The 3 Steps to Moving Your Business Online and Starting a Delivery Service Today

Ordering goods and having them delivered to your home is second nature to most consumers. It’s one of the biggest changes to shopping habits that the digital age has brought about – whether it’s purchasing groceries, pet supplies, or meal kits. But, how do you take that first step towards moving your business online?

How do you let your existing customers know that you’re open for deliveries? Where do you get your drivers and delivery vehicles? How do you keep track of all your deliveries and make sure your drivers get to where they are going, and on time?

 Go From On-Premise to Online in 3 Steps

Here are three easy steps you can take today to successfully transition your business from on-premise to online.

Step 1: Let customers know you’re open for delivery

●     Start with a Facebook business page and/or Instagram business page

○     Publish your menu or price list and post it

○     Include delivery information with each post

●     Use Wix, Squarespace, Shopify to make a landing page at a later stage

○     Add an online ordering form

○     You can also use Google forms to start

●     Open communication channels with clients

○     Direct messages over social media

○     A dedicated phone number

○     Email

○     Text messages

●     Advertise delivery with a poster in your store window

●     Delight customers with accurate and timely delivery

○     Notify customers with exact time of day or day of the week delivery windows

Step 2: Set up a delivery workflow

To begin with deliveries, consider setting up some of the following steps to your planning process:

●     Determine your optimal delivery strategy

○     Work out the cut-off time for ensuring same-day deliveries

○     Or, only offer next day delivery:

■     Your routes will be more packed with orders

■     Meaning fewer drivers, less driving, fatter margins

○     Make weekly deliveries available for bulk orders

■     Scheduling several days in advance vastly improves the number of orders a single driver can serve. This is doubly true if you use powerful route optimization software like OptimoRoute

●     Bag items ahead of time

○     Disposable cutlery in delivery bags

○     The most popular grocery items

○     Offer ready-made ‘essential groceries’ packs

●     Organize delivery personnel

○     Use existing staff

○     Hire drivers

●     Keep customer data organized in a list

○     Phone numbers, emails, and delivery addresses

○     Previous orders, favorite meals, etc.

○     Use this Excel template to keep things organized

●     Arrange deliveries based on vehicle size

○     Use bikes or motorcycles for small packages

○     For big orders and rush deliveries, use cars and trucks

●     Establish a maximum service distance from your store or restaurant

Once everything is ready to be delivered, learn how to manage delivery routes and keep efficiency high.

Step 3: Taking payment from customers

There are many payment methods available, the following are some best-case practices across different businesses:

●     Use a POS (Point of Sales) system

●     Or online payment platforms like Amazon Pay, Checkout, 2Checkout or PayPal

●     Ask for credit card information over the phone  

●     If you’re using cash – make sure your drivers have enough change

This article originally appeared on optimoroute.com.

The 7 Top Travel Apps Every Savvy Traveler Needs

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From cheap hotel rooms to packing lists, as the saying goes — there’s an app for that. 

These top travel apps will help you on any business trip, family vacations, and during next year’s backpacking trek through Asia. 

Here’s how they work:

Hopper

Combining their massive database with historical trends, Hopper is an app that helps you find the best prices on flights. 

Whether your travel dates are set in stone or if you don’t mind traveling anytime in August, Hopper tells you what flights are the cheapest, when to buy them, and when these prices are likely to change.

You can even book your flights through the app and you’ll get notifications about your Saved Searches when things change. It’s one of the most highly-rated flight search apps, so don’t book another trip without checking Hopper first.

Hotel Tonight

When it’s down to the wire, savvy travelers always have a trick up their sleeve. Looking for a hotel room at the last minute? Then, Hotel Tonight is the app you want.

With fantastic deals on rooms for tonight and up to a week before your stay, Hotel Tonight has options for basic, luxe, charming, and high-roller hotel rooms. So, essentially, any personality and budget can make it work in a time crunch with the app.

Hotel Tonight also offers a Daily Drop with a limited-time, 15-minute window to snag an even better deal on last-minute hotels. The app also includes its loyalty program called HT Perks. It’s a nine-level reward program that functions like a video game where you “level up” to unlock cheaper rates and booking credits.

To help you decide, see if your Hotel Tonight accommodation allows you to store your luggage. From there, you’ll be sleeping soundly knowing you got such a great deal on a comfy hotel bed.

TripIt

If you’re a savvy traveler, chances are you love to plan. But we all know things can get tricky if you’re traveling with a group. Let’s make sure everyone’s on the same page with TripIt.

TripIt helps you create seamless travel itineraries from start to finish. By connecting your email account, TripIt uses confirmation receipts, reservation details, flight information, and hotel check-in times to create a custom itinerary. 

Share it with others so everyone in your party knows where to be and when. You can view your TripIt itinerary online or on your mobile device, and you’ll get notifications in real-time if anything changes. 

With TripIt, you’ll no longer have to worry about your uncle missing the double-decker tour that starts at 10:00. After all, he had the itinerary.

TimeShifter

International travelers know all too well the intense effects of jet lag. As a Floridian living in Australia, I’ll take all the help I can get when it comes to jet lag. That’s where TimeShifter comes in.

Long flights deeply affect our circadian rhythm. It’s not great for our bodies to be in a totally new time zone. The result is grogginess, grumpiness, and feeling generally miserable — AKA, jet lag. Developed by researchers at NASA, TimeShifter helps you adjust to different time zones in a fraction of the time it usually takes and minimize jet lag.

You’ll add your trip details and receive a curated schedule telling you exactly what to do in the days leading up to your trip, during your flight, and for a few days after you land.

Timeshifter tells you when to sleep, wake up, avoid or encourage bright light, and grab a nap. It also has tips on how to use melatonin and caffeine in the process. 

The app gathers information about your age, gender, and normal sleep patterns to give you personalized recommendations. By following its instructions, you’ll quickly get over jet lag and get on with your trip.

PackPoint

Raise your hand if you’ve ever forgotten to pack your phone charger! 

We’ve all been there. Forgetting an obvious necessity and reluctantly buying a replacement from the airport gift shop.

To avoid this trap, PackPoint helps you pack with an essential checklist based on the trip you’re taking. Your curated packing list accounts for why you’re traveling (business or pleasure), the weather at your destination, and the length of your stay. 

The app also accounts for laundry access and can be integrated with the TripIt app to help you pack for a specific itinerary. 

PackPoint, unfortunately, can’t pack for you. But at least you won’t forget anything this time.

TransferWise

Most of us learnt the hard way that banks charge exorbitant fees on international exchanges. But, is there an easier way to spend money while traveling without carrying a ton of cash? 

Transferwise is an incredible app that allows you to make quick international transfers at super low rates. Generally, this app is best for nomads who spend weeks or months using various currencies. But even less frequent travelers will find the app useful.

Pro Tip: Sign up for a Transferwise account before your trip and request an international debit card. By adding money to the card in your home currency, you can use it abroad in most international currencies. 

Transferwise will automatically complete the exchange using the appropriate currency with the cheapest exchange rates available. And while you’re away, you can manage all your money on the app. 

Bounce

You checked out of your Airbnb but your flight isn’t for another 10 hours. You want to explore the city without lugging your bags to restaurants and museums. So, you use the Bounce app. Problem solved!

With Bounce, you can search your location to find luggage storage space in all major cities throughout North America. For a flat daily fee, any size bag can be securely stored while you explore.

What is Route Optimization?

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Businesses that are looking to cut routing distances and costs will inevitably consider this question. Companies want to find ways to scale while saving time and fuel, but might not know how to do this. That’s where route optimization comes in.

Route optimization is a process used to plan service and delivery routes. This is performed in a way that ensures efficiency, consistency, and cost-effectiveness.

In layman’s terms, the system is meant to complete deliveries and services in a way that’s quick and inexpensive, all while factoring existing constraints.

Businesses that want to resolve their routing issue might refer to it as a pain (or something more colorful). Salespeople have spent over a century looking for ways to resolve this issue, which led to the coined term Travelling Salesman Problem.

The problem with working alone

Most people who seek route optimization as a solution will attempt manual route planning. The ones who try to solve routing problems on their own soon find the process to be time-consuming and mentally draining.

When more variables are added to the orders, the complexity of the process increases exponentially. This makes manual planning nearly impossible to perform and leaves more room for error.

For these reasons, planning routes on one’s own can be like solving a math problem: the more complicated it gets, the more one needs a calculator – or some other technology – to help them out.

Routing software makes it simple

Route optimization software is designed to quickly geocode anywhere from 1 to over 1,000 orders or tasks, route them, and then assign them to drivers.

The software’s built-in algorithm helps users save time, money and fuel by planning the most efficient routes. The software does this each time, no matter how much information it’s given.

A more sophisticated program will enable users to track the movements of drivers in real-time, as well as to follow the completion of tasks or deliveries.

Ultimately, businesses seek routing solutions when their logistics issues become too difficult to manage manually, or when overseeing a mobile workforce gets too overwhelming.

With the help of a route optimization program, users not only can plan the quickest and most direct routes with the push of a button, but also can have any number of parameters factored into the routing, including:

·         time windows

·         date restrictions

·         vehicle capacities (size, attributes, layout, etc.)

·         drivers’ hours & constraints

·         number of stops and distances between them

·         duration of stops

These are critical logistics issues that businesses with a mobile workforce must confront. The system simplifies route planning so that companies can streamline their work and delivery schedules.

With the right routing software system, users immediately notice a dramatic improvement in their scheduling. The program accommodates thousands of tasks and orders, regardless of the constraints that exist around either the schedule or the drivers’ abilities. Users can balance workloads, if necessary, and they can make plans for both pickup and delivery.

OptimoRoute goes a step further

In addition to the capabilities listed above, OptimoRoute can simplify its users’ schedules with other advanced features. This software supports long-term weekly itineraries, multi-day routes, and allows customers to track a worker’s whereabouts.

This is done with the help of advanced tools, such as Live Tracking ETA and Realtime Order Tracking . To top it all off, communication is carried out more clearly with the help of a mobile app to relay information to all parties and keep everyone informed.

When the benefits of these features are realized, companies discover that they’re able to focus more time and resources on scaling their business, rather than on planning routes and on driving.

What’s more, the software increases the chances of drivers getting to each of their destinations on time, all while decreasing the number of people required for the workload.

The result of this is happier customers and therefore better businesses. The software is able to make numerous configurations based on the data users give it, and then quickly calculate shorter, cheaper routes.

Users are able to see a return on investment shortly after adopting suitable route optimization software, which explains why such programs are rapidly growing in popularity.

This article originally appeared on optimoroute.com

Why You Shouldn’t Keep Customers Waiting and How Route Planning Software Can Help

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The biggest problem facing any industry that is required to go to the customers location, is that people are becoming increasingly impatient. A survey sponsored by Interparcel out of the UK, found that 50% of Brits admitted to becoming more impatient in the past 5 years. While it’s no surprise that patience is waning in our society, there are ways to monitor and measure customer satisfaction, and also improve the accuracy of your daily schedules.

When you are a delivery company or a field service provider, you promise both to provide a quality service, but to also arrive in a timely fashion. The only thing worse than being late, is to not show up at all. According to business.com, failure to deliver goods or failure to perform the service are among the top 10 complaints for retails sales and service companies.

Being able to measure customer satisfaction gives you insight into trends, and your current performance amongst those people who are paying for your service. To a certain extent most customers are understanding that not everything can be perfect every single time. But as Warren Buffett once said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” (Time) One mistake can create a ripple effect that can stifle growth and hinder marketing.

The bad news is that 95% of customers will tell at least one other person about a bad experience with a company. Worse news is that 54% of customers will tell more than 5 people. While marketing and customer acquisition is difficult, the cheapest and most beneficial remedy lies in the good news. That is, that 70% of customers will continue to do business with a company if an issue is resolved in their favour. (MarketingCharts)

There are a few different methods, and even some software that can help in measuring customer satisfaction, which in the end can create a better product and overall experience for the customer. The most common method though, is a simple survey. Software such as SurveryMonkey and Client Heartbeat make it easier to facilitate surveys that can help pinpoint the some of the successful aspects of your business as well as those areas requiring some improvement.

Creating routes and schedules that are both efficient and accurate is nearly impossible when done by hand. However OptimoRoute™ helps you easily plan accurate routes and schedules so you can provide a predictable and reliable service to your customers. You can further improve your service by providing customers with a selection of time windows – specific time slots which best suits your customers. These time windows can then be imported into OptimoRoute™ and will be adhered to during planning. OptimoRoute™’s planner not only simplifies the planning process, but results in the best possible routes being created.

Spend that time where it matters most, maintaining a quality product and looking after your customers.

This article originally appeared on optimoroute.com.

Online Food Delivery on the Rise

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Currently the traditional model of delivery, where a customer contacts a local restaurant directly, still accounts for nearly 90% of all delivery orders, with ⅔ of those being ordered by phone. However as technology has shown in many other commercial markets, the ability and desire to purchase or order anything online is growing quickly.

Recently the worldwide market for food delivery has been estimated to be worth over $87 billion, which is around only 1% of the total food market, and 4% of food sales by restaurants or fast-food chains. Americans themselves are expected to spend over $12.5 billion a year by 2019 on delivery food. With the estimated growth the by around 3.5% per year for the next 5 years, many companies and startups are trying to get their piece of the pie.

Companies like Deliveroo, UberEats, and Eat24 have slowly grown to become the middle-man between the customer and restaurants throughout many cities in North America and the UK. The concept is to basically offer as large a choice of restaurants as possible based on your address. Two models of this concept have been developed that both involve dealing with numerous restaurants but handle the delivery of food completely different. One model is operated by aggregators. These aggregators take orders online or via app, and pass the order along to each individual restaurant who then handles delivery themselves.

The other model can be defined as “new delivery,” which is a concept that requires the company taking the orders to also control the logistics and delivery.

Deliveries from restaurants are not the only avenue that has been taken for companies who are trying to exploit the growing market of food delivery services. Startups across the United States have found that offering weekly meal packages have also been a lucrative and attractive way to capture the growing healthy eating trend developing across the country. Companies such as PlateJoy, and Plated have created healthy and relatively inexpensive meals that are prepared and delivered to homes, to be eaten during the week.

One company called Gobble initially pursued this course as their entry into the food delivery market, but after 5 years of prepared meals decided to change her model to quick, one-pan meals. Owner Ooshma Garg said that the company eventually learned that “getting food in a takeout box was not satisfying [to some working parents] because people felt guilty about not actually cooking.” (Fortune, Fenn) This specific trend of delivering ingredients instead of meals themselves has grown to include some billion dollar companies such as: Blue Apron, and HelloFresh.

Being able to offer a meal that people want has not been the only challenge facing many, if not all of these companies vying for food delivery supremacy. Everything from marketing to delivery has required a ton of capital and research to separate from the crowd and offer a superior service. With the ability to personalize the ordering experience, once a customer signs up for one of these websites, 80% will either never, or rarely venture to another.

For the deliveries themselves, the speed of delivery is considered to be one of the largest factor when it comes customer satisfaction. If ordering a meal for dinner or lunch, most maximum most people were willing to wait was up to 1 hour. Also the majority of meals were found to be delivered to the home (at 82%), rather than to work, with a spike over the weekends. One can speculate as to why this is the case, but with the fast pace lifestyle of the average American, at home deliveries may slowly become the new battleground for all styles of restaurants.

This article originally appeared on optimoroute.com.