Attracting customers is one thing, but keeping them can be challenging, especially if you don’t use dispatch planning.
From on-time deliveries to real-time updates, dispatch and delivery is a fine art that needs to be prioritized.
Getting dispatch operations wrong can impact timely deliveries and delivery dates and create unhappy shoppers overall.
Surely, you have customer service goals that you want to reach each year. The best way to achieve this is by using a delivery process that meets those expectations.
Here are six reasons why you need dispatch planning to improve customer satisfaction and keep the end user coming back after every order.
1. Dispatch Planning Ensures On-Time Deliveries
It’s all about timing. Shoppers want on-time, precise, and fast deliveries. Sounds easy, right?
It all revolves around efficient dispatch planning, which can ensure that the carrier or delivery person is on time and remove stumbling blocks from the logistics process.
Dispatch planning ensures:
- Drivers are routed optimally with route optimization.
- Minimal delays by using real time tracking.
- Schedules are updated to avoid misunderstandings.
Meeting delivery windows consistently boosts buyers’ trust. Who doesn’t want to be known as a reliable, on-time business?
That’s why real time tracking is a vital part of the dispatch process.
Example: Maleny Food Co is an award-winning artisanal gelato and sorbet producer located in Brisbane, Australia. Delivering gelato to customers during the summertime is not an easy task.
When Maleny Food Co. started off small in 2001, they didn’t know about the technology that is easily available today, using most efficient routes to ensure timely deliveries.
Using route optimization and real time tracking ensures deliveries are on time during the dispatch process.
“Knowing where the trucks are, the sequence, the route optimization, having all that information at your fingertips makes a big difference than pieces of paper,” says Norman.

Clients are happy and stay happy when the carrier or delivery person is always on time, without any exception. You are not only building your brand, you are also building your reputation.
2. Dispatch Tracking Provides Accurate Delivery Estimates
Customers value transparency so much that a report by NielsenIQ revealed that 72% of consumers say transparency is important or extremely important.
79% of customers want brands to go above and beyond what they are required to reveal and give more information.
Dispatch management software provides precise ETA updates, allowing customers to plan their schedules. Users can choose their delivery dates, delivery windows, and time of urgency of the delivery.
It reduces frustration and promotes timely delivery.
Here’s an example: In 2014, Steve Orenstein ordered furniture online for his new apartment, but the delivery operations were a nightmare. He had no idea when it would arrive, and the delivery driver kept attempting delivery when he wasn’t home.
After five failed attempts, including a frustrated driver leaving angry voicemails, he realized how inefficient their delivery operations were and how negatively it affected his experience.
“A simple call or scheduled delivery could have avoided all this frustration for both me and the courier company,” says Orenstein, who then went on to found Zoom2u and Locate2u to improve customer satisfaction.

3. Communication with Customers During Delivery Process
“Your meal kit is 15 minutes away!” That’s perfect customer service. This is a meal-kit delivery service that sends automated text updates to customers.
The same customer could have waited for hours with no updates if there was no proper dispatch process.
Mai Hughes, CEO of My Foodie Box, switched from spreadsheets to smart logistics software to enable the business to scale. Better communication is vital in this business when dealing with fresh food.
4. Dispatch and Delivery Enhances Flexibility for Last-Minute Changes
When a customer isn’t home for a delivery they scheduled, it sounds like it’s going to mess up the driver schedules that you manually planned for that day.
Now imagine your customer suddenly realizing they won’t be home, ensuring that you can update the app and reroute the delivery to the customer’s office.
Dispatch and delivery plans don’t always work out the way you want, but if you stay flexible to last minute changes, it can make one happy customer.
5. Planning Minimizes Errors in Deliveries
Arriving at the wrong address to deliver a parcel because the street name was not clear can send your delivery drivers from street to street.
So what must you do? A robust delivery process includes checking for accurate delivery details.
Reducing errors saves time and fuel costs and prevents customer complaints. People don’t want to go looking for their parcels and phoning around or searching on social media for their belongings.
6. Accurate Dispatch Planning Improves Speed
A shopper ordered a few grocery items late last night for delivery early in the morning before heading out for work. But it’s not the only buyer who expects a drop off early before heading out for the day.
To keep its promise, deliveries need to be dispatched in a fast and efficient way. Optimized routes are the savior of the day.
If these customers realize they can count on the grocery store time and again for fast deliveries early in the morning, they have just scored some loyal shoppers doing business with them for years to come.
Without efficient dispatching, the groceries will arrive a day late, leaving the family without essentials.
Final Impact of Dispatch and Delivery
Dispatch and delivery planning create a seamless customer experience with these six areas.
It drives loyalty, positive reviews, and repeat business.
But if you neglect these areas – you risk alienating customers, damaging the brand, and losing revenue to competitors.
About the author
Mia is a multi-award-winning journalist. She has more than 14 years of experience in mainstream media. She's covered many historic moments that happened in Africa and internationally. She has a strong focus on human interest stories, to bring her readers and viewers closer to the topics at hand.