Cut Pick-up And Delivery Times

How can you cut pick-up and delivery times? Proper barcoding equipment may be the answer.
by Timmy Thermal

We live in an age where everything from your TV to your groceries can be ordered online and getting those things as soon as possible has become more of a standard than a luxury thanks to a lot of vendors providing “same-day shipping” or “next-day delivery” services. But, is all of this really as standard as we think it to be, or are we taking our delivery men and women for granted?

Let’s discuss same-day shipping services and how businesses can hope to keep up with such a demand. In a survey commissioned by Intermec and conducted by research company Vanson Bourne, it was found that “92 percent of transport managers surveyed face significant challenges of meeting same-day delivery requirements.” They believe that the root of the problem stems from transport and logistics companies not having a mobile workforce (i.e. our favorite delivery folks) equipped with the most proper and up-to-date technology. If they were properly equipped, according to their data, pick-up times could be cut by 30% and delivery times by 29%.

“Investing the time to review current processes may seem to be a daunting task, but the benefits show this is more than worthwhile,” said Jeff Sibio, Intermec Industry Marketing Director for Transport and Logistics.

The data seems to agree, Mr. Sibio, as 38% of US organizations see “operational efficiency” as the most important factor in improving or maintaining a successful business. But, how does this apply to same-day delivery services? Well, of all of the business surveyed in UK, USA, Germany, France, Australia, and New Zealand, 77% of them say that their customers want same-day delivery services, while 92% of these businesses are reporting issues with meeting these increasing demands.

So, how do these companies adapt to changing demands – the same way anyone adapts these days: technology. The right technology, including thermal label printers, barcode scanners and labels, and a little bit of know-how can go a long way in improving your delivery services. According to the data, through the implementation of GPS, mobile and broadband communications, delivery men and women believe that they can improve on their pick-up and delivery times, cutting each by 2.86 and 2.41 minutes, respectively¹.

“Customer expectations in the industry are growing higher each day, putting increasing pressure on mobile workers to meet tighter deadlines,” said Sibio. “Our survey shows that the use of technology not only reduces call and pick up times for workers, it also offers customers the chance to make fewer calls.”

Other data from the survey:

Automate to innovate

• The survey respondents believe broadband mobile communications (60%), integrated vehicle telematics (44%) and RFID (38%) offer the most promising return on investment to their organization.
• The efficiency gains from new technology could extend to back office staff as well. The survey respondents report that they are receiving 6,677 calls per day from customers asking for order status updates.
• By providing proactive shipment updates, a process enabled by location-based and mobile technologies, these same companies believe they could eliminate 24% of these calls immediately.
• This equates to 1,602 calls per working day, a time saving that could then be used to better serve a wider range of customers.

The need to re-engineer

• 44% of companies feel that process re-engineering is the most effective means of improving operational efficiency levels.
• Overall, transport and logistics managers feel that a process re-engineering effort can improve efficiency levels by over 13%.
• Yet despite this, over a third (39%) have failed to complete a process re-engineering effort in the last year.
• Of these, nearly three quarters (72%) have not evaluated their existing processes for at least two years.

For more information on tracking equipment including thermal label printers and barcode scanners and to learn more about your options for all your printer, labeling and barcode scanning needs, call us as (800) 643-2664 and immediately talk to one of our friendly representatives; or chat us up on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn!

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About Intermec
Intermec Inc. is now a Honeywell owned company (NYSE:IN) is the workflow performance company. We design the leading data capture and information management solutions at the interface between mobile workers, assets, and customers.

¹ Data shows that each pick-up can be cut by an average of 2.68 minutes, and each delivery reduced by 2.41 minutes on average. This equates to a 29% per cent saving on each delivery, and a 30% saving on each pick up.