Locus, a cutting-edge technology company dedicated to last-mile logistics excellence, announced on December 7, 2022, the launch of Delivery Linked Checkout (DLC), a first-of-its-kind integrated capability that enables retail businesses to achieve profitability in last-mile logistics. Retailers can deliver orders on customer-preferred timelines while maintaining optimal capacity and service efficiencies by implementing this new feature.
The surge in e-commerce deliveries, coupled with the heightened customer expectations for more efficient and predictable delivery options, has added yet another layer to last-mile complexities. Locus’ Delivery Linked Checkout feature is a strategic enhancement to its Dispatch Management Platform, specifically designed to help retailers unlock new fulfillment capabilities and meet increasing demands quickly. Its key features include:
- Optimizing deliveries via capacity-led slot bookings: The feature accounts for available capacity, logistics costs, and business constraints, identifying and offering only the available slots upon checkout for end-consumers. This powers first-attempt and on-time delivery rates.
- Multiple delivery window options: By providing a wide range of preferred delivery options across 10-minute, express, 2-hour, same-day, or next-day fulfillment, retailers can satisfy customer expectations and capture a broader set of shopper segments. The feature also incentivizes customer loyalty by unlocking preferred delivery windows for high-value customers.
- Customer-friendly post-fulfillment journey: It allows customers to choose alternate dates and times for shipment delivery even after order dispatch. It also enables them to cancel an order via the tracking page, resulting in a positive customer experience.
- Route optimization: The feature creates precise delivery schedules by factoring in customer availability, clustering deliveries, and reverse shipments from the same service areas to limit the instances of reattempts and failed deliveries; this helps offset carbon emissions, reduce empty miles, and ensure optimal load capacity. It also gives customers options to choose sustainable delivery time slots that facilitate more carbon-efficient route plans.
“A single bad delivery can completely make or break a consumer’s perception of a brand,” said Nishith Rastogi, Founder and CEO of Locus. “But everything from limited fulfillment capacity, to inefficient route planning, and disconnected systems managing Last-Mile operations continue to put retailers at risk of failed execution. To solidify fulfillment as an impactful point of differentiation, a driver of brand loyalty, and a growth enabler, retailers need to directly connect their logistics operations with the customer experience. Locus’ Delivery Linked Checkout, in combination with our Dispatch Management Platform, offers a unique proposition for retailers to secure profitability while enhancing customer satisfaction.”
