Truck and Track Winter 2025/26 www.truckandtrack.com 28 INTERMODAL TRANSPORT SOFTWARE PTV Logistics: Unlocking the power of a unified A unified last mile delivery platform boosts efficiency, cuts costs, and improves customer experience by centralising logistics operations. Transport planning and management software is essential for modern logistics teams; the complexity of last mile deliveries makes it almost impossible to design and execute routes efficiently without it. The cost of technology has reduced greatly as more providers have entered the market and it’s now easier than ever to find the right tool for your business. Some companies might consider the stages of their delivery supply chain separately when choosing their tools. They aim for the ‘best-in-class’ technology for each one with the view that specialised expertise leads to better outcomes. Others might look to save money by buying focusing only on one area of their operations. However, investing in a unified last mile delivery platform – one that incorporates planning, optimisation, realtime visibility and operations management in one place – brings benefits that will lead to greater efficiencies and cost-savings over time than separate tools can. Here are some of the key benefits of a unified last mile delivery platform: Greater operational efficiency One of the main advantages of a unified last mile delivery platform is improvement in operational efficiency. ■ Centralised information. By collecting data such as delivery paperwork, customer details, traffic information, KPIs etc. in one place, you create a single source of truth. This makes data access quicker and reduces the chances of people working with different metrics from different tools. Team members using different numbers when talking about the same thing leads to confusion and poor decision making. A centralised database also supports easier auditing and better compliance with regulations. ■ End-to-end visibility. Making important decisions quickly relies on having access to all the relevant information. A unified platform offers end-to-end visibility of the whole delivery supply chain. If disruptions occur in one part, you can quickly understand the effect on other areas and make decisions to minimise its impact. ■ Process automation. Automation is key to increasing efficiency. It reduces the amount of manual work and frees up planners and logistics managers to focus on more strategic tasks. This requires accurate data about orders, resource availability, historical delivery data and more, which can be more easily gathered through a unified last mile delivery platform than through individual tools. Improved cost management Every business wants to save money. And whilst investing in a unified last mile delivery platform might have a greater upfront cost, over time the ROI is greater than spending less on separate tools. ■ Greater efficiency = lower costs. Doing more with less – more routes with fewer trucks, more deliveries with less fuel – allows you to operate at a lower cost without impact service quality. You’ll also be able to free up capacity to increase deliveries, growing long-term revenue at no extra cost. ■ Lower maintenance costs. Multiple tools mean higher customer support costs and more time for set up and maintenance. It requires your staff to learn multiple systems, instead of one. More tools also mean more things can go wrong. If an error happens with one tool that has a knockon effect on others, it can be harder to spot and slower to fix. And a unified system is easier to scale as your business grows ■ Continuous cost savings. A unified last mile delivery platform allows for dynamic problem solving. If a delay happens on a delivery, the route can automatically be replanned, minimising delays and keeping costs low. With several tools, the response is slower as data is manually transferred between different systems. In many cases, delays can’t be avoided so costs go up.
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