6 things you can do today to help your business and delivery operation during lockdown.

Here we are again. Back in lockdown.

And while we hope that this version will only last a month. We also appreciate this isn’t much reassurance for many businesses who were just starting to claw back the regular custom they had previously lost.

Some businesses, on the other hand, are dealing with an overwhelm in orders which they cannot keep up with. Food and alcohol distributors are already seeing a sharp incline in orders as people prepare for lockdown. And construction and manufacturing businesses will still be expected to push through; making the most of a difficult supply chain.

No matter what your business, we understand how hard it is. Afterall, we work with every industry that you can imagine. So whatever your challenge, we can help.

To get you started, here are 6 things you can do today to help your business and delivery offering during this new lockdown.

Make the B2C pivot
During the previous lockdown, many businesses found themselves needing to re-focus their approach and business model; pivoting from B2B to B2C.

This is by no means an easy feat. However, it is something that we are still seeing an increasing amount of our customers doing to maintain a customer base whilst many are isolating at home.

In fact, there are numerous benefits in making the B2C pivot.

Benefits

– Re-engage with the individuals who were previously business customers

– Generate a brand-new audience

– Build repeat customers who will want to come back once they are back up and running

– Keep business moving in a difficult climate

– Explore opportunities to expand when things are back to normal

If you want to learn more about making the B2C pivot, check out our previous blog post.

Streamline your processes

Regular planning and processes currently need regular reviews as rules and regulations change. For businesses who are functioning with a smaller team, or are having to deal with new depots and suppliers, planning processes can quickly become complicated and time consuming.

That is why during any period of change and uncertainty we would recommend streamlining your planning and processes. Not only is this beneficial to navigate the challenges that businesses may experience, but it also helps to future-proof businesses for the unknown.

For any business dealing with logistics and delivery, a great place to start is by streamlining that all-important delivery and route planning. By embracing new technology, systems and algorithms, businesses can produce efficient and reliable routes, fast.

Technology such as MaxOptra automatically plans routes daily, weekly, monthly, or however frequently they require their dynamic schedule.

Algorithms produce efficient and reliable routes, quickly, and automatically take into account traffic conditions and known roadworks, as well as vehicle capacities, live order volumes and delivery time windows.

All of this supports businesses in avoiding any potential inefficiencies of fixed routes or manual planning, reduces their planning time and streamlines their processes. They can even cut operational costs by up to 20%!

Implement dynamic routes

Many businesses work on a fixed route basis – which raises significant challenges and limitations for those dealing with business change or pivoting from B2B to B2C.

Dynamic routes allow businesses to plan routes daily, weekly, monthly, or however frequently they require a dynamic schedule. Systems such as MaxOptra utilise algorithms which produce efficient and reliable routes, fast. Taking into account traffic conditions and known roadworks, as well as vehicle capacities, live order volumes and delivery time windows.

All of this supports businesses in avoiding any potential inefficiencies of fixed routes, reduces excess mileage, keeps customers happy and, as a result, cuts operational costs by up to 20%.

Communicate with your customers

Keeping your customers engaged right now should be a top priority for any business. Afterall, with Covid-19 restrictions, customers are understandably concerned as to whether their delivery is going to be affected.

So keeping them in the loop as to where their delivery is and when it will arrive is a further improvement that you can make to benefit your offering, as well as keeping them engaged with your brand.

Customer notifications have advanced at a rapid rate. Gone are the days when customers expect to have to stay home to wait for a delivery. Now they want the delivery schedule to work around their daily routine.

Make sure that customers are constantly kept up to date with where their order is by proactively sending out email and SMS ETA notifications.

You could even implement your own website widget so that customers can keep themselves updated. As well as offering customers immediate updates, this also ensures that you are engaging with your audiences that want to interact on social media.

Lean on support teams

At MaxOptra we have always prided ourselves on offering first class implementation and post-go live support.

However, our implementation and support teams have proven even more invaluable during the Covid-19 crisis. They continually support our customers in setting up their MaxOptra system, alongside helping them make swift changes to their operation due to new restrictions.

You can check out some of our case studies to learn more.

We have invested in great people and solid processes to ensure we meet your business needs, including the following:

• ‎ Email support available Monday – Friday, 7am – 7pm, excluding UK Bank Holidays.
• ‎ Emergency hotline operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
• ‎ An extensive range of support documentation designed to help you and your team get the best from your MaxOptra system.
• ‎ Self help tutorials and online videos are available, ensuring you can quickly get to grips with some of our most useful features.
• ‎ Every client is assigned both an Account and Implementation Manager who are on hand to help you get the best from your implementation

Contact the MaxOptra support group

At MaxOptra we know that many businesses are going through a difficult period. Some are experiencing uncertainty, whilst others are struggling to cope with the demand.

If either applies to you, we want to help.

The MaxOptra team are lending a helping hand to struggling businesses by offering the MaxOptra system, plus support and consultancy services, free of charge, no strings attached.

We hope this will relieve the burden of planning, or offer businesses a way to pivot from B2B to B2C, as many of our customers are currently doing.

Get in touch with us for more information.