In the realm of contemporary logistics, efficiently bridging the gap between point A and B forms the crux of operational success. Autonomous vehicles are seen as the future of delivery, but current laws and technology still require human drivers. In this context, it’s important to recognize drivers as the foundational assets driving our supply chain ambitions. Hence, curating an optimal driver experience emerges as a non-negotiable strategic imperative. Navigating the Terrain of the “Great Resignation” Employee attrition, precipitated by burnout, is a widespread corporate concern, and the lo ..read more

In 2019, Bain & Co. predicted that the retail industry in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is on the verge of a pivotal shift. “E-commerce is becoming a reality,” the management consulting company stated, “reinventing consumers’ path to purchase, forming new customer experiences, disrupting business models, and creating growth opportunities for large and small retailers as well as for a new generation of pure E-commerce players.” Historically, consumer goods shopping was restricted to in-store visits to supermarkets or malls in the Middle East. Strong reliance on face-to-face shopp ..read more

Last-mile logistics is a pain point for both retailers and delivery partners, who are well-acquainted with the complexities that come with it. One of the biggest challenges is routing, which is a crucial aspect of last-mile logistics. The on-time delivery and estimated time of arrival (ETA) of orders rely heavily on optimized route management, which is a key ingredient in a fully automated last mile delivery. A robust route optimization software needs to take into account on-ground constraints such as traffic, road closures, changes in delivery time, and the preferences of discerning customer ..read more

If you’re reading this, chances are that you’re already optimizing and automating key aspects of your last-mile dispatch operations with smart routing and rider allocation technology. But there’s a catch. You might often notice that your drivers are not following the routes that have been chalked up by your route planning or route optimization solution. This is such a persistent problem in the industry that the study of this phenomenon has its own term: Sequence adherence. So why is this happening? The map is not the territory Essentially, a route optimization engine creates routes that facto ..read more

John is a floor supervisor at a high-growth e-commerce company. One of his key tasks is to take stock of the various shipments to be delivered and assign them to delivery executives. As a floor supervisor, John has intimate knowledge of the strengths of each delivery executive and the vehicles that they drive. With these insights, and on the basis of delivery priority for each parcel, he painstakingly chalks out delivery routes. With a pen and paper in hand and a bunch of spreadsheets at his side, it takes many hours on a good day to complete the task. The rest of it is then spent in assignin ..read more

Amongst shippers, 51% told us that a lack of clarity on customer demand was the biggest bottleneck emerging as a result of COVID-19. – Emerging out of the Pandemic Supply Chain Report, Reuters Events, Oct 2020 The ability to fulfill customer needs, by delivering goods at the right place and time, determines the efficiency of a delivery business. Delayed deliveries slow down supply chains and hurt customer relationships, thereby affecting the company’s reputation. With increasing customer demand and rising pressures from competitors due to COVID-19, maintaining on-time delivery performance has ..read more

2020 gave the biggest boost to online selling, and brands across industries have embraced various omnichannel selling models to keep up with customer expectations. But for a retail or consumer goods company, a large chunk of revenue predominantly comes from goods that are sold at retail stores spread across multiple locations, catering directly to the end customer.  And, sales in these retail outlets depend on a number of different factors — changing customer demands, market trends, inventory availability at the right time, and efficient distribution of merchandise by the company. What i ..read more

Updated: Mar 9, 2023 Ramadan is approaching! Tenah Abang, the largest textile market in Southeast Asia, will soon be teeming with tailors and other vendors eager to provide their wares. As families prepare for the upcoming holiday, extravagant feasts will be commonplace, resulting in a surge in demand for food items. Ramadan and Raya mark the peak shipping times for delivery businesses across Southeast Asia, requiring the companies to demonstrate their operational capabilities to accommodate this surge in orders. Customers want to get their orders on time during these festive seasons, so the ..read more

Revenue is driven by a number of different factors in retail and FMCG markets — constantly evolving customer expectations, rising market competition, omnichannel trends, location demographics, and the effectiveness of supply chain elements, especially timely and effective distribution of goods to retail outlets from where the end customer buys the products.  Typically, this is how distribution works in a retail/FMCG business. Once manufactured, finished goods are sent to company warehouses and distribution centers situated across multiple locations for storage. From these warehouses, goo ..read more

Few of the severe and defining issues that have cropped up with global warming are the unprecedented and inevitable climate events like the one in Texas. It has become impossible to predict events such as winter storms, hurricanes, polar vortices and wildfires. The need of the hour is efficient contingency plans.  Trucking companies have more pressure to keep rolling on schedule and cannot wait for the uneven weather to stop. They face power outages, traffic diversions, road closures, long delays at overwhelmed terminals due to uneven weather conditions.  As winter storms hit North ..read more