Regardless of the size of last-mile delivery companies, technology is enabling their operations today, says Dinesh Dixit, vice president of account excellence at LogiNext Solutions.

Driver shortages were a problem for the logistics industry long before the pandemic, but the lockdown did exacerbate things, Dixit notes. That has caused companies to use technology to create more efficiencies with the trucks and drivers they do have. 

True, companies have turned to the Uber and Lyft models to create independent contractors, who may only be available to drive for a few weeks a year. The notion is that such models still add capacity. But technology is the main enabler for home delivery and increased customer satisfaction.

“Whether it's route optimization, assignment of orders, real-time changes in the shifts and routes — all of those — these technologies are helping companies, including the legends and big giants, come into the new world, a new digital age of delivery, because that's become the customer expectation,” Dixit says. “Now, consumers want to see exactly where their driver is. They want to see exactly what their ETA is. They want to be able to talk to the drivers directly. So that is the kind of consumer expectation that all of these companies will have to meet in order to compete in the future.”

Even smaller companies can afford these technologies. “A lot of these capabilities are available at the touch of a button. You can define the customized messaging to send to your customers. They can actually see where their package is or when they're going to get delivery. Whether it's a shipper or a carrier, they have those capabilities which can truly supplement their overall ecosystem and create that superior customer experience, which is becoming table stakes at this stage.”