When Will Rural Customers Stop Waiting a Week for Their Online Orders

Introduction 

Do you know more than 70% of the Indian population belongs to rural areas? Being a businessman, your primary motto should be to target the largest potential customer base to increase revenue generation, as the number of rural online buyers will only increase. 

However, it’s painful to see that in rural areas people receive their ordered products after waiting almost for a week! Being the largest population segment, do they deserve this? By making them wait this long, aren’t you compromising your reputation and hindering your business growth? 

Yes, we know the major concern of e-commerce businesses in rural areas is delayed shipping, and there are too many obstacles to overcome to ensure faster delivery in rural areas. These challenges can be addressed and the difference between rural and urban delivery times can be minimized through custom software development solutions that can optimize the whole logistics and transportation operations.

In this blog, let us look at the challenges first and discuss the solutions that can help you reduce the delivery time from a week to a day.

Understanding the Problem: Delays in Rural Deliveries

Most parts of rural areas have limited access to distribution centers. There are numerous reasons for delaying rural deliveries. 

• Only 20% of the rural population has access to an internet connection, creating a communication gap. This is a major reason why e-commerce businesses are struggling to set up distribution centers. 
• Due to a lack of quality infrastructure, the prevalent connectivity issues hinder e-commerce businesses from taking up the smartest route for delivery to customers. 
• The rural population is largely an untapped e-commerce market. As a result, there is an absence of applications of advanced technologies, resulting in a lack of real-time data updates.
• Due to the lack of e-commerce activities, there is no efficient transportation network for faster shipping. 

Impact on Businesses and Customer Trust

The challenges that we identified in the previous section cause direct impact on e-commerce businesses in several ways that ultimately lead to loss of customer trust and reputation of your business. Reports show these challenges result in increased operational costs and delays in deliveries. When the customer has to wait longer, more than 2 or 3 days, most of them abandon carts.

Inadequate logistics and transportation infrastructure can be pointed out as negligence towards rural delivery systems. Due to a lack of proper infrastructure, delivery agents or vehicles often have to take longer routes and spend more on fuel costs. As a result, goods deliveries get delayed. 

One of the major challenges is the lack of advanced technological assistance in the case of rural distribution and delivery systems. Inaccurate tracking coupled with an inefficient inventory management system keeps the customers in confusion and uncertainty regarding their delivery status.

When rural customers face these kinds of uncertainties and undesired outcomes, they will switch to your competitors. They will also give negative reviews about your e-commerce business on online platforms, impacting your reputation. 

Types of Software Solutions to Fasten Rural Deliveries

1. Route optimization tools: With the integration of AI and ML, these tools find the most efficient route and thereby reduce shipping times. 

Amazon has Amazon Logistics that uses AI and ML for route optimization on the rough tracks of rural areas. Amazon launched “Last Mile Routing Research Challenge” in 2021 to make its capabilities better.

2. Real-time tracking and visibility tools: These tools use GPS systems and IoT devices for real-time tracking of shipments. 

DHL has been seen using GPS and IoT-based real-time tracking tools. Their DHL Smart Sensors device monitors shipments and prevents goods from sudden temperature, light, or air pressure inconsistencies. 

3. Warehouse Management Software: The use of robots makes the whole process automated and inventory. 

Walmart has fully automated their warehouse along with industrial robots, for faster order fulfillment.

4. Geospatial analytics and Mapping tools: To navigate rural landscapes and find reliable delivery routes, these features are used

UPS uses its exclusive ORION (On-Road Integrated Optimization and Navigation), which optimizes rural delivery routes with the help of GPS systems.

5. Autonomous delivery solutions: The use of drones, and autonomous vehicles to deliver to long routes by being available 24/7 and reach even the most remote location, these technologies are getting adopted faster. 

Wing has been offering contactless goods delivery services in rural areas of the US via drones. 

6. AI-enabled supply chain solutions: This helps in analyzing rural purchase records and forecast spikes in demand for goods beforehand and stock products accordingly. 

IBM utilizes AI-enabled Watson Supply Chain Solutions for optimizing inventory management as per spike in demand and supply beforehand by leveraging AI’s predictive analytics. 

7. Mobile CRM apps for field service teams: These applications help field or on-site workers like drivers with real-time updates on routes, communicate, and navigate better on the go.

FedEx has empowered its field service teams with mobile CRM that brings real-time data, and uninterrupted connectivity with in-house teams. Their “FedEx Delivery Manager” mobile app helps drivers find reliable delivery routes and communicate better with headquarters. 

Do you also want to be successful like them? They have invested in software development to address specifically the challenges they were grappling with. Partner with a custom software development company to leverage the full potential of your logistics and supply chain, resulting in faster shipments. 

How Our Software Can Help

At Bluelupin, being a top software development company in India, we offer a range of custom software development services tailored to address the specific challenges of rural deliveries. From navigating convenient routes on the rough tracks to managing connectivity issues, our software solutions can be customized to any need. So, whether your biggest challenge is inefficient routes, real-time tracking, or poor inventory management, we have the solution to help you achieve faster deliveries in rural markets. 

• We offer custom software development integrated with AI and ML optimization which can drastically reduce the overall delivery time through streamlining logistics processes. 
• Real-time tracking of deliveries can be a hassle, but our software development solution with real-time tracking and visibility tools provides instant updates using GPS and IoT devices. This will help you monitor your order shipments and mitigate delays right away. 
• We also provide warehouse management software that automates all inventory processes, thereby keeping your products ready for dispatch at a moment’s notice. 
• Our software solution integrated with geospatial analytics and mapping tools can help you navigate rural landscapes by finding the best routes even in challenging terrains.
• For pre-planning, you can leverage our AI-powered supply chain software solutions that analyze rural purchase patterns to forecast demand and ensure you stock the right products at the right time. 
• Equipped with Mobile CRM apps, you can get real-time updates for better communication and navigation on the go to improve visibility for your field service teams.

At Bluelupin, we don’t provide off-the-shelf solutions, we customize the software to fit your unique business needs in such a way that you can reduce delivery times from a week to a day, suitable for both urban and rural customers. 

FAQs

1. What are the reasons for shipping delays in rural areas?

Most of the rural areas have poorly maintained roads and transport connectivity. Companies don’t prefer to build distribution centers in rural areas due to high inconvenience, as a result, the last mile delivery takes time. Poor internet connectivity issues hinder communication between back office and field teams, all contributing to shipping delays in rural areas.

2. Why is last-mile delivery challenging in rural areas?

From rough tracks to less traveled roads with poor infrastructure, last-mile delivery in rural areas is quite challenging and should be addressed for faster shipping. Remote areas require goods vehicles to transport long distances, resulting in fatigue and ineffective service from drivers, delaying overall delivery. The issue of limited internet access to areas often causes drivers to struggle to find the smallest and most reliable routes. 

3. How can we leverage advanced technologies to make rural shipping faster?

You can use software powered with AI and ML to plan delivery routes, assess road and weather conditions,  and predict demands in rural areas for advanced stocking of goods. IoT Sensors provide real-time data on transportation conditions for better navigation. Blockchain technology makes the coordination among different delivery partners streamlined. 

Conclusion 

An e-commerce business can enter the majority of the untapped online shopping market of rural areas by ensuring faster deliveries and fewer wait times. While venturing into this untapped market you will observe the challenges we have discussed in this blog. 

However, the software solutions powered with advanced technologies, mentioned above, are effective enough to overcome the challenge of distance, empowering you with better route optimization, warehouse management, predictive analytics, and AI & ML enabled smart logistics solutions. 

The rural customer segment is the biggest segment by population in India, winning their heart with faster deliveries will make you people’s favorite! With better recognition among people, you will sustain your brand image and achieve better sales figures. Therefore, stop disappointing your rural customers and partner with a top software development company in India to streamline and enhance logistics speed and deliver to your customers within a day, not a week!