Speed and accuracy of delivery enhance the customer experience, says Kushal Nahata, chief executive officer and founder of FarEye. Visibility is what ties it all together.

Because it’s the biggest touch point between a business and its end consumer, the final mile is experiencing the most disruption, says Nahata. And because we’re living in an era where it's not about what’s delivered but how it’s delivered, that makes final-mile delivery such a hot topic.

“We want to choose when we want a delivery, where we want a delivery and how we want to do it,” says Nahata. “If businesses can do that, they get that order; if they can't, it goes to someone else. That's how to retain their customers and grow. Final mile has become one of the biggest channels for either growth or disruption.”
 It's critical that three cost areas are taken care of if last-mile delivery is to be successful: the type of delivery, speed and customer experience. You can’t price so low that profit is impossible; speed of delivery defines the customer’s experience, but the consumer must be willing to pay the higher price; and a bad experience can be devastating. “If I don’t get the right experience, I will go to another brand,” says Nahata. “So you lose the customer lifetime value and you use lose the referenceability.” 

Nahata notes that sustainability is becoming more important — at least for some customers. However, while reducing carbon footprints can be achieved by shortening the number of miles traveled, a so-called greener delivery might require a longer delivery time. “I think that's still an early trend,” he says. “I don't think we as consumers would pay for a greener delivery yet, but we may be okay to wait for it.”