete control tower can offer a global real-time view through web monitoring, such as status notifications, exception alerts, and event management for corrective actions.
Centralized solutions offer various functionalities. For example, they can simplify the task of choosing optimal providers. They can use rule-based execution engines for dynamic selection, calculating within seconds which carriers are available for the service based on the destination and dimensions of the package, customer specifications, and other requirements.
Just as optimal carriers can be selected based on all specified criteria, rule-based engines can also determine optimal routes, plan capacity, consolidate shipments, provide automatic allocations, and reserve transportation. All these elements save companies a lot of time and ensure that each order is fully optimized to save costs and satisfy the customer. OMNIX is a SaaS platform that works based on expert rules and artificial intelligence, automating processes, and thus planning operations based on systemic capabilities.
To achieve the perfect order, last-mile logistics must be agile and flexible. If the cornerstone of your strategic approach is dynamic selection and rule-based execution, each order will be optimized. Additionally, your supply chain will be tested to adapt to the natural and inevitable evolution of the industry.
Innovate and automate for a future without interruptions, where every challenge becomes an opportunity for growth
