While people all over the country remained indoors to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in late 2020, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that Q3 online retail delivery volumes had increased by 36 percent year-over-year. In the same year, the predominant shipping carriers in the U.S. also reported significant decreases in on-time delivery, according to Digital Ecommerce 360. And as complete Q4 figures roll in, we’ll likely see that both orders and delays spiked yet again as the holiday season approached.
View Ashwin Apte’s profile on LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional community. Ashwin has 9 jobs listed on their profile. See the complete profile on LinkedIn and discover Ashwin’s connections and jobs at similar companies. While the prediction performance is objectively evaluated via cross-validation, a final model was fit and interpreted based on the entire data set, with potential confounders included as covariates.
In the age of “instant gratification” e-commerce shopping, every minute between customer order and final delivery matters. But leaders in the retail transportation market told Digital Ecommerce 360 that during their 2020 overload, the key to sustaining customer satisfaction was proactive communication of changing delivery times. And package tracking remains the most accessible, to-the-minute communication method available to online customers. Companies that keep customers informed while also ensuring a smooth and timely delivery process all the way to the last mile and ensuring proof of delivery (POD) will have a market advantage — and mobile devices deliver just that.
Last-mile logistics and POD
Mordor Intelligence predicts that the courier, express and parcel (CEP) market will increase at a compounded annual growth rate of 5.5 percent by 2025. However, this figure was based on trends observed in 2019 — following the unprecedented growth of e-commerce in 2020, market researchers may adjust these predictions in the coming months.
Consumer demands for speedy delivery and consistent tracking are also likely to grow with the market. However, omnichannel shopping, such as buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS), also complicates logistics.
The growth in the CEP industry and customer expectations means companies must track assets accurately and quickly to ensure POD. Unfortunately, a significant percentage of companies are not equipped to seamlessly meet this demand. Most of the market still uses pen and paper to document omnichannel transactions, which can lead to POD glitches when companies track assets.
Pen-and-paper solutions present a number of complications in ensuring POD. Digitization of end processes using mobile devices can solve these challenges in several ways.
1. Increase logistics accuracy
Recording transactions with pen and paper can increase documentation inaccuracies and present a misleading picture to all parties that need to track assets. The worker also has to enter the same transaction records manually into the enterprise software at a later date. This two-step process decreases employee productivity and increases labor spend. Using a rugged mobile device such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab Active3 or Tab Active Pro ensures immediate and accurate registration of transactions so all parties receive accurate and timely POD.
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2. Facilitate greater transparency
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Recording POD manually on paper forms increases room for disputes when multiple parties track assets. If companies digitize processes to obtain signatures from customers and scan items on delivery, all parties can access irrefutable proof that the package is truly where it says it is. Employees who scan packages using a mobile device outfitted with a scanner can deliver accurate and speedy POD. Use of mobile devices in POD logistics increases transparency as everyone accesses a single source of truth.
3. Deliver better customer service
Pen-and-paper POD solutions miss opportunities to increase the number of customer touchpoints. Given that so many customers track their orders online, they might appreciate being updated on the status of their packages. Digitization of POD solutions helps companies deliver automatic customer alerts about package pickup, shipment and point and time of arrival. Automated processes also empower customer service representatives who can track packages and order status without having to make additional phone calls to receive necessary updates.
4. Deliver more thorough documentation
Replacing lost or damaged items can be a customer service and logistics challenge. Relying solely on pen and paper during the last mile means the courier has to scribble down any problems and hope that the description is detailed enough for dispute resolution down the line.
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Samsung’s Galaxy Tab Active3 and Tab Active Pro tablets have powerful cameras that can take pictures of damaged goods and allow the courier to attach the image to the digital record. Using the attached S Pen, the employee can also telestrate or highlight the problem more clearly on the digital image. Such comprehensive information potentially leads to faster and smoother conflict resolution.
As B2B and B2C consumer demands complicate last-mile logistics, companies need a seamless digitized solution to track assets. They need transparent and real-time data sharing. A range of Samsung devices facilitates powerful electronic processing of goods as they move from warehouse to point of delivery. Barcode scanning via the device’s camera, photos of the asset at its destination and signature collection via touchscreen all add to the capabilities that mobile devices provide.
Mobility improves efficiencies in the last mile, while helping companies deliver stellar customer service and improve inventory management. Mobile devices are key to digitizing customer touchpoints so every interaction furthers brand loyalty and customer satisfaction.
Discover how mobile processes enhance warehouse efficiencies and cut costs in this free guide. Then learn how to identify the best rugged mobile device for warehouse and logistics.
“ Becoming number one is easier than remaining number one.” Bill bradley .
It’s hard to believe that it’s time to start looking towards 2017, this year is almost over. 2016 has finally been the year when mobile searches have overtaken desktop. Pay attention to the trends and advancements within the world of seo as we move into a new calendar year 2017.
The way we ask for information is changing. The way we optimize must change too. The world of seo continues to change at lightning speed. If content is king, engagement is the queen of hearts. Seo is the lifeblood of online business.
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5 Actionable SEO Predictions For 2017 -
Mobile First Serps Index Is The Game Of The Future -
We don’t need to rehash the general importance of mobile. Google's index has been shifting toward mobile-first. It’s going to change the way that your site gets ranked in the search engine results pages (serps). Mobile serps has always been an important component of seo.
Today, many businesses are receiving more traffic from mobile search over desktop. If you have neglected mobile seo in the past, it’s now more important than ever that you up your game.
Google’s mobile-first index will shake up the serps. For marketers and advertisers who have not yet adopted a mobile -centric philosophy, this serves as the final wake-up call. A mobile-first approach has already changed the ways that brands and advertisers interact with consumers. A google’s mobile index announcement has the potential to radically change the way brands can and should target consumers and drive discoverability and traffic for themselves.
Voice Search Is The Next Big Thing -
voice search is a faster, hands-free option where you use regular spoken english to pose a question. Google says 20 percent of mobile queries are voice searches. Smartphone voice assistants like siri and ok google represent the most widespread use of intelligent voice interfaces.
voice search growing as virtual assistant market heats up. The range of virtual assistants, such as amazon echo,siri, cortana, google voice search are collectively training people to search using their voices and to become more “conversational” with search and mobile devices.
voice search was more focused on audio-video content. Since voice searches are more like spoken word, you want to make sure you understand the searchers intent and market to that. Try to put yourself in the shoes of the customer and how they would start a voice search, and you’ll find a lot of ideas as to how voice searches originate and what you can do to enhance your brand’s visibility with voice searches.
Accelerated Mobile Pages (amp) Take Over -
We all know that we are living in the era of the smartphones. Accelerated mobile pages (amp) is the open source initiative that empowers publishers to develop mobile optimized content. Webpages created using amp will appear when relevant in the top stories section of the search results page.
Amp promotes this improved mobile friendly and mobile speed loading of web pages, using 8x less data and 4x faster than regular pages. Amp will affect seo in regards to impressions, clicks, user experience, and of course, speed.
Amp was at first directed to news websites and blogs , recently google started presenting amp results for recipe sites too. If your website is already receiving a great volume of traffic from mobile search, you might start scheduling the creation of an amp version.
This is a growing trend that google is pushing hard through the past year plus. If you haven’t been paying attention, catch up asap. This will matter a great deal in the future.
The Year Of Artificial Intelligence -
Artificial intelligence (ai) is now prevalent in many of our lives. Google is also heading full speed along the ai route with hummingbird an initial step toward themes instead of specific keywords. This self-updating artificial intelligence will show real-time changes that will reflect in the ranking of the website in moments.
Using ai, google’s ranks brain will consider non-traditional ranking factors to give more relevant results. Rank brain is a machine learning ai that google has integrated into its search algorithm.
Ai is rapidly infiltrating almost every industry today, and seo is no different–especially when it comes to the real-time needs for marketers. The way i say it, artificial intelligence is the technology of the future and always will be.
Schema – Structured Data Will Be Back -
Schema helps search engines to interpret your web pages more efficiently so that visitors can easily find the answers to their queries. Google is increasingly leaning toward artificial intelligence so the use of structured data and schema will become more important in helping search engines to understand your web pages.
Schema markups are fast becoming the top trend for companies to stand out from the crowd and receive higher rankings than competitors. Schemas also make rich snippets possible by providing google with the information it needs to display these rich snippets or quick answers.
Schema makes it easier for search engines to understand your site. Almost 22% of all search queries get direct answers or rich snippets from google and the numbers are set to grow in 2017.
' Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.' Tony Robbins .
Conclusion
Seo trends will come and go, but to capitalize on growth, you must stay current. Seo is a waiting game, and it is all about quality and relevance. If you pay attention to these predictions, you will definitely have a successful year in digital marketing. This won’t slow down in 2017. It will only grow in importance as we move forward. Oh, happy holidays, and happy new year! See you in january!