GPS Tracking for Delivery: Benefits for Businesses

Whilst GPS tracking is hardly the newest technology by today’s standards, there's little doubt that virtually any business can greatly benefit from using it. However, as we discovered, some will find it more useful than others; and such is definitely the case for delivery companies - from improving efficiency and profitability to security and precision, a GPS tracking system can be a game changer.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, online delivery services were rapidly growing in popularity as more and more individuals wanted to have their food, electronics, or clothing delivered to their homes. But even today, when the coronavirus lockdowns are already in the past, the eCommerce industry is thriving. In 2022, retail eCommerce sales worldwide reached the level of $5.7 billion and by 2026, this figure is expected to hit the mark of $8 billion. Such results indicate that the share of eCommerce in total volumes of retail deals is already climbing over 20%.  

With the growing interest in eCommerce from the side of consumers, the demand for delivery services is increasing as well. But with it, greater challenges come - without the assistance of GPS tracking, delivery vehicles will find it almost impossible to fulfill their obligations and deliver the goods to clients swiftly and safely. Even now, when such solutions are being gradually implemented all over the world, around 1 billion packages are lost or stolen per year, which means that delivery companies need to think about the use of more advanced GPS real-time tracking tools in their business processes.

In this article, we’re taking a look at how exactly package delivery services utilize said technology and what benefits they get to reap from doing so. 

We’ve already looked at how GPS works in general, and suffice to say, at the core of a GPS tracking system we have data - invaluable data that enables managers and drivers to make informed and calculated decisions. First, wireless transmission of the data takes place between a cloud service and the user's application. Then, users and drivers can use this data to map out and optimize routes, keep tabs on the fleet schedule, and act quickly if a technical issue occurs.

All in all, there can be different types of  GPS tracker technologies for delivery companies. While some solutions of this kind are intended for internal use only, some others have separate interfaces for customers that can also monitor the status and location of their packages. The core functionality of any system from this category is related to identifying and continuous monitoring of delivery vehicles and, consequently, parcels that are being transferred by all the vehicles managed by the company.

But GPS tracking, which provides a brilliant location management system, can also give delivery firms access to other data. Thanks to such solutions, companies can also easily track vehicle activity, vehicle position, and delivery status. On top of that, businesses can conveniently track inventory, monitor its status and develop a smart warehouse system thanks to the deployment of these small devices.

As a result, all participants of the delivery processes, such as customers, delivery companies, and drivers of vehicles can enjoy a wide range of new opportunities and benefits that we are going to explain further in this blog post. 

Now let’s break down some of the most prominent benefits that come from supplying delivery trucks with a GPS tracking system.

• Safer driving

It’s not unheard of for small or even medium-sized businesses to go bankrupt because of one big car accident-related lawsuit. Are you positive that your staff never drive recklessly in corporate delivery trucks? Even though you're not the one driving, you are still responsible for how your employees act while they're working for you and/or using one of your delivery vehicles. So you must think of how to improve safety, and luckily, the use of GPS tracking does encourage safer driving practices because your staff will be aware of them being monitored and will take fewer unnecessary gambles.

• More accurate work-hour logging

One more obvious way that GPS tracking saves delivery business owners money - human negligence may cost you a lot of money if you rely on manual reporting of work hours. With GPS live tracking, you will reduce overreporting of hours and needless overtime pay by seeing how long each route actually takes.

• Better fleet management

As GPS allows you to see where your driver is at any given time, you will better grasp how your driver's precise location may affect the rest of the day and when arrivals are anticipated. With you watching over the delivery trucks in real time, there’ll be no need for couriers to notify you if they’re experiencing a problem - being stuck in traffic for instance. Live ETAs can establish whether the driver is running late and put the solutions to those delays in your direct line of sight.

• Improved reporting

GPS reports are crucial to package delivery services as they can wrap vital data into comprehensive packages, letting you analyze past orders and make adjustments for future ones. Such delivery quality metrics as the stops drivers make, traffic rule violations and customer feedback can be measured and with this data, you will have good insights on how your employees perform.

You can also track customer behavior; obtaining such data order frequency or delivery type - this will assist you to perform more efficient marketing activities.

• Enhanced transparency

When a number of your drivers are running late, your incoming call traffic may increase because your clients' expectations weren't met and they were left in the dark. You may share a precise ETA based on GPS position data with your clients to decrease that friction and enhance customer experience. Third-party systems can be used to send alerts to share crucial updates, such as "driver is 15 minutes away." Your clients will definitely appreciate the openness and transparency you provide.

Thanks to the introduction of GPS-powered solutions, customers of delivery companies can leverage the increased quality of services and higher accuracy of delivery time predictions. And these advantages can be especially tangible during peak hours. Let’s have a closer look at them.

• Route optimization

A GPS tracker can help drivers and their managers to implement the required changes to their routes given the ongoing weather and road conditions. When drivers see that their initial routes will take significantly more time than it was planned due to snowfalls or road accidents, it is possible to find a better variant that will allow them to deliver packages in time.

• Better decisions

A GPS-powered app can not only execute real-time tracking but also store valuable history of routes, deliveries, and plans. Thanks to this data, companies can make better-informed decisions regarding deliveries of packages to customers during peak hours. As a result, they can identify the existing problems, elaborate on different approaches, test them, and choose the most feasible variants and schemes for providing their services in complicated conditions.

• Real-time assistance

Even when a company takes care of its delivery vehicles and regularly invests money in them, there can be different situations on roads that can lead to mechanical failures and further issues. As a result, due to such situations, drivers may not be able to continue performing their tasks. A GPS tracker with real-time data can help managers to estimate the issues and send assistance as soon as possible. Given different circumstances, they can send either other vehicles that will take the packages and deliver them to people or mechanics who can quickly conduct some maintenance work and fix the existing issues.

Our team has helped delivery businesses leverage the power of GPS tracking on more than one occasion.  One of the projects of this type was our solution built for L'Oréal. From this client, we got a task to develop an iOS application for package real-time tracking with a view to optimizing and streamlining internal business processes.

After analyzing all the requirements of the client and all the established processes, we created a user-friendly app for the company’s staff. The application has a feature for scanning barcodes and QR codes. Once the code is scanned, all the contained information about the parcel is sent to the common database.

The mobile application can automatically monitor parcels which is possible thanks to the use of tracking numbers. All the latest data such as the ongoing parcel location and status can be viewed via the app. We also ensured the synchronization of the solution with the calendar which allows employees to better estimate the delivery date.

GPS-based solutions are here to stay, and for a good reason: the technology perfectly combines simplicity, reliability and versatility. And there’s hardly any industry that can utilize it better than delivery businesses. Offering huge amounts of critical data in real-time, GPS tracking enables companies to better manage their delivery trucks, make sure the employees drive safely and don’t overreport work hours, harness the power of detailed reports and make their activity fully transparent and open to customers. And if you wonder how to make GPS work for you, you’ll be well encouraged to get in touch with Cogniteq.