How Real-Time Visibility Enhances Customer Experience in Postal Services

Logistics is one of the most dynamic industries. Its value amounted to more than $9.41 trillion in 2023, or almost 10.7% of world GDP.

According to Statista, the market is expected to grow to $14.08 trillion in the next 5 years, which is about $1 trillion annually.

The biggest factor driving this growth is the demand for cargo transportation services.

Undoubtedly, the volume of goods brings profit to the industry. However, there's another factor — the IT component of logistics.

Cargo tracking systems and specialized accounting automation platforms, including warehouse management, have revolutionized the industry.

All this allowed logistics providers to take customer experience to a new level, thereby improving their profits from loyal consumers.

Today, you will learn real examples of how real-time visibility can positively affect the development of logistics businesses.

The Role of Real-Time Visibility in the Transportation Industry

Fortune Business Insights stated that the digital logistics market will be worth more than $120 billion by 2032.

It shows a high demand for services for the creation and modernization of the IT infrastructure of transport companies. It concerns both corporate-level providers and small brands engaged in last-mile delivery.

Digitization of business through real-time visibility for customers offers several advantages:

• Risk mitigation.
• Transparency of processes.
• Controllable delivery.
• Planning.
• Logical interaction with the client.
• Improving satisfaction.

Let's explore each of these benefits in detail.

Risk Mitigation

Sometimes the media reports stories about logistics companies mixing up the delivery address, filling out the documents incorrectly, or even stealing the cargo. 

So that this does not happen, you need to integrate real-time visibility.

For example:

• Provide all cargo and packaging with RFID tags.
• Automate employee monitoring through scanners and cameras.
• Implement a platform that updates the sending status based on the actual actions of employees.
• Provide users with a mobile application for automatic notification of a change in cargo status, or for the possibility to track it themselves.
• Integrate additional functionality—changing the destination, addressee, department, calling the courier, etc.

As a result, you eliminate the potential impact of the human factor on parcel processing.

And also minimize the risks of delays, damage, or theft of cargo.

These measures apply to the other points as well, so I won't repeat the details below.

Transparency of Processes

When clients know exactly when they will receive their packages, they have the opportunity to plan their time, visit the branch, or wait for the courier.

They can also monitor the status of the order with these updates:

• Completed by the sender.
• Transferred to the delivery service.
• Arrived at the branch.
• Sent.
• Located in the city X.
• Arrived.

To achieve this, it is important to create a continuous exchange of information with the cargo supplier. This could be an online store or marketplace where the sender updates order processing statuses manually or automatically.

Controllable Delivery

Have you ever ordered something and then had to leave town?

Meanwhile, the provider delivers the order and activates the paid storage service... 

However, if your carrier has a mobile application for tracking and managing parcels, you can change the destination or set another consignee. Easy. 

On a larger scale, real-time visibility allows:

• Centrally manage all transportation.
• Automate the distribution of loads to different departments.
• Track the cargo directly through barcodes, RFID, IoT, etc., as well as its condition, condition of the truck, driver, transportation conditions, etc.
• Study and optimize routes to reduce the cost of services.
• Analyze data from various sources to make informed decisions.

This is just a glimpse of what digital logistics infrastructure, especially real-time visibility and related technologies, can offer.

Planning

You gain valuable information by collecting and analyzing historical information, demand, freight movement time, idle time, and duration of loading/unloading operations.

Based on it, you can reorganize your logistics chains, reducing the cost of delivering goods and improving the overall efficiency and productivity of the team.

The more you understand the market, the better decisions you can make.

This way, you minimize delivery delays and provide consumers with a better experience.

Accordingly, improve your reputation, workload, and income, but more on that later.

Interaction With the Client

Real-time visibility systems let you and your clients interact directly with couriers or logistics services.

It leads to transparency of processes, so you are trusted more, which turns into a significant number of additional orders.

Also, with specialized applications and systems, you can also collect real-time reports on your team's performance:

• Deviation of the actual terms from the forecasted ones.
• Quality of service by couriers or staff in the branch.
• Facts of abuse, manipulation, and inappropriate behavior.
• Complaints about work schedules and speed of service.
• Suggestions for improving the service.

The last point is especially important because real users will give honest feedback.

While this doesn't replace staff analysts, it offers important additional data for strategic planning of the brand's activities.

Improving Satisfaction

When your customer can track their shipments, and change the destination, consignee, etc., they gain partial control over the process.

Accordingly, their brand perception improves.

As does the level of trust, which increases word-of-mouth advertising both offline and online.

Customer satisfaction is your key focus if you plan to scale your business in the future. Therefore, implementing solutions like real-time visibility will help you improve your brand reputation and gradually convert it into additional profits.

Consider this information when developing your long-term business development strategy. Also, pay attention to the positive impact of technology on your logistics brand. 

The Impact of Real-Time Visibility on Logistics Business

Technology can enhance every aspect of your company's operations. And I don't just mean real-time visibility.

There are other digital solutions and equipment that provide many advantages, namely:

• Investments in the IT component. Modernization is inevitable. So why not start early, reducing stress on budgets and staff?
• Process automation. In fact, all logistics operations can and should be automated to reduce the impact of the human factor and level the risks.
• Increasing staff productivity. Automating manual order processing helps manage growing workloads and prevents routine tasks from overwhelming your team.
• Decision-making based on real data. Statistical and historical data collected from various sources with specialized tools will help you make balanced and effective decisions.
• Optimization of the "internal kitchen" of companies. Tracking systems are only one of the tools for monitoring and optimizing the brand's regular processes. It is also an opportunity to increase team productivity.
• Risk reduction. With modern technologies, you can get rid of registration errors, accounting calls, cargo theft, etc.

So, modernizing the system, building the IT infrastructure, and adopting real-time visibility is a significant investment.

However, it works for the long term, giving the company a competitive advantage and the potential to scale.

So don't waste your time. Start shaping a digital logistics system (including AI) to play ahead!

Or have you already overcome a part of the path of modernization?

Share your experience in the comments!