Poor delivery operations are not in your face–they are often subtle but can cost you business. One way of resolving them is taking out small business grants, but knowing when to improve operations is the main problem.
This guide examines the best times to upgrade the delivery operations, no matter your business, and how to budget for the process.
Importance of improving delivery operations in 2021
a. Improves customer retention
Clients are more likely to continue using your services if you deliver reliably. All the big boys have an on-time performance of 95%, so your goal is simple–match or surpass that. Most customers will stick with you if you can consistently deliver within two days.
Consider installing a delivery management system that helps customers track and estimate delivery times and assist the delivery personnel in identify the best routes. The key here is reliability.
Provide some options, including same-day delivery, and cost-effective options that take a little bit longer. If you want to score higher deliver before the expected dates.
b. Reduces costs of operations
Improving your delivery operations will also minimize operational costs since that will optimize shipping options and packaging materials.
Your team will choose suitable boxing materials to minimize waste. Opt for a cost-effective parcel carrier that is reliable if it doesn’t make sense to fulfill deliveries yourself.
c. Improved communication
Supply chain communication and access to real-time data will lead to marked improvement with an upgraded delivery operation.
Customers won’t have to enquire about the state of their deliveries as they have access to delivery and shipping insights, even if it’s a third party conducting deliveries.
When a small business should take care of its operations
The first point is negative feedback from customers. They will complain that you promised to deliver goods or services on a particular date but failed to do so for one reason or another. The delay may not be a big deal to you, but it may lead to disruption of operations and heavy losses on their part.
Alternatively, complaints may be because of poor delivery tactics. Such complaints arise over receiving the wrong order, delivery mix-ups because of incorrect purchasing orders, or products delivered in a broken state. This shows your team is not well-drilled in handling or executing customer orders.
What’s worse is if there is no justification for the delays. Some delays are inevitable, like if there was a tropical storm. But, if there’s no good excuse for delays, you should find ways to improve your delivery jobs as it will lead to your reputation taking a hit.
When you lose business because of poor service, it’s time to revamp your delivery service. You shouldn’t wait to get to this stage because you might lose those customers. If you keep failing clients, they will look for someone who can deliver as promised.
Another clear pointer that you need to upgrade delivery options is when you plan to grow the business. Growth translates to an increased supply of goods and services, indicating that your current capacity cannot handle the traffic. Anticipated growth should also translate to better delivery easily.
Ideas to find proper financing to improve delivery operations
If you are a startup, there are several ways you can raise finances to improve delivery performance. Firstly, try small business grants that you won’t have to pay back. You won’t get to use the cash as you wish though, as the grantor will have specific instructions on spending the money.
Similarly, family and friends can also chip in exchange for a share in the business, or you can pay them off later.
Angel investors or venture capitalists are a good source of funding, but venture capitalists will typically expect the equity in return.
Alternatively, you could opt for a conventional loan from traditional or online lenders. Conventional lenders have strict qualification requirements, so you’d be better off checking out an online lender if you’re an immigrant.
Final words
Knowing when to improve your delivery operations need not be rocket science. All you have to do is watch out for negative feedback from customers, increased sales, plans for future expansions, and follow-up on customers to verify that you lost their business because of poor delivery.
If any of those scenarios occur, it’s time to improve. Follow the link in the introduction section for more information on small business grants and how to budget for upgrading the delivery operations.
