How do I save costs in my logistics process? A few practical tips!

The reception experience at the door is magical, and you consistently follow the process of plan-do-check-act. No problem at all. Right? Until you get more customers. And more deliveries. And more vehicles on the road. And with that, increasingly frequent unexpected situations. A package needs to be dropped off, another picked up, a delivery address changes, and a driver calls in sick. Chaos. There goes your magical reception experience, and your hard-earned money goes towards even more planners, or you're sweating over your spreadsheet for nights on end. These tips will help you save.

First time right...

That closed door is always a minor nightmare. Now what? Go back again to make another delivery attempt? Deliver to a neighbor? Or drive on to a parcel point? How wonderful would it be if you could deliver successfully the first time. Not only do you then have a happy customer (and happy neighbors), but it also saves you quite a bit of cost if you can deliver a package directly into the right hands.

More or fewer vehicles

Fewer, fewer, fewer.... Uh, no, that's not always the case. We've found in practice with several clients that it can sometimes even be cheaper to deploy an extra vehicle. This prevents your drivers from being stuck in traffic during rush hour. And that, in turn, saves you an extra hour you'd have to pay multiple delivery drivers.

Let the computer do the calculations

Of course, you could make it your hobby to beat the computer at creating the best routes. But is that cost-efficient? If you can't resist route planning, then rather play Ticket to Ride with friends and family. That way you boost your ego while simultaneously fattening your wallet.

Make choices

It's important to make choices about what you do and what you don't do. Accepting delivery orders out of enthusiasm is certainly not wrong, but how profitable is it? Critically evaluate if delivering to that specific location is profitable, or – even smarter – let software do that calculation. That also saves you time.

Don't forget the preparation

Don't underestimate the preparation for delivery; there are a lot of costs to be saved there. Because which packages go into which vehicle? In collaboration with several clients, we have developed a solution to improve sorting and loading, demonstrably saving costs. Curious what we can do for you in this regard? Prefer a free demo? Then feel free to make an appointment.