Online sales are booming. Although 94% of the Dutch population of over the age of 15 shopped online last year, customers are still expected to increase their total spend by 10% in the next five years (source: GfK research, 2019). Offering the end customer different delivery methods for these products leads to opportunities to differentiate or increase sales, but, at the same time, it is a complex and dynamic issue. Even though executing the delivery of the product’s last mile accounts for over 50% of total delivery costs, 45% of consumers are still dissatisfied with retailers’ delivery service. Companies are therefore forced to rethink their last-mile strategy while considering current market needs: the right smart technologies, the right operating model for delivery, innovative approaches to attracting and retaining operators, and a willingness to work together with consumers to make the last mile attractive for both the supplier and the customer.

Capgemini Invent is a thought leader in supporting companies in rethinking their last-mile strategy. To introduce you to this emerging topic, we will happily take you on a customer’s last-mile journey in a series of upcoming blogs. The overview below gives a glimpse of the themes we will cover:

In this series, we will explain several crucial elements that managers, retailers, and e-commerce companies will encounter in shaping the last mile, as well as future developments therein. Starting with smart hand-over methods, the information will accumulate in each blog, moving into the transportation of the package, globally offered last-mile propositions and dealing with returns. In the final blog all topics will come together, combined with the challenges and opportunities of customer journey starting point: the platformization trend. With data analytics, sustainability, and customer loyalty featuring in each blog, we will start at the end of the last-mile journey: the hand-over to the customer.