First mile logistics là gì

Thuật ngữ “Chặng cuối” (tiếng Anh: Last mile) được sử dụng để mô tả phân khúc địa lí ngắn của việc cung cấp dịch vụ truyền thông hoặc giao sản phẩm cho khách hàng ở các khu vực đông dân cư.

Ảnh minh họa. Nguồn: E-commerce Nation.

Chặng cuối

Khái niệm

Chặng cuối tiếng Anh là Last mile.

Thuật ngữ "Chặng cuối"được sử dụng để mô tả phân khúc địa lí ngắn của việc cung cấp dịch vụ truyền thông hoặc giao sản phẩm cho khách hàng ở các khu vực đông dân cư. Giao hàng chặng cuối trong lĩnh vực logistics có xu hướng ngày càng phức tạp và tốn kém cho các nhà cung cấp hàng hóa và dịch vụ cho các khu vực này.

Đặc điểm của Chặng cuối

Cung cấp viễn thông và nội dung truyền thông yêu cầu phải diễn ra tức thời và với tốc độ nhanh tới một khu vực đông dân cư. Lấy ví dụ một đường dẫn đến ngoại ô của một thành phố hoặc khu vực đô thị. Đường dẫn đó bao gồm các nhánh nhỏ, trải rộng trên các tòa nhà và đường phố để phục vụ khách hàng làm việc và sinh sống ở đó. Đường truyền từ các vùng ven của thành phố tới các khách hàng trong trung tâm thành phố là một hình thức cung cấp dịch vụ tới chặng cuối.

Các nhà cung cấp truyền thông và viễn thông bao gồm cáp băng thông rộng, vệ tinh và mạng không dây đều dành nhiều thời gian để nâng cấp các hệ thống phân phối cũ và xây dựng các hệ thống mạng mới để đảm bảo đủ băng thông cho người tiêu dùng cần dữ liệu và để truyền phát video trên TV, máy tính để bàn và thiết bị di động.

Phải mất thời gian để các nhà cung cấp dịch vụ này triển khai các giải pháp công nghệ cho "chặng cuối" và do tính chất thay đổi nhanh chóng của công nghệ, các giải pháp này có nguy cơ bị lỗi thời hoặc không còn hiện đại khi hoàn thành.

Dịch vụ logistics chặng cuối trong phân phối sản phẩm đã trở thành một trọng tâm cho các nhà bán lẻ trong kỉ nguyên thương mại điện tử. Xã hội yêu cầu sự hài lòng tức thì yêu cầu giao hàng nhanh các sản phẩm đặt hàng trực tuyến. Các nhà bán lẻ có thể đạt được điều này với chi phí thấp hoặc không mất phí sẽ có lợi thế cạnh tranh cao hơn.

Amazon sử dụng các dịch vụ của bên thứ ba để cung cấp sản phẩm cho khách hàng của mình trong thời gian vừa qua, và cũng đang trong quá trình xây dựng đội ngũ giao hàng của riêng mình để đáp ứng nhu cầu đang phát triển.

Để cạnh tranh, các nhà bán lẻ khác đang đầu tư nhiều hơn vào việc thiết lập các trung tâm phân phối gần nhất có thể với các khu vực đô thị, sau đó kí hợp đồng với UPS, USPS, FedEx và các dịch vụ chuyển phát nhanh địa phương để thực hiện các dịch vụ chuyển phát tới chặng cuối.

(TheoInvestopedia)

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Merchants usually contact a courier or shipping service as a first step in moving their shipment along the supply chain. This is referred to as first-mile delivery. There are many variations of how this is applied according to the type, size, and scale of the industry. Adequate attention to first mile decisions and processes strengthens the possibility of a successful outcome and bolsters customer satisfaction.

What is First-Mile Delivery?

First-mile delivery can be defined as the transportation of goods from a merchant’s premises or warehouse to the next hub from where the goods are forwarded further. First-mile means different things for different businesses. For instance, in the case of retailers, first-mile means shipping goods from local distribution centres to stores. In the case of manufacturers, it means transportation of finished goods from a plant or a factory to a distribution centre. 

An example of this is if you choose UPS as a courier, the first-mile delivery portion could involve your product being delivered from your warehouse to UPS’s warehouse. The effect of first-mile delivery is particularly impactful as it serves as the groundlaying for further logistics processes. When it is executed efficiently, the likelihood of a happy customer increases.

Movers and packers consider the first-mile as the process by which they pick up goods from the end-customer’s home or store and then move it to a warehouse or storage location. In case of eCommerce companies first-mile defines the process where goods are picked up from a retailer and then transferred to third-party logistics providers or courier service providers to be delivered to the end-consumer.

What is First-Mile Logistics?

First-Mile Logistics can be deifned as the first move in getting a product to the consumer. In general, it refers to transport but can also include assembling material. The highest aim of optimal first mile operations is meeting the customer’s needs according to varying timelines. Properly executed first-mile tracking managed variables in logistics, transportation, and inventory management processes. Providing visibility at this stage aids in predicting outcomes that positively influence final mile operations which involve the final part of the delivery when the product reaches the customer.

Highest Standards in First-Mile Ecommerce Operations

Ecommerce has experienced huge growth in recent years and competition is intense. It’s more important now than ever for businesses to do everything they can to ensure customer satisfaction. As a retailer, it’s your job to ensure this first phase of product delivery goes smoothly and without much trouble.

Careful consideration of first-mile delivery processes is essential for online retailers. Even before the first-mile stage, your company has invested time and money into researching the best sources for acquiring products and materials. After that, a careful selection of a courier is made. When negotiating with the courier, you need to ask the right questions that lead to an optimal agreement. If you ship internationally, learn the customs laws, and practices that need to be navigated. If you skip this, for example, it may result in carelessly handled or opened boxes that reach the customer in poor condition. In another scenario, the courier could help you deliver the package directly to the customer after signing a simple document.

Top 4 Challenges of First-Mile Delivery Operations and The Role of First-Mile Tracking

1. Poor Focus on First-Mile Experience

Businesses over the years have understood the significance of last mile delivery with regards to providing a delightful customer experience. This has resulted in a situation where the first-mile has been conveniently ignored, mainly because this process has fewer stakeholders and it is not end-customer facing. Now with the need to provide customers with end-to-end transparency of delivery progress and optimize logistics costs, equal focus should be given to first-mile operations. This triggers the need for enterprises to embrace robust first-mile tracking tools that optimize first-mile costs and ensures end-to-end visibility of delivery operations.

2. Inefficient Labelling Techniques

A small but extremely important part of first-mile delivery is labelling. Even now a large number of businesses manually label packages. This leads to a situation where not all required fields are mentioned in packages making dispatching inefficient and prone to delays. Automating dispatching, a key feature of a final-mile tracking platform, quickly addresses this challenge.

3. Improper Packaging

In the race to deliver fast, packaging often gets impacted. Businesses tend to use uniform packaging materials irrespective of the type of item a package carries. This causes material damages in the first-mile itself and thereby delaying the entire freight forwarding process. Hence, leveraging advanced delivery tools that empower businesses to gain better control of material handling is important.

4. Lack of Visibility

Poor visibility of first-mile operations is a key challenge that ultimately impacts not just mid-mile but also last mile processes along with the end-customer’s experience. Inefficient tracking of movement of freight from a warehouse to a hub, poor handling, en route delays among others are key impact areas of poor visibility. 

First-Mile Vs. Last-Mile Delivery

Simply put, first-mile delivery is at the start of the delivery portion of the supply chain and last-mile delivery is at the end of the supply chain. First-mile operations get the product from the manufacturer via a courier to a carrier. Last-mile operations finish when the order is delivered.

Although first-mile and last-mile operations are at opposite ends of the spectrum, parallels can be drawn between them.

Last-mile operations encompass moving goods between a transport hub to the delivery location. It is of utmost importance to keep a competitive edge and engage in innovative approaches to stay ahead of the competition. Success in the first-mile delivery process aids success in the last-mile delivery process. Both are significantly impactful on customer experience. Building strong communication between retailers and logistics providers is essential in providing customer satisfaction in both first-mile and last-mile deliveries. The last-mile delivery person often asks the customer to sign order receipts or digitally scan the packages, updating their status.

Both first-mile and last-mile carrier providers need to innovatively apply operating principles that save money, time, and accurately reach their target destination. To effectively address operations, warehouse inventory and routing need to be analyzed and made readily available. While previously many of these tasks were done manually, technical applications have become a must.

Optimizing First Mile Logistics

The key to optimizing first-mile logistics is automating processes. Expenses may be converted into funds for growth by applying the right technology. If first-mile operations conduct a lean performance it results in greater efficiency in truck loading and delivery times at the last mile of the supply chain.

Smart manufacturers take advantage of any opportunity to assess logistics and look for ways to improve the speed of getting their product to the consumer. They collate data among several operations phases, inter-logistically. This may involve such outcomes as being able to offer their goods at a lower cost, therefore gaining an edge in competition.

An audit of the tasks of the company’s workforce can give insights into how to reassign some of the human tasks to automated ones. This generates operational savings as well as helping to boost employee satisfaction as assigning them new and more complex tasks can be seen as a promotion. This also may cut back on high turnover rates.

Why First-Mile Operations Deserves Your Attention

Being the primary stage, first mile operations are of utmost importance in laying down a strong foundation. Happy customers are customers who got their goods in hand in superior condition, on time. Customers are lost when standards are low or inconsistent. There’s too much competition out there to neglect even small mistakes that could be inhibiting growth for your business.