Pataa

How often do you find yourself explaining your home or office address to your guests, visitors or delivery persons? And do you find these phone calls disturbing and annoying? Well, we feel it usually depends on the situation you are in, say if you are in a meeting or driving or taking your noon nap then these calls can definitely be disturbing and annoying, especially if the same person calls multiple times to understand your address. No matter how detailed or elaborated address you share, it is almost close to impossible that the person reaches you without any guidance. May be instead of giving you a call, he or she chose to ask the passersby or local vendors or stores for the route. These address calls are not just irritating for you but also for the person visiting you.

Almost each one of us have experienced both the scenarios. Roaming on the streets cluelessly finding that ATM or temple or a grocery store, with no one to help, can be really frustrating and moreover it wastes time. Now, if we talk about the delivery guys or cab drivers who have to find multiple addresses in a day that too on daily basis, we can just imagine the amount of irritation they experience and the time they end up wasting. If map apps India were more popular then may be, they could deliver a few more parcels in a day or pick/drop a few more passengers and earn more money. Maybe you never realized how big this addressing problem in India is and how much does it cost logistics companies on annual basis, but it is high time that we start using navigation technology to reach our locations faster and without any hassle.

GPS or Global Positioning System is the navigation technology which is being used by many mobile apps to address the addressing issue. The map apps India provides portability and comfort. They provide route maps and voice guidance to assist you reach your destination in a hassle-free way. Besides, these apps also provide live traffic updates keeping you in a more informed position to choose your route and may be time to commute. But, today a number of these apps are available making it confusing for the users to choose the best.

If you are also confused in choosing location platforms, then just keep a few things in mind when choosing an app to make your every day commute easy. First and foremost, it is important to choose an app that allows you to do more than just navigate through the maps. Today, smart address apps are available that allow you to create personal address guide. By personal address guide we mean you can create a code for your address, where you can share the complete details of your address like the possible routes, preferred route and even audio guide to the address. In the audio guide you can record the address of your home or office in your own voice and explain even minutest of details like from where to take left or the landmark they should look for on the way etc.

Second the app should be easy to use with user-friendly interface. If an app allows you to do a lot but it is complicated to use or has poor interface then it won’t serve its purpose. Last but not the least make sure that the app is compatible with your phone. By keeping all these points in mind you can easily ensure that the app or the location platform you are choosing is the best and will resolve your addressing problem.

So, overall we can say that these apps provide a lot more than just map technology. Besides, they are absolutely free to use and can be downloaded on your smart devices from the App Store. Apps like these can be used by everyone and prove to be of great help especially for delivery guys, cab drivers etc. who have to daily find number of different addresses. With these apps addressing issues in India can be easily resolved and delivery and cab services can be made more efficient and profitable.

Today, logistics industry plays an important role in the Indian economy. It makes uparound 10% of the industry. With the present contribution it has to the ecommerce industry, logistics companies are assisting with storage, package and timely deliveries of products, right at the buyer’s doorstep. Though, things seem to be working in a perfectly streamlined way from far, but logistics companies in India are familiar with quite a few problems.

Here in this article, we will help you in understanding the challenges faced by Indian logistics companies.

Logistics industry is the backbone of every sector’s supply chain. Be it the manufacturing industry, hospitality or healthcare, logistics companies play a major role of connecting the companies to their customers. Even slight delay in reaching the needed medicine to the facility can have serious consequences, while failure to deliver high-value good as per the consumer’s schedule may cause huge loss to both the parties.

So, we can say that in logistics everything is time-bound. All the processes are interconnected and the success of one stage decides the failure and success of the later, because even a slight delay in one stage can have a magnified ripple effect on all the other stages. As a result, today all the logistics organizations are trying to achieve the same target- slashing the time for a supply cycle by streamlining the process efficiently. However, things are not as simple as they seem. Here, we will have a look at some of the challenges faced by logistics companies in India.

High order intensity ratio Huge load of orders is one of the most common issues that Indian logistics company have to face. The need to keep up with the supply chain timeline breaks their back. The high volume of received orders makes it difficult to prioritize orders and deliveries as there is too much to be done in a limited time frame. This becomes even more challenging if the company has limited manpower. Festival and wedding season is the best example of huge orders and mass delays in delivery schedules and an overall failure to the ETA mechanism.

Barriers in transportation India is a huge country with different terrains subjected to different conditions. In the internal parts of the country the condition of roads is not really good, also there are ghats that are prone to landslides and accidents. Other issues where logistics companies lose time and money include, toll stations, multiple checkpoints and traffic congestions. Overall, even if all the extra delays are taken into consideration, there are chances of even more delay.

Slow in making technology updates Countries like Japan follow a more efficient logistics and supply-chain models and their strategies revolve around adapting to the latest technologies for maximum productivity. In India, logistics companies are not so quick in making technology shifts or updates. It may look like they are saving on costs, but this approach can be damaging. It is important that companies consider long run effects of these practices.

Constant surge in fuel costs The ever increasing fuel costs is the biggest problem in transportation prices. The surge in fuel costs lead to increase in surcharge of the shipping tariffs. This further effect the profit to be earned by the company, even causing a major loss to the company in some cases.

Government policies and compliances With compliance obligations being tightened even more, the Indian logistics companies face the challenges of bottlenecks with strict regulations.

How to tackle these challenges for smooth functioning? Companies can take control of their supply chain to reduce the chances of excuses and errors. Let us discuss a few points that will help you in creating and executing better strategies to incorporate in the existing logistics structure.

How many of you remember using mobile phones with switch pad, when we had to press a single button multiple times to type an alphabet. But eventually, mobile phones became smarter and now with just a single touch we are able to do a lot. Similarly, a lot of things have become smarter around us like our homes and our way of interacting with gadgets. Today, with a single voice command we are able to listen to our favorite song or order food from our favorite restaurant. And this is how it should be, the purpose of technological advancement is to make the lives of humans comfortable and convenient. However, still there are various things that need to become smarter like our addresses.

Even today we use methodical and traditional approaches when it comes to addresses. Though, we got multiple map apps in India but still one has to face multiple issues in locating an address. If you have ever used GPS navigation, then you will agree that they certainly guide you about the route but still you end up on wrong paths or dead ends or get stuck in traffic jams or potholes. This is the reason why delivery boys prefer calling you numerous times rather than using map apps.

Do you remember how many times the last delivery guy that came to your place called you? And do you also remember the amount of frustration and anger those calls caused or how disturbing or embarrassing that was for you during those office meetings and conference calls? Without a doubt, explaining address multiple times can become annoying and it also creates a lot of disturbance if you are a part of a group gathering. And not just this, if by chance you end up missing those calls then be ready for late delivery. These scenarios are very common in India and almost each one of us has experienced one or the other instance at least once in our lives. Now, imagine a solution to this problem. An app that uses navigation technology in a more personalized manner and allows sharing address with exact route details and guide. Thankfully, today we have apps available that allow you to share your address in a code form and with that single code the visitor can know the exact details about the address like landmark, audio guide and additional instructions if any. Let us understand this with an example. Say, you want to share your address with your guests visiting you for the first time. So, instead of calling them or them calling you to take clarity on landmark or route, all you have to do is share your address in the code format through the smart device app.

With the code your visitor will get to know the exact location of your home on the map. You can also add landmarks that are popular, easy to find or nearby your place to help your visitors reach you without any trouble. Also, these location platforms allow you to record your address in your own voice as an audio guide to your home. So, if at any place the visitor feels stuck or lost, they can listen to that guide and get more clarity on which route to take, which one to avoid and from where to take the next turn. This is exactly where these apps prove to be an innovative solution because in typical map apps in India, there is automated recording that guides you to take left from 500m or take right from 100m but sometimes those roads are so clumsy or congested that you avoid taking them and end up on a wrong route.

Gone are the days when online shopping was just a convenient option and used by a particular set of people. Today it has become an important way for businesses to engage as it is used by a majority of people especially after the pandemic. The lockdown and the new norms of maintaining physical distance insisted people to order everything online be it groceries, vegetables, fruits or apparels. The increased demand of online shopping also increased the number of online stores and number of parcels that logistics companies have to handle on daily basis.

For most of the people placing orders online and receiving parcels were more like a part of the daily routine. Besides, as orders for essentials and daily consumables were being placed there was an urgency and everyone wanted to receive their placed orders as soon as they can, to ensure their day-to-day activities can go on smoothly. But, during this time when bulk orders were being handled and time was of great importance, it came to realization that there are some loopholes in the current process of delivery that not just impact the operational efficiency but also has huge impact on the customer satisfaction and overall online experience.

So, let us have a look at some of the most common mistakes that these online delivery companies make.

Poor understanding of the address

Inaccurate address is a serious problem in India. The wrong postal or area codes, poor landmark sharing practices and congested roads often increase the delivery time significantly. It is because of these issues that a delivery person has to call you again and again to get better understanding of your address. If you have ever ordered something online, then even you must have had similar experience. It is not sure that who must be blamed for the poor addressing issue, but it definitely is a serious concern for both the consumer and the delivery company. Suppose a delivery boy has 60 parcels to be delivered in a day and he takes 15-20 minutes to understand one address then you can imagine the amount of extra time that he spends in a day to do this unproductive work. Besides, if we look at it from the consumer’s point of view then even if he has only 2 deliveries scheduled for the day from two different vendors then 2-3 phone calls per parcel means, 4-6 unnecessary calls in a day. And sometimes due to an important meeting or any other engagement you end up missing these calls which in turns postpones your delivery by two to three days. This creates serious trouble if you were expecting your medicines or groceries to be delivered urgently.

Asking for directions during the way

There are various incidents of delivery boys disturbing the whole traffic and being the cause of traffic jams. It is a normal scene on roads where delivery guys are seen stopping without any indication disturbing the whole traffic on the road and even while talking on phone, they take turns without giving any left or right indication which leads to traffic snarls and even accidents. This not only poses a threat on everyone’s safety but also increases the delivery time. Today when daily thousands of couriers or parcels are delivered and hundreds of delivery boys are on road, it becomes more than important to address this addressing issue and present the professionals with GPS location app that allows them to track the location and reach on the destination without disturbing the traffic and putting people’s safety at risk. Besides, the GPS navigation is super easy to use, and anyone can use it without any hassle. Also, the delivery companies don’t have to worry about making any investment as most of these apps are available for free and can be easily downloaded from App Store or Google Play Store depending on the operating system of the phone.

Cliched and ineffective approaches

Today, when GPS for ecommerce is gaining popularity, we are still relying on drop down menus for address sharing. The whole inaccurate addressing issue can be resolved if we move to smarter solutions where a consumer is allowed to point his location on a map or share a route guide in audio format. Imagine how easier reaching to an address will become if you knew the exact route, the right path and even have a recorded audio where you are explained from where to take a turn or which route to take and which one to avoid. Thankfully, today apps with map APIs are available where a consumer can easily point his location on the Map and even give instruction on route choices. With these types of apps you can easily avoid calling consumers again and again for understanding the address or asking passerby for directions.

Inability to provide ETA

As companies don’t have clear understanding of the location of the consumer’s house, they are not able to give expected time of arrival. As a result, they generally only give a range (40-50 mins) and not able to share the exact time of the arrival of your parcel. But, with the GPS location app the business can take proper understanding of the address and give proper time for the arrival of the parcel. This can improve the overall delivery experience for the consumer as well as allow companies to make the whole process efficient and deliver more parcels in a day.