What is Last Mile Delivery?

Last mile delivery refers to the final step of the delivery process - when a shipment is being transported to its final destination. The final destination is usually a place of business or personal residence. This step is very important in the delivery process and businesses want it to be fast and efficient.

Last mile delivery is crucial for transporting food. This is because there is a higher chance of food going bad during this last part of the journey. The reasons for this include heat, problems with the courier, traffic delays, or a myriad of other issues. To handle logistics well, last mile delivery is crucial for business owners to ensure their product is delivered timely, is affordable, and arrives in good-condition.

Importance of Last Mile Delivery

Consumers want farm-to-fork businesses to deliver products efficiently due to concerns about the environment and economy. While this demand is encouraging the popularity of locally sourced food, it also presents challenges for businesses. Business owners face the growing expectation of providing consistent, fresh farm-to-fork products to their customers. Recognizing the significance of this crucial final step in delivery is essential for the sustainability of the entire process.

A streamlined last mile delivery process is key to assuring farm-to-fork businesses meet their customers’ expectations. When done right, last mile delivery is able to:

- Deliver food in a timely manner to increase efficiency.
- Deliver the highest quality of food to influence repeat customers.
- Increase environmental sustainability. For example, when business owners use one energy-efficient vehicle for multiple delivery points, they can reduce their carbon footprint.
- Reduce costs for business owners. By outsourcing the last-mile delivery process, businesses can save time and money by not having to manage it themselves.

Benefits of Last Mile Technology

The adoption of technology that grants businesses visibility into the last mile delivery process further streamlines, enhances accuracy, and boosts efficiency. Our technology empowers businesses with a comprehensive perspective of the entire farm-to-fork journey, delivering a range of advantages, such as real-time visibility, route optimization, and data analysis.

Real-time Visibility
Live tracking helps businesses know where their items are at all times at any point along the journey with remarkable accuracy. A live location tracker provides customers with the exact location of the courier and more visibility into the expected delivery time of the food product they’ve ordered.

Route Optimization
Route optimization solutions find the best route possible to cover all the deliveries assigned to a given vehicle. At this level of optimization, delivery routes can be changed in real-time to avoid delays like road closures, traffic jams, or weather delays.

For example, if a shipment is delayed due to traffic, the delay can then be addressed in real-time and the truck be rerouted. By avoiding routes that typically cause delays, or knowing what time of day is best to proceed along a selected route, time can be cut from the transportation process to deliver food quicker.

Data Analysis
Our last mile application collects data from every point along the way. Companies can use this information to understand where to focus their optimization efforts and implement better delivery strategies. If there is a point in the chain where food items are consistently being compromised, then it will be discovered in the data and can be corrected quickly to ensure the least amount of food is wasted as possible.

Last Mile Delivery Services

Evigence’s best-in-class monitoring technology ensures fresh food management efforts achieve the most desirable outcome for customers. This new way of measuring and managing food freshness helps businesses improve product quality and reduce food waste. Our sensors collect data to monitor food's freshness in real-time, at the item level, all the way from production to consumption. We then parse this data into functional analytics as part of our Last Mile Freshness Management application.

Evigence Advantage

Our advantage is our advanced sensors, known as time-temperature indicators (TTIs), used as pivotal tools in the entire farm-to-fork delivery process. By tracking the two bedrock data points of food transportation, cumulative time and temperature, our TTIs meticulously and consistently monitor the freshness of perishable items. This vital information is then quickly and accurately relayed to employees and customers, helping to identify any weaknesses in the chain. By helping supply chain managers close these inconsistency gaps, we can all enjoy a more streamlined process for delivering food to the people who need it.

Seamless Sensors
This communication is facilitated through direct visual observation or a digital scan. The sensors are conveniently placed on the food packaging itself. These cost-effective sensors can be seamlessly applied during high-speed manufacturing processes at the retail level. The most unique feature of our sensors is how they also serve as a visual checkpoint as they gradually transition in color, mirroring the anticipated degradation of the food product. This color shift stands as a reliable indicator of remaining shelf life, consistently accurate within a margin of +/- 10%.

Valuable Data Insights
When the accumulation of the data via our sensors is applied to real-world scenarios, our customers can expect several procedural benefits. Being given these tools to further reduce spoilage and food waste issues moving forward provides an advantage over competitors and builds trust among customers as well. These unparalleled insights help you optimize freshness in supply chains, inventory, and even in consumers' homes, helping you make informed decisions and enabling you to take proactive action to improve your part in the farm-to-fork delivery process.

Let’s Have A Conversation

Ready to improve operational inefficiencies, delight customers with the quality and safety of your food, reduce waste, and improve the bottom line of your business? Learn about our Last Mile Freshness Management services to gain real-time visibility into the freshness of your food product once it arrives at your consumer’s desired destination.

You can also learn more about the latest food management industry news in our blog. Please contact us with any questions you may have about our applications or technology and we would be happy to assist you with your freshness management needs.

Author:

Courtney Cook, Marketing Director
courtneyc@evigence.com