In a product’s journey from the warehouse to your door, the last mile is the final stage in the process. Not only is it the hardest to get right, and the most time-consuming leg of product delivery, it’s also the most expensive, reportedly accounting for around 50% of total shipping costs. If you’ve ever waited hours for a package that was “out for delivery”, you’ll understand exactly how inefficient this final step can be.
Luckily for the industry, and for customers, a number of new and emerging tools and technologies are being developed and deployed to improve last mile delivery. These solutions make smarter and simpler deliveries possible. Solutions like Loop, a delivery management app that is optimizing and shaking up the logistics space by improving the interactions between everyone across the supply chain - from the business and the driver, to the end customer.
Loop was founded by Kimberley Taylor, who came up with the idea for the business while completing a university assignment. She was asked to solve the traditional travelling salesman problem – the salesman has to visit every city on a list starting from a particular location and ending at the start location.
The challenge is to minimize the length of the trip by finding the most efficient route. Solving this route optimization problem opened the door for Taylor to ask even more questions about the visibility and communication issues that exist within the delivery space. And she immediately knew that there were a number of problems that needed to be solved.
Esta historia es de la edición December 2023 - January 2024 de Forbes Africa.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición December 2023 - January 2024 de Forbes Africa.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
TRACK, WATCH, BEFRIEND
IN THE PRISTINE WILDERNESS OF GABON ARE THE MAJESTIC AND GENTLE WESTERN LOWLAND GORILLAS. A FIRSTHAND REPORT FROM OUR TRAVEL WRITER ON WHAT GOES INTO HABITUATING THEM.
CHALLENGING BUT NECESSARY: THE AI BALANCING PROBLEM
Artificial intelligence (AI) continues transforming many industries, providing unprecedented opportunities for innovation and efficiency. However, these advancements bring complex challenges that necessitate a delicate balancing act.
BEYOND ACADEMIA: THE SOCIETAL IMPACT OF MULTILATERAL EDUCATIONAL COLLABORATIONS
The great poet William Butler Yeats once said, \"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.\"
The Business Of Dance: Embracing One's Individuality And Style
In the dynamic world of street dance, passion and perseverance pave the way for success. Living out this ethos is South African born B-girl turned businesswoman, Courtnaé Paul.
COMPASSION FATIGUE: THE DANGEROUS DESCENT FROM HELPING TO HURTING
It is a workplace reality that caring too much for your colleagues can hurt you.
IT HAS NEVER BEEN MORE CRITICAL TO FIND OUR NICHE
Have you found your niche? I received a lot of advice when I set up my company, but perhaps the most important consisted of just three words: Find Your Niche.
HOW TO MAKE AFRICA WIN OFF THE FIELD TOO
When all else fails, try sports. It's good for the soul.
BEAN THERE, DONE THAT
British author Roald Dahl tapped into every chocoholic's imagination when creating Willy Wonka's bizarre chocolate factory in his 1964 children's novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
IT DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN WORKING WITH AL PACINO ON BROADWAY'
Arnold Vosloo Actor
BLENDED FINANCE: BRIDGING THE GAP IN EMERGING MARKETS IN SUPPORT OF THE SDGS
Amid the widespread global support for the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), there was an underlying concern among economists and financial advisors in the emerging and frontier markets: public sector and donor funds were stalled, if not regressing, and the funding gap to realize the SDGs was increasing.