Real-time analytics – Going beyond traditional Track and Trace

Many parcel delivery companies use Track and Trace software to monitor shipment lifecycle and keep their customers informed. These tools are supposed to enable companies to stay on top of their operations in real-time.

But here’s the catch…

Track and Trace doesn’t equal real-time analytics.

These tools provide partial information about parcels’ status based on the last reading point. What happens in between remains unknown. To truly understand what’s going on, this information often needs to be cross-referenced with others such as courier location, delivery area, and address geolocation. That requires using several different tools, which is slow and unproductive.

So what’s the solution?

Ideally, instead of juggling multiple tools, one would hope to have the best of all tools incorporated in a single place. Besides obvious convenience, the list of benefits would include:  

• Shorter response time – Without real-time tracking, operations teams would have difficulty putting themselves into the courier’s shoes. Having the ability to quickly access information about the courier, their current location, and the task at hand provides them with needed context. This reduces response time significantly and benefits both the company and recipients.

• Cost-effectiveness – Unsuccessful deliveries are costly. Seeing a significant number of unsuccessful deliveries during a courier’s route can be an alert to investigate. Were there any external factors that caused them, and was the courier really at the right location? Combing data from multiple sources can help companies spot inefficiencies and proactively act before they become a bigger problem. Limiting the number of unsuccessful deliveries helps to reduce unnecessary vehicle mileage with associated fuel consumption, noise, and congestion impact of urban freight transport.

• Quicker  decision-making – Knowing which couriers are on track and which need help is a daily task for all operations teams. Real-time predictive analytics does not precisely predict what will happen in the future; instead, it forecasts what could happen. Knowing that delays are possible before it’s too late is critical and allows teams to act quickly. When a courier faces challenges on the field, finding a colleague nearby who could help is an excellent example of a proactive response that benefits everyone.

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Final thoughts

It’s time to take a step forward from Track and Trace.

You need complete and easily accessible information that allows you to understand and resolve problems quickly early on. Otherwise, it becomes challenging to meet ever-increasing recipients’ expectations.

If you want to advance your operations and start making timely data-driven decisions, request a demo on our website and try out Mily Technologies’ real-time analytics.