A Lost Art?

 

I had an interesting experience the other night that level me surprised and questioning some assumptions.

I saw an article on LinkedIn that was written to support route optimization and highlight differences between different types of final mile (last mile) deliveries.

As I went through it, I couldn't help but feel like it was a little off. Not that the information was wrong per se, more that the frame didn't quite capture all of the nuances I felt it should (I appreciate I am a touch opinionated - I prefer to call it passion).

It dawned on me later that evening, a question that might explain why I was feeling off after reading the article. In an on demand world, that is based on dynamic orders and routing, is knowledge being lost that supported the previous "traditional" models.

The major difference I am making between dynamic and traditional models is that traditional models are/were built on fixed and planned service schedules. This could be five deliveries per week, one, or something like once a month. The frequency itself isn't the focus, it's the fact that it is scheduled, fixed and repeating.

Today's eCommerce driven world is dynamic. People are making orders all the time, deliveries are based on the number of days from order to fulfilment versus a fixed schedule (i.e. Amazon's 2 day shipping).

In both environments, you get all types of data about your activity. At the most basic level, all of the same variables apply and impact in the same way. The differentiator is that in a dynamic model you never know exactly what you will have to delivery, how much or where.

Dynamic routing today is supported with a multitude of software suites. All the orders that come in will move through the system, they are dispatch and optimized by the algorithm. You find out how many runs/routes you need, this would then translate to hours, number of drivers, helpers, etc.

Since everything moves so fast, I challenge that something is lost in the overall approach to the business.

One of the most irritating things I deal with on a regular basis is someone who thinks that logistics is anything more than managing time and capacity. No matter if you are delivering widgets, food or items from that new direct to consumer retailer, it's all the same at the base. People that have only lived in the eCommerce space will tell you that it's special, different, you have to gain experience doing it in order to optimize and win.

Aboslutely. False.

Anyone who says that is showing how little they truly understand about operations, execution and the fundamentals of network design.

For those of us that that have grown up and experienced more traditional models, I find that we consider more. We have worked with systems that repeated, that gave us a regular and consistent sandbox to play in. This is like a pure opportunity of the scientific method. Same (or very similar variables), over and over again and you get to tweak inputs and see the results.

From this experience, I suggest that this type of experience makes you more effective when dealing with new types of delivery elements because you have a breadth and wealth of knowledge from proven experimentation that you can use to improve results.

You obviously have to grow, change and adapt. I am not suggesting that how we approach dynamic routing today doesn't make sense, it does. I do believe pairing modern day options with core fundamental understanding developed from experimentation yields more than simply relying on the software to give you the 'best' solutions.