Last Mile delivery in Africa: A Review

Similar to the rest of the world, last-mile delivery in Africa is the final stage of the delivery process.

The last mile is a collaboration of all the processes, challenges, and stakes involved in getting products from the warehouse or distribution centre to the customer. The customer is the most important stakeholder in the supply chain, making last-mile delivery a critical component of any supply chain. In Africa, the same is true. However, unique challenges in the continent make it difficult to optimize last-mile delivery, which complicates getting products to customers on time and in good condition.

This article reviews some of the challenges, solutions, and best practices of last-mile delivery in Africa.

Challenges of Last Mile Delivery in Africa

The Last mile is critical to the success of supply chains across the continent, so it is only natural for these supply chains to optimize it.

However, it is not easy because of certain challenges plaguing the entire logistics industry. Some of these challenges are:

1. Poor Infrastructure

The biggest supply chain challenge businesses face in Africa is poor infrastructure.

It is Africa’s soft underbelly. For instance, the road access network in Africa is underwhelming, leading to operational disruptions for businesses and supply chains across the continent. The African economy loses billions of dollars every year due to poor infrastructure. These losses affect most aspects of a supply chain, including manufacturing, supplies, and inventory management. The poor infrastructure includes poorly maintained transportation modes like roads and rails, which cause accidents, traffic, and constant damage to delivery vehicles.

Most often, businesses are forced to confront delays and rising transportation costs.

2. Limited Access and Implementation to Technology

Technology in last-mile delivery makes it easy to track and manage deliveries in real-time.

However, African businesses and supply chains are often plagued with poor implementation and access to technology. These two challenges make optimizing the supply chain and delivery process difficult. When businesses and supply chains fail to optimize properly, it could lead to inefficient delivery routes, poor flexibility in delivery services, and poor lead times.

3. Poor Security

The annual global cost of conflicts amounts to $100 billion, about 54% of which is realized in Africa.

Some of the continent’s more common security concerns include theft, vandalism, civil unrest, and other forms of criminal activity. Because security concerns are rampant on the continent, businesses and supply chains hesitate to invest in infrastructure and technology. Downtimes become inevitable, resulting in delivery delays. This ultimately affects the optimization of the last-mile delivery process. 

One of the more recent examples of this problem was the crisis that happened in Sudan.

4. Shortage of Trained Delivery Staff

Well-trained and skilled supply chain professionals are sometimes rare on the continent.

The same issue applies to the delivery arm of it. Businesses need well-trained delivery staff because they interact with the customer directly as a company representative. Meaning there is a high demand for vital interpersonal skills such as empathy, good mannerisms, and communication. Without a well-trained and efficient staff, managing deliveries and ensuring that products are delivered on time to customers can be difficult.

Well-trained delivery personnel also ensure that the business is presented positively to the customer.

Solutions to The Challenges of Last Mile Delivery in Africa

Although the challenges may seem daunting, the good news is that there are applicable solutions that are not so difficult to come about.

However, the responsibility of achieving this doesn’t just fall on the businesses and their supply chains. The government plays a significant role. Here are some solutions

1. Investment in Infrastructure 

Poor infrastructure is a massive challenge for businesses and supply chains on the continent.

This article by Business Insider highlights the massive gap, approximately $100 billion, between current spending and what is needed to overcome a deficient infrastructure. Mitigating will require the government and businesses to begin taking action, such as coming together to draft adequate strategies or policies to raise funds and start building to help companies reduce costs and serve customers better. The move is enough to move the needle in the last-mile delivery sector and help reduce delivery times.

The thing about a good infrastructure is that supply chains save costs, allowing them to innovate, hire people, become bigger, and pay more taxes.

Truly the real winner is the economy because it becomes much stronger.

2. Promoting the Adoption of Technology

Technology has proven to be of great benefit to supply chains and delivery companies worldwide.

Subsequently, supply chains and delivery companies in Africa could adopt technology solutions that allow them to do the same. The application of current technology like artificial intelligence and machine learning on last-mile delivery platforms provides a dynamic route optimization for each delivery every day. That alone can reduce the delivery times by 50%, reduce the cost of operation in the long term, and guarantee customer satisfaction.

3. Security Measures

As mentioned earlier, poor security directly results from bad governance or government policies.

However, it is not enough to suggest that the government draft and implement security strategies to make people and businesses feel safe. Most security issues arise from civil unrest and takeovers or attempted takeovers of the government. Nineteen countries across the continent are currently suffering or have recently suffered from civil unrest or crisis. It makes economic sense to bring African countries together to try and resolve issues like this.

After all, Africa is a very interconnected nation, and one crisis in a nation can affect more than just the nation but surrounding countries as well because of trade routes.

Although policies and security measures are great, the African Governments might want to set up a continuity plan for people’s democracy to avoid the constant threat of violence. Delivery companies in Africa can also implement security measures to protect their products from theft and vandalism. The measures can include tamper-proof packaging, hiring security personnel, and using GPS tracking devices.

4. Training and Recruitment of Delivery Personnel

Although there is a shortage of trained delivery personnel or staff, this is one of the challenges companies can easily address.

Delivery companies can do this by investing in recruitment and training programs. This way the delivery companies are better able to effectively control their staff, guaranteeing the effectiveness and pleasantness of the delivery process for the customer.

5. Collaboration and Partnerships

Delivery companies in Africa should collaborate and partner with other businesses, governments, and organizations to share resources and reduce costs. 

This can help to overcome the challenges of last-mile delivery in Africa.

Best Practices for Last Mile Delivery in Africa

There are indeed quite a few challenges that last-mile delivery companies in Africa have to contend with.

Some of them are unique compared to other parts of the world. However, there are factors the last-mile delivery companies in Africa can and must control to get the best results. Considering the main competitive factor with last-mile delivery is delivery time, most of the practices mentioned will focus on that.

1. Utilize Technology

The article has discussed the importance of technology and why its application in the last-mile delivery process should be a no-brainer.

However, its adoption and application rest solely with businesses. Adopting technology solutions such as GPS tracking, route optimization software, and real-time delivery tracking substantially reduces delivery times. It also ensures visibility across the entire supply chain and last-mile delivery process.

2. Collaborating with Local Delivery Partners

Experts cannot emphasize enough the importance of localizing the supply chain and the last-mile delivery process, especially given the world’s recent hardships.

Collaboration with reliable local last-mile delivery companies and agents allows you to tap into their knowledge and experience of the terrain. This type of collaboration automatically gives your supply chain a massive edge.

3. Customer Service

Did you know that 94% of customers will recommend your company to friends, family, and colleagues if they rate you well?

Great customer service pays for itself in the short and long term, and there is no downside to it. As a last-mile delivery company, you can provide great customer service by communicating properly, ensuring timely deliveries, involving the customer at every step of the process, and giving necessary updates. An important fact about updating customers: most customers will forgive delays if you involve them.

Over 60% of customers will rather you keep them updated than not. What customers hate most is not knowing.

4. Warehouse Optimization

A chaotic warehouse will cause confusion, delays, and mixed customer orders, which are all nightmares for any last-mile delivery company or process.

An optimized warehouse or delivery can reduce delivery time by up to 60%. Amazon achieved this when it bought Kiva robots in 2012 and applied their technology to optimize its distribution centres. The results from your warehouse optimization mostly depend on the level of optimization. Optimizing the warehouse guarantees you an efficient and cost-effective last-mile delivery.

5. Vehicle Maintenance

Regularly maintain vehicles and other infrastructures in the last-mile delivery process to ensure they are in good condition.

When your vehicles are in good condition, they are more reliable and can complete deliveries safely and efficiently.

6. Continuous Improvement and Innovation

The world constantly changes, and supply chains are always improving.

Last-mile delivery should do the same. One key strategy for doing that is through regular reviews. Businesses and supply chains can improve and innovate through customer feedback, taking ideas from drivers, staff, and other stakeholders.

Conclusion

Last-mile delivery is critical to any supply chain, especially in Africa.

The challenges facing the continent can significantly impact the success of businesses and supply chains. Businesses can enjoy successful and effective last-mile delivery operations by implementing the solutions highlighted in the article and applying the suggested practices.