The last mile of delivery, the final part of the journey from the warehouse to the customer, is one of the biggest challenges in logistics. High costs, inefficient routes and the need for precise deliveries make it difficult for many companies to remain competitive. Furthermore, drivers experience stress and navigate complex routes, which can result in errors and delays.
One solution to these problems is to group stops. It's a strategy that not only ensures optimised routes, but also makes deliveries easier and smoother for drivers. In this blog post, we'll tell you more about how grouped stops work and how they can create efficiency for your business.
What are grouped stops in logistics?
Grouped stops are simply combining two or more stops based on geographical proximity.
For example, a driver delivering parcels in a residential area can complete several stops in a row without having to drive back and forth between different addresses. This not only makes the route more efficient, but also creates a more intuitive and manageable workflow for the driver. It also creates flexibility for the driver to choose the order in which to complete the stops.
Field of application
There are many different uses for grouped stops, from deliveries on the same street with limited parking to the same building on different floors. Below we list a couple of examples where it can make sense to group stops.
Apartments
When it comes to deliveries to flats, this often means many stops in a short time. If there are several deliveries in the same stairwell, the driver can choose the order in which he or she wants to deliver.
Offices
Like apartments, there are challenges around stop sequences. In offices, there may also be several deliveries to the same company, but with different references and order numbers. It is then easy to group stops, both from a recipient and driver perspective.
Central areas
Sometimes it is difficult to find parking in the centre of the city. By grouping stops together, the driver can find a parking space and then graze nearby stops in the desired order without having to move the truck.
What are the benefits of grouped stops?
More efficient routes
A sophisticated route optimisation tool ensures efficient routes with short distances travelled and lower fuel consumption, which is good from a cost perspective. Grouped stops reduce service time and thus further optimise routes.
Saving time
With a more logical and coherent route structure, the time spent by the driver on finding and navigating to the next stop is reduced. Any time savings become even more apparent in terms of actual service time and time to scan when the driver can get all the content at once.
Improving the working environment
For drivers, grouped stops mean simpler and more intuitive routes. This reduces stress and the risk of mistakes, allowing them to focus on delivering parcels efficiently and safely.
Improved customer satisfaction
When deliveries are faster and more reliable, it leads to higher customer satisfaction. It will also be a positive experience for those customers who may be expecting more deliveries at the same time. This can be crucial at a time when customer expectations are constantly increasing.
How grouped stops work in Gordon Cloud
Getting started with grouped stops in Gordon Cloud is very easy. Partly because there is an underlying technology and routing tool that takes into account geographical proximity and time window. Neighbouring stops within the same time window will end up after each other in the sequence order when it is most efficient.
Contact us to activate grouped stops on your account. You can then set the desired radius for grouped stops (e.g. 50 metres. This means that the platform will automatically group all stops within a 50 metre radius at the time of delivery and present them in a user-friendly way to the driver.
Summary
Grouped stops are not just a strategy to save money and time – they are also key to creating a better working environment for drivers and more sustainable logistics. By optimizing routes and making them more intuitive for drivers, companies can not only reduce costs but also deliver in a way that creates satisfied customers and employees.
Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you take your deliveries to the next level!
