Real-time tracking in delivery is a system managed by software that allows businesses, their customers, and dispatchers to see exactly where a driver or package is at any moment. Two things are required for real-time tracking: Hardware and Software. Businesses used to install the GPS devices to track agents, but in recent years, mobile apps have replaced that hardware. Now, real-time tracking is a basic requirement for every delivery or courier business, and in this article, I’ll explain how to answer this need.
Key Takeaways
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With real-time tracking, delivery businesses can reduce failed deliveries, cut “where’s my order?” calls, and even shorten delivery times by up to 30%.
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The foundation of real-time tracking is GPS. With GPS tracking, everyone involved in the process gains visibility.
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With Onro’s driver app, your drivers have the order data and can update the status at each step so everyone knows what’s happening.
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With live map monitoring, dispatchers have real-time data on all online drivers, their locations, and the status of every order, and that means they can make smarter decisions.
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With automated analytics, notifications, invoicing, ETA, and a tracking page, you can cut support calls and save time.
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The delivery isn’t really complete until there’s proof. Without proof of delivery, all that tracking and transparency can easily be lost.
In today’s fast-paced delivery world, customers aren’t waiting – they’re looking to be told what’s going on. Nearly 90% of customers consider real-time tracking updates an important feature, so any courier or delivery company needs to enhance the customer experience. The right system will eliminate missed deliveries and those annoying “Where’s my order?” calls. You can even cut the overall time from the customer’s order to when it arrives at their doorstep by over 30%. Real-time tracking of delivery is not another addition to your toolkit; it’s a secret weapon for keeping things moving swiftly and smartly.
In this post, you will discover how 12 amazing features of Onro’s last mile delivery software make the delivery process more efficient and hassle-free. But before reading the article, you can watch the video below to learn how real-time tracking works, why it’s essential for modern delivery businesses, and how Onro’s 12 key features can help you reduce failed deliveries, improve visibility, and keep your customers informed every step of the way.
Why Real-Time Tracking is No Longer Optional?
There was a time when having real-time tracking was considered an extra convenience. But now, it has become a must-have feature for delivery services. Because customers are accustomed to get visibility into order status, greatly raising the bar on what counts as acceptable service; at a minimum, full-featured last-mile delivery tracking is a standard requirement rather than an optional feature.
How Real-Time Tracking Works in On-Demand Delivery
Methods of real-time delivery tracking should be organize based on delivery workflow. Don’t miss that every company has unique processes for delivery. Hence, the successful implementation of the tracking process highly depends on the understanding of it.
Under the on-demand category, there is not a single central depot or warehouse. Instead, drivers are expected to pick and deliver goods to one or more designated delivery stations. While providing the service in this modern direct pick-up and delivery model, focus is given to this division specifically and along with it real-time delivery services specially bound to this model.
12 Features of Onro That Transform Your Real-Time Tracking
| # | Feature | Description | Key Benefits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GPS-Tracking and Real-Time Delivery Transparency for Customers | Dashboard shows all drivers’ locations. Customers track deliveries and driver’s location in real-time | Efficient assignment, reduces delays, quick decisions. Reduces “Where’s my order?” calls, improves satisfaction |
| 2 | Live Driver Status Updates at Every Step | Step-by-step updates (“Started”, “Arrived”, “Picked Up”, “Done”) visible to customer and dispatcher | Clear communication, reduces frustration, transparency |
| 3 | Live Map Monitoring via Dispatcher Dashboard | Shows all active drivers, their locations, and order statuses | Immediate decisions, better allocation, reduces late deliveries |
| 4 | Automated Notifications | Sends updates via email, SMS, or in-app notifications to customers, and drivers | Keeps users informed, reduces support calls |
| 5 | Real-Time ETAs (Estimated Time of Arrival) | ETAs based on traffic and delivery conditions | Reduces uncertainty, improves planning, boosts satisfaction |
| 6 | Tracking Page | Gives your customers a live view of their delivery in progress | Builds transparency, reduces support calls, and keeps customers confident |
| 7 | Proof of delivery | Allows drivers upload proof of pickup and delivery | Builds trust, ensures verification, eliminates doubt |
| 8 | Driver Registration and Verification | Your drivers upload license, ID, vehicle photos; admin approval | Ensures authorized drivers, increases safety and trust |
| 9 | Real-Time Payouts for Drivers | Instant earnings verification and withdrawals | Improves driver satisfaction, reduces accounting workload |
| 10 | Automated Invoicing | Automates billing, collates data, monitors KPIs | Saves time, reduces manual errors, supports growth decisions |
| 11 | Support | Allows real-time communication inside the system | Your customers or drivers issues are resolved faster without phone calls or delays |
| 12 | Analytics for Admins | Gives you real-time insights into your delivery operations | Grow your business with data-driven visibility |
Key Stakeholders in A Delivery System
| Stakeholder | Role | Onro Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Drivers | Complete deliveries | Track vehicle location, update status, confirm deliveries, upload POD |
| Customers | Track orders | Real-time updates, tacking page, transparency, see ETAs and delivery reports |
| Dispatchers | Manage deliveries | Live GPS map, efficient route allocation, immediate decision-making |
| Business Owners/Managers | Oversee operations | Analytics, workflow optimization, reduce operational cost |
Drivers
All drivers using the transport of vehicle function, regardless of whether they are employed full-time or casually/hours disagreeable employment, need to have a reliable way to check the vehicle’s location to ultimately make their delivery on time.
Customers
When customers place an order, regardless of whether it’s from a business or an individual, that order is usually tracked. Customers are expected to see the addresses on their orders to keep track of status. Therefore, customers are typically receiving updates. So, driver tracking can boost customer experience.
Dispatchers
In any industry, dispatchers are a backbone of delivery companies. The dispatcher’s primary duties in the transportation industry at least include: preparing and planning deliveries, coordinating delivery teams, and dealing with eruptive issues. Other duties performed can include overseeing site issues, and dealing with site problems. The logistics department is able to utilize Onro technology and make decisions effectively by using GPS tracking and site software availability when considering the timing of delivery route takes and ability to change viewer requests.
Courier or Delivery Business Owners/Managers
Arrange for comprehensive consultations with business managers and owners throughout the company to register drivers, streamline the workflow, manage the contractual aspects, and handle collections. The proper use of real-time data can improve the efficiency of the delivery operations and the satisfaction of your customers.
A team is able to act on data as it is needed, define real-time monitoring of updates, and various tasks that models will execute. As a result, this offers the team a huge reduction in operational costs and unnecessary delays. Indeed, workflow transparency is enhanced, and customer satisfaction levels are improved.
The Foundation of Real-time Tracking Is GPS
With GPS tracking, you as the business owner always know where your drivers are. Dispatchers see it on the map, customers get live updates, and drivers don’t waste time answering phone calls. Everyone gets visibility. The basic information for implementing real-time tracking will also be available.
Real-time Tracking Is Essential for Transparency
All the last-mile delivery courier businesses struggle with the common problem, “Where’s my order?”. That’s a lot of stress for the driver, the dispatcher, and the customer. With real-time tracking, you’re able to know exactly where each driver is located and what is each order status. To the customer, they are able to track their order as it’s being delivered. This minimizes WISMO questions and gives better transparency. Also, it allows courier companies to deliver more quickly and it improves the whole process to make it more consistent for everybody.
Live Updates at Every Step Is Powering Deliveries
Consider a driver who just picked up an order. Both the dispatcher and customer have the same question: “Have they left? Are they on the way? Stuck in traffic?” Between the deliveries occurring, it can be difficult to know where something is at and that is frustrating. No live updates define a lot of grey space, and gray space like that breeds anger and frustration. However, if everyone is seeing the words “started“, “arrived“, “picked up“, and “done” there is a definition at each stage of the delivery. Effectively, this simple Onro feature takes all of the muddiness out of the picture, making their journey, and everyone else’s journey, as clear as possible.
Live Map Monitoring via Dispatcher Dashboard
Your dispatchers must deal with which driver is available, which driver is nearest to the ordered packet, and so on, many times during the day, and this could become even more important when dealing with emergency packets. If they cannot typically have a sense of where the drivers are at any moment, and the drivers are typically spread out over the map, the dispatchers must hunt for the drivers blindly.
The real-time tracking solution changes all of this. The dispatcher dashboard shows all of the drivers and their status up-to-the-minute in one view, including active drivers with their order status and their location. This allows for immediate decision-making on order dispatches.
For example, if a delivery has been delayed, the system reports it to the dispatchers in no time at all, who can then assign another driver to that delivery the same instant the delivery is delayed. The dispatchers then have another set of additional hands to go get order “X” to the customer, have a better customer experience, and cause greater efficiencies.
Automated Customer Notifications
Just like dispatchers, customers really value visibility. In fact, a staggering 93% of online shoppers want to receive regular updates about their shipments. If using automated delivery notifications, you can notify customers about each step of delivery during the entire process, which will significantly reduce those “where’s my order?” calls.
With Onro, you can automate notifications easily by using customizable templates and send notifications through email, SMS, or in-app push notifications. This way, your customers are informed without the additional work for your team.
Real-Time ETAs
In many cases, customer satisfaction depends on timely ETA updates. Research has shown that whenever real-time ETAs are made available, it helps to reduce support calls by 30-50%, and allows for better planning around deliveries. Onro automates this based on traffic patterns, not only providing ETAs to customers but also passing the information to dispatchers. This way, everyone knows what time their deliveries will happen, and the amount of uncertainty is reduced.
Driver Registration and Verification
You are committed to take on board drivers in a fast fashion while all effective processes remain organized. Your drivers are able to take required photos of their transport vehicle, driver’s license, identity ID and all required documents and upload them through the app. Additionally, for safety and risk management considerations, managers can quickly verify and approve drivers from the onboard manager dashboard to ensure that authorized drivers are on the road.
Automated Invoicing and Admin Dashboard Analytics
Onro has been built to allow you to automate your invoices across your business. Set up a custom billing cycle type, then combine multiple e-mail templates, all the while adding charges for extras, etc. In a matter of moments, invoices are created and emailed, and your e-commerce clients can receive and pay their invoices right then!
The admin panel gives you a collated view of the clients, drivers and orders, and important KPI’s related to your delivery business, all of which help you to consider strategies for growth.
FAQ | Real-time Tracking in Delivery
In the realm of last-mile deliveries, real-time tracking is a game-changer. It allows businesses to tackle issues before they escalate and gives customers the ability to keep an eye on their delivery progress online. In the world of e-commerce, this is vital since direct couriers aren’t always available, making direct fulfillment a challenge.
It’s not just the drivers and dispatchers who benefit; administrators, customers, and other stakeholders also enjoy real-time visibility and enhanced communication, which leads to quicker decision-making.
Onro sends out automatic notifications at every stage of the delivery process, including alerts for when an order is “started,” “arrived,” “picked up,” and “done,” covering both authorized pickups and deliveries.
For deliveries, users receive automated notifications and estimated times of arrival (ETAs) online, along with access to detailed delivery reports.
Absolutely! Onro automates GPS monitoring, notifications, and invoicing, plus it offers comprehensive analysis dashboards. This automation saves companies time by eliminating manual tracking, allowing them to make decisions more swiftly.
Conclusion
In the delivery service landscape, real-time tracking is indispensable, especially for those providing on-demand solutions. That’s where Onro comes in, offering a robust solution that features live GPS tracking, automatic updates, insightful analytics, and streamlined workflows. By connecting drivers, dispatchers, customers, and managers in real time, Onro significantly reduces turnaround times, enhances customer satisfaction, and boosts operational efficiency, truly transforming the delivery industry.
