What’s the Top Logistics Management Software?

Logistics management can include everything from dealing with the farthest upstream reaches of the supply chain to the final mile delivery to the end customer—and everything in between. It’s daunting to say the least, and in the modern era most businesses realize that it can’t be done without the right technology. 

But defining the right technology is easier said than done. Depending on your business, you may need anything and everything from warehouse management software to last mile delivery optimization software to a real-time visibility platform to a new ERP. Not only do you need to choose the right category, you have to choose the right software. 

We’re here to help. In this piece, we’ll give a rundown of what logistics management is, what logistics manager software can offer, and how to choose between logistics management solutions. We’ll pay particular attention to the last mile of the supply chain. Why? Because it’s frequently the most expensive and complex part of the process—and it’s the part that directly impacts your customers. 

Let’s dive in!

Table of Contents

• What Does Logistics Management Mean, and How Does It Impact Deliveries?
• What to Look for in Logistics Management Software
• The Best Logistics Management Software Options
• How to Leverage Software for Logistics Management to Improve Deliveries
• How DispatchTrack Can Help

What Does Logistics Management Mean, and How Does It Impact Deliveries?

Logistics management is all about finding ways to get the right goods to the right place at the right time. That can encompass the entire journey, from sourcing raw materials to be manufactured into finished products, to storing and transporting those products to a hub or warehouse, to ultimately moving those items to brick and mortar locations and customers’ homes. 

Effective logistics management requires you to gain visibility into all of the moving parts that go into the operation of an effective supply chain. You need to know where your stock is located in physical space, when it’s going to arrive at its next location, and how it’s going to get there—and then you need to ensure that you can optimize each step of the journey to ensure cost-efficiency. This can include processes like returns management and reverse logistics as well, which are often overlooked. 

What to Look for in Logistics Management Software

However you define logistics management, it’s crucial to be able to get a view of the entire supply chain while also being able to zoom in on individual functions. No TMS software is going to give you the capabilities you need to ensure efficient last mile deliveries. And your typical last mile delivery management software won’t be able to provide you all of the visibility you want into upstream processes, e.g. the first mile and middle mile. 

That can make choosing software a little daunting, but there are best practices that you can leverage to ensure that your logistic software works for your supply chain, your team, and your customers. 

• Prioritize Integration: You know your logistics management technology stack is going to have numerous moving parts, so each piece of software you adopt needs to be able to play well with others. Most successful logistics businesses start their digital transformations by deploying a best-in-class ERP or other large-scale deployment, then select other vendors from there for more specialized needs. 
• Pave the Way for AI: AI is making headlines, but it’s also making an impact. It already has the power to improve route efficiency and ETA accuracy, and the number of use cases for it in logistics is only growing. Make sure your logistics management solutions across the board are set up to take advantage of these new developments as they arise. Something that’s already leveraging AI in a demonstrably impactful way is a good start. 
• Invest in Visibility: Visibility isn’t just making sure that delivery and logistics information is available—it’s about making sure that you can access the right information quickly. The more time your team spends hunting through different solutions and clicking into different dashboards to get answers to their questions, the less effective your logistics management strategy will be in practice. 

The Best Logistics Management Software Options

The best logistics management software is going to depend on your approach and your area. Here are some popular options in different parts of the supply chain management and logistics management stack:

TMS:

• SAP
• Oracle
• Blue Yonder

Telematics:

• Geotab
• Samsara
• Motive

Last Mile Logistics:

• DispatchTrack
• Descartes

Obviously, the best solution will depend on your exact needs. But you can use these as a starting point to jumpstart your research in logistics management software. 

How to Leverage Software for Logistics Management to Improve Deliveries

Once you’ve selected the right software and implemented it into your technology, you can leverage smarter logistics management technology to improve your delivery performance. Here’s how: 

Improve your delivery routes

With the right route optimization capabilities (probably housed within a last mile solution), you can complete more stops per vehicle per day in the last mile. At the same time, you can leverage machine learning and AI to improve the accuracy of your ETA predictions, which can bolster supply chain performance and decrease failed deliveries. 

This is functionality that you can apply further upstream to first and middle mile transportation as well to ensure that you’re routing goods in the most cost-effective way. 

Boost your logistics visibility

Like we said above, visibility is about more than collecting and storing data—it’s about having the data you need right at your fingertips. The best logistics management software does this via a combination of connectivity across your technology stack and intuitive UX and UI. The result is that you’re able to see exactly where any given shipment or order is at any given time, as well being able to gain live insight into your warehouse and fleet capacity utilization, current demand levels, and more. 

This means that you can plan and execute more quickly—and more accurately—across every stage of the supply chain. The result is cost and time savings that can add up significantly over time. 

Improve customer satisfaction

No one likes a long delivery lead time, and no one likes a late delivery. In an increasingly CX-focused world, the businesses who can make bold promises to their customers and actually keep them are the ones who are set up for success. Logistics management is a huge part of this—and the right logistics management solution should put you in a position to keep your promises no matter the complexity. 

At the same time, it should also ensure that you have the capabilities you need to keep customers in the loop during the final mile of the supply chain. This includes alerts, two-messaging, and live delivery tracking for customers to whatever extent possible (leveraging that visibility that you achieved in the previous bullet point).

Digitize and standardize

One of the most powerful ways that logistics management software can improve your operations overall is through digitization and standardization of processes. Paperwork is the enemy—anything you can do to decrease the time and space that gets taken up with physical scraps of paper (i.e. proof of delivery slips, paper route manifests, etc.), the more you can save money, boost visibility, and increase efficiency. 

When everything is digitized and housed within a software ecosystem that gels together efficiently, you can begin to standardize processes across your entire organization. From there you can begin to spot and implement efficiency improvements and decrease your logistics costs over time. 

How DispatchTrack Can Help

DispatchTrack is global leader in last mile logistics software, helping 2,500+ businesses around the world promise, deliver, and delight their customers. Our last mile logistics management software offers smart, AI-powered route optimization, streamlined driver management, real-time logistics visibility, and end-to-end customer engagement and communication. 

Best of all, we slot seamlessly into logistics technology stacks. That’s how our customers are able to achieve 50-75% faster routing and scheduling, 98% ETA accuracy, and huge improvements in NPS and CSAT scores. If you’re interested in learning more about how DispatchTrack can improve your logistics capabilities and save you money on delivery, get in touch with our team today.