Blog > Last mile delivery
Blog > Last mile delivery
Published on 29 March 2023 • Reading time: 8 min read
The number of parcel delivery applications available on the market is growing. But until now, they have mainly been designed for carriers and shippers.
What about other self-employed deliverymen and workers? Can they also use these applications? What features are offered to them and is it really profitable for them? These are the questions we are going to answer in this article.
Table of contents
Parcel delivery applications meet the needs of self-employed delivery drivers. These innovative tools optimise their routes. For these professionals, it’s a guarantee of greater profitability.
There are several delivery methods.
Traditional shipping service providers, such as UPS, FedEx or Chronopost, can handle any of your parcel shipments, including courier services. These are fast, and international parcel deliveries made directly by professional carriers for their customers.
But by hiring a courier service, you will not be able to complete or optimize your deliveries yourself.
These can be of two types:
This type of delivery is requested mainly for fast handling.
These are one-time, but often urgent requests, to be made within 30 minutes or one hour maximum:
These urgent requests must be made quickly from the home or the company. They cannot therefore be carried out by traditional courier services, unless there is a significant financial compensation.
As a self-employed driver, you have a role to play. These deliveries are often made by self-employed couriers, who have flexible working hours and can meet requests in real time. They are a bit like the “Uber” of parcels, for deliveries that can’t wait.
On-demand delivery is very convenient for customers, but can be very expensive and difficult to manage for couriers. It is not easy to group these single deliveries together and increase the number of deliveries per hour.
However, a parcel delivery app can be very useful for self-employed couriers to manage these diverse orders.
There are many apps on the market, covering everything from package and document delivery to food delivery.
They are used to:
As a self-employed supplier or delivery driver, it can be difficult to know which one to choose. You can find all our tips below on this page.
If possible, grouping orders is much more cost-effective.
Instead of delivering one parcel at a time, this gives self-employed couriers or operators the opportunity to:
This allows them to reduce both costs and travel times.
This will be easier to achieve with a parcel delivery application, which includes route optimization functions. These applications also allow for real-time tracking of deliveries, notification to customers and collection of proof of delivery.
This is what we will look at in this second part.
If you are self-employed, your budget is far from unlimited. The important thing is to be able to choose an application with the features that meet your needs.
Among the many features offered by the different route optimization software available on the market, some are key:
The last two features are not present in all applications.
You will find them in the AntsRoute software.
Every feature you add increases the cost of your application. It is therefore important to choose an application that fits your needs, but does not include unnecessary features.
The additional features include:
To avoid wasting time and money, you should also consider two important aspects:
To help you in your choice, we offer you to compare 2 parcel delivery applications, which answer different uses:
Shippr is an online platform, which allows individuals and companies to ship parcels with self-employed delivery drivers. It offers them an opportunity to earn money by using their own vehicle (refrigerated, cargo bike, etc.). Drivers can log on to the Shippr platform to find delivery tasks in their area.
The platform offers them both:
The Shippr platform is available on Android and iOS devices. It allows customers to find self-employed delivery drivers and manage their shipments easily and at any time from their smartphone or tablet.
Shippr offers a wide range of delivery options to meet the needs of different customers, including express deliveries, large parcel deliveries and evening or weekend deliveries. It makes possible to check the identity of delivery drivers and offers an insurance protection for delivered packages.
However, it does not offer route optimization.
It is based on a network of self-employed delivery workers and is being developed throughout Europe. It is therefore not yet available in every country, and its quality depends on the experience and reliability of the delivery drivers.
The customer reviews of Shippr are generally positive, with many customers highlighting the reliability and flexibility of the service, as well as the quality of customer support. However, some customers reported issues with their delivery or user experience.
If you are looking for additional delivery tasks, this platform may be for you. If you are looking to organize and optimize your own routes, you can choose the following solution.
AntsRoute is a SaaS platform for managing delivery routes. Its software was originally designed for transport companies and can also be an interesting solution for entrepreneurs and self-employed people.
It offers both:
Available on Android and iOS, it is renowned for its ease of use and has an online chat to communicate with the support team.
It is available from 24 euros per month. Thanks to its route optimization module, you only need to save 200 km per month on your driving to make this subscription profitable.
Parcel delivery applications therefore allow self-employed drivers like you to save time and money, either:
To know the benefits of using our route optimization software, we offer a free 7-day trial, without commitment. To start your trial period, go to this page.
Optimise your parcel deliveries today
Free 7-day trial | No credit card required
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