What is a Last-Mile Delivery Station?

Getting a shipment from a manufacturer to a customer takes a lot of planning and hand-offs. However, the final leg of this journey, known as last-mile delivery, is crucial—especially with the growth of eCommerce retail. Shoppers want faster, better shipping options, so businesses are under more pressure to optimize their delivery processes.

During last-mile delivery, your products go to a distribution center or transportation hub. This is the most complex part of the delivery process. A last-mile delivery station is a specialized facility that streamlines last-mile logistics with efficient sorting and dispatching.

In this guide, we’ll explain last-mile delivery stations and offer tips on how businesses can use them to boost their delivery capabilities.

In this article:

• What Is a Last-Mile Delivery Station?
• Benefits of Last-Mile Delivery Stations
• Optimizing Last-Mile Delivery Stations
• Enhancing Last-Mile Efficiency
• Frequently Asked Questions

What Is a Last-Mile Delivery Station?

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A last-mile delivery station facilitates the final step of delivery. These local hubs receive packages from larger distribution centers. Employees sort these packages and dispatch them to their delivery locations.

Shipments take more time to travel from large regional distribution centers, so building more last-mile delivery stations can seriously speed up the shipping process.

Last-mile delivery stations perform three functions:

1. Sorting: A state-of-the-art sorting facility is at the heart of every last-mile delivery station. These facilities use advanced technology to quickly and accurately sort packages based on destination. Automated sorting systems and conveyors streamline the process, ensuring packages are ready for dispatch in less time.
2. Vehicle management: Effective last-mile delivery stations organize and manage fleets to improve resource utilization and maximize efficiency. Efficient vehicle routing and scheduling are essential for minimizing delivery times and costs while maximizing the number of deliveries completed in a given period.
3. Real-time tracking: Delivery stations provide up-to-the-minute information on package locations. Customers rely on this tracking information for delivery updates and more accurate arrival estimates.

Book a demo today to discover how the Wise Systems delivery automation platform can help you implement strategic management practices to optimize your delivery operations.

Benefits of Last-Mile Delivery Stations

It might seem redundant to route deliveries to these hubs from distribution centers, but last-mile delivery stations have several benefits, including:

• Faster delivery times: Strategically positioning these stations closer to densely populated areas allows companies to minimize the distance packages need to travel, speeding up the delivery process. This proximity allows for same-day or even same-hour deliveries, which are a huge perk if you’re targeting eCommerce shoppers.
• Improved accuracy: Last-mile delivery stations provide more oversight and control over the final leg of delivery. With advanced sorting facilities and real-time tracking systems, these stations manage and route packages more efficiently, reducing the chances of errors and missed deliveries.
• Better customer experience: Last-mile delivery localizes the final stage of delivery, supporting faster deliveries. Timely deliveries increase customer satisfaction, so it’s no surprise that more organizations are adding last-mile delivery stations to their logistics operations.

Optimizing Last-Mile Delivery Stations

Incorporating last-mile delivery stations in your logistics operations is a smart move that increases speed and accuracy. But, like any business investment, you need to optimize every delivery station for the best return on value. Follow these tips to get more out of your last-mile delivery station.

Carefully Plan Locations

Location makes all the difference. Delivery stations are smaller arms of larger warehouses, allowing you to service a wider geographical area.

However, you need to build in the right places. Tools like Strategic Planner from Wise Systems make it a cinch to compare territory plans continuously. It also allows you to quickly make adjustments, maximizing the value of each delivery station.

Manage Performance

Performance matters, whether it’s your truck routes, employee productivity, or shift productivity. Performance Manager from Wise Systems tracks performance indicators at scale for you, identifying trends that inform key business decisions.

Leverage Data Analytics

Companies establish last-mile delivery stations to improve accuracy and speed, so analytics are a must for measuring performance changes over time. However, it’s easy to drown in data, especially when you’re managing an entire supply chain.

The Wise Systems delivery automation platform uses an AI-driven Dynamic Optimization Engine (DOE) to make real-time decisions based on your data. These machine learning models mobilize data to provide actionable insights, moving it out of static spreadsheets and into dynamic decision-making conversations.

Learn more about Wise Systems’ powerful tools to optimize your delivery operations. Request a demo today.

Enhancing Last-Mile Efficiency

Check out our latest Feature Spotlight and learn how you can use our Route Planner app to build cost-effective routes and maximize fleet efficiency. Learn more here! https://t.co/PXR9se6pbl pic.twitter.com/GK8yEQzx2B

— Wise Systems (@goWiseSystems) March 29, 2023

More customers demand fast, accurate shipping. With eCommerce on the upward trend, it’s crucial for businesses to invest in effective last-mile delivery stations.

Building additional stations will boost delivery timelines, but these stations still need careful management. The Wise Systems delivery automation platform is a comprehensive solution for last-mile logistics that streamlines data, decision-making, and more for all your delivery stations. Request a demo now to see Wise Systems in action.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the main challenges of using last-mile delivery stations?

The biggest challenges are urban congestion, high operational costs, and environmental concerns. Urban congestion can delay deliveries, while high operational costs stem from the need for building infrastructure and hiring employees.

How do last-mile delivery stations handle returns and reverse logistics?

Last-mile delivery stations have dedicated areas and processes for handling returned goods. This includes sorting returned items, inspecting them for damage, and coordinating their return to the appropriate distribution centers or directly back to suppliers.

Can small businesses use last-mile delivery stations?

Last-mile delivery stations can benefit businesses of all sizes. These stations allow small businesses to benefit from a larger infrastructure and enterprise-level technology to offer their customers faster and more reliable deliveries. By partnering with third-party logistics providers that operate these stations, small businesses can compete with larger retailers without investing heavily in their logistics networks.