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The Importance of Real-Time Shipment Tracking in the F&B Industry
After ordering the desired snack or drink, customers quickly become impatient. They sometimes cancel the order or change their mind to place a return request because of delays or lack of order visibility. Due to such scenarios, food suppliers have turned to shipment tracking and increased customer satisfaction.
By tracking food and beverage shipments, they can offer real-time insights about the item to buyers. For example, it is possible to order a birthday cake, ship it to your dear ones at a specific date and time, and monitor the entire journey at your fingertips. This has transformed the F&B industry and customer expectations for the better.
According to Menu Tiger, the Indian food delivery market is witnessing a momentum between 2024 and 2028 with a CAGR exceeding 16.95%, showing an expected market value of $81.91 billion by 2028. This growth rate indicates the vital role of shipment tracking in preserving food quality, enhancing supply chain management, and improving overall customer experiences. Let's look at the effective ways to track F&B shipments.
Best Practices for Tracking Food & Beverage Shipments Efficiently
Unlike ecommerce tracking where updates are shared at specific points, food deliveries are tracked live, offering real-time visibility. Common apps like Swiggy, Zomato, and Uber Eats allow you to track everything from order pickup to the arrival of your scrumptious portion. Let's look at the effective ways to track food orders and how to manage beverage supply chains.
1. Use a Delivery Management Software
Delivery management software can simplify your supply chain and beverage delivery needs with real-time visibility. It can help you manage the order, track the driver, assign vehicles, communicate with teams, and fetch reports from customers. You can also save money and improve customer satisfaction by ensuring food quality and safety. AI-driven delivery systems can assist in returns management and proof of delivery (POD) collections, easing your supply chain processes.
2. Incorporate GPS Tracking
A global positioning system is a navigation system connected to a satellite to identify the ground position of any object. The technology is used to track delivery food in real time, make route adjustments, and show customers where their meal is. A GPS in place can prevent theft, identify possible bottlenecks, and improve deliveries. By incorporating GPS tracking, companies can offer accurate POD and estimated time of arrival (ETA) to customers and monitor numerous orders at a time.
3. Use the Route Optimization System
Food items are perishable and they need to be delivered promptly to customers. To do that, brands use capable route optimization software, assign delivery partners, and suggest routes to make deliveries quicker to customer doorsteps. The route optimization technology uses powerful algorithms to navigate traffic and leave no room for consumers to complain. Food businesses are on their toes to serve customers without delays and compromises resulting in cold servings and spillage of beverage shipments.
4. Implement Barcode Scanning
Barcode scanning is a highly efficient way to keep track of food. Not to mention, RFID (Radio-frequency Identification) tags are a useful alternative and a common tracking mechanism used by food delivery merchants. Both give you an accurate location of the dispatched item, help you reduce human errors, manage inventory seamlessly, and enhance traceability. With Barcode systems and RFID tags, one can also comply with food safety prerequisites within the supply chain.
5. Implement Quality Control
Real-time tracking and automation can improve quality control in food and beverage deliveries. Brands can use IoT (Internet of Things) to check temperature, humidity, and other environmental factors. This can help businesses specialize in meat, fresh produce, and dairy. Quality control checks also mean adherence to standards that validate the quality and safety of food items.
6. Analyze Data from Deliveries
Shipment tracking allows you to monitor data with its Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning prowess. Merchants can make decisions based on the number of deliveries, incomplete deliveries, weather patterns, and unserviceable pin codes to improve their delivery game. It can become easier to set rules and predict the risks and set food safety measures with accurate data analysis and visibility.
7. Respond to Customer Feedback
The food industry and beverage delivery companies heavily rely on customer feedback as a crucial performance metric and considers it critical for scope for improvement. A shipment tracking system offers visibility, efficiency, and allows you to resolve customer complaints and issues quickly. Based on real-time data, brands can fine-tune their delivery windows to match consumer preferences. It can immensely improve communication and impact customer relationships.