- The conclusions from the latest nationwide Postis study are clear: as many as 93 percent. native e-commerce sellers consider the last mile stage of the delivery process to be a very important (83%) or important (10%) element on the way to customer satisfaction and maintaining market position.
- The study confirms that the last mile is the most expensive and time-consuming stage of order fulfillment in e-commerce, and at the same time it is becoming a key element in ensuring customer satisfaction.
- Therefore, for over ⅔ of respondents (65%), processes related to the so-called last mile is both an investment and an operating cost, but already 20%. of them see last-mile deliveries as an investment that generates noticeable revenues.
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According to respondents, what most influences the costs of last-mile deliveries are manual processes (they waste time and money) and the costs of returns. Respondents also pointed to technological aspects: without access to a comprehensive overview of all delivery processes, their analysis options are much more difficult. In turn, the growing requirements concern primarily convenience and accuracy, understood as deliveries within a strictly defined time frame. Many indications also concern delivery times and their complexity, for example related to order picking.
Arkadiusz Kawa, managing director of Łukasiewicz – Poznań Institute of Technology, confirms that sellers are struggling with rising costs on the one hand, and with customer requirements on the other.
– High costs arise mainly in the "last mile". This is the final stage of logistics, which is difficult to automate, as is the case in warehouse processes. Significant savings are provided by solutions in the form of "away from home" deliveries (deliveries to parcel machines and collection points). In turn, customers expect greater convenience and precise deliveries within a specified time, which further complicates logistics management, comments the expert.
You deliver better, you earn more
As much as 60 percent surveyed logistics specialists and managers notice a difference in customer expenses (order value) depending on the delivery methods offered (standard, express, same day). According to 1/3 (33%) this difference is significant, according to 27%. moderate but visible. As Damian Siusta, Business Development Manager at Postis in Poland, explains, in the world of traditional trade, customers are willing to buy more often and more in stores that provide better service.
– It's not just the price that makes the difference. In the case of an online store, unlike a traditional one, the stage of delivering the goods to the address indicated by the buyer is very important. We can therefore be tempted to conclude that most e-commerce players on the Polish market are aware that without properly selected delivery options, some customers may spend less in their stores or may even give up shopping – adds the Postis expert.
The respondents also stated that the greatest value for their customers in the area of deliveries is the ability to track shipments in real time (as many as 73.5 percent of responses). At the same time, only for 33 percent end customers are sufficiently satisfied with the option of delivery on their own schedule.
– More and more e-commerce sellers are striving to achieve operational excellence at the last stage of delivery. We asked specialists in the field of e-commerce logistics and as many as 70 percent identified visibility and tracking options, as well as ⅔ delivery costs as drivers of this excellence. For 53 percent of respondents, customer satisfaction and the convenience of delivery are also important, and according to online sellers, the option of same-day or next-day delivery is very important or important to over 70 percent. buyers (40% and 30% of responses, respectively). Today only 3 percent specialists responsible for the development of e-commerce claim that offering a short or very short delivery time has no impact on their business – comments Damian Siusta.
Z is for phrases. Z is the nightmare of e-commerce
To the question: Do you believe that efficient last-mile delivery can help reduce product returns and increase overall customer satisfaction? – 3/4 of respondents answered affirmatively – definitely yes (47%) and yes (27%). Only 3 percent respondents do not see the benefits of improving and optimizing the last mile of delivery. At the same time, all respondents agree that technology is important and very important in this area.
– Efficient last-mile delivery is key to reducing product returns and increasing customer satisfaction. As many as 74% of respondents believe that improving this element can bring benefits, which emphasizes the importance of optimizing this process. Only 3% do not see the potential for improvement, which is a marginal opinion. Moreover, all respondents agree that technology plays an important role in this respect, which suggests that investments in modern solutions can bring significant results for the e-commerce industry – says Piotr Skobało, president of Magna Valor.
At the same time, as many as 88 percent respondents plan to increase their involvement in improving and expanding last-mile delivery options (40% moderately, 13% strongly). Over 60 percent respondents noted that customer expectations regarding last-mile deliveries have increased significantly recently, only 3 percent stated that they had decreased (one third saw no change).
Why are e-commerce sellers losing customers? The reason is not only lower prices offered by competitors (60 percent of respondents indicated them as the main reason) and bad experiences at the returns stage (mentioned by 43 percent of respondents). Over 65 percent people from the e-commerce industry participating in the Postis study notice that the quality of last-mile delivery significantly affects the reputation of their brands and customer retention.
– Polish sellers know and see that they lose customers also when the competition offers more delivery options, and more liquid ones. Therefore, in order to maximize revenues while maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction, they plan to introduce further optimizations in the area of the last mile of deliveries: 30%. planning to implement advanced technological solutions, 28 percent expanding delivery options, 20 percent declares focus on initiatives related to sustainable development, and 22 percent is considering establishing cooperation with external logistics service providers – explains Mircea Stan, CEO of Postis.
Moreover, according to the study, as many as 17 percent respondents never ask their customers for their opinion and do not monitor their satisfaction with the purchasing process. Only 20 percent he does it often and regularly. The vast majority (66%) admit that they do it sometimes or occasionally.
– When optimizing the costs of order processing in the warehouse or last mile distribution, we should not forget about the most important thing – looking through the prism of the customer. CSI, i.e. customer satisfaction index, is a parameter that logistics significantly influences. A great product delivered on time or damaged will effectively discourage the customer. Therefore, in order to know where we are on the X axis, it is worth collecting and analyzing signals from our clients so that our service remains in the trend of constant growth – explains Sylwester Dmytriwski, owner of the Logmil consulting company.
