With scale and technology, retail delivery processes can be made extremely efficient. But only to a certain point. For the last strech from transport hub to end customer, the conditions are very different. In fact, the last mile delivery service is the costliest link of the supply chain and retailers often are forced to absorb part of the cost. This is the ”last mile challenge”: dealing with that crucial last part of the delivery, where economies of scale are harder to achieve and the level of customization is high.

Turning to the localization industry. the challenge of the ”last mile” is potentially present in every handoff. Adoption of technologies like BMS:s and TMS:s have improved efficiency for large parts of our processes, but there is always that last mile to be covered. Bridging this gap has typically been a task for the project manager, and with the tendency of more but smaller orders, dealing with that ”last mile” in an efficient way is key to stay profitable.

There is a ”last mile” at the edge of every system, and this session will explore the combination of logistics, administration and project management in the delivery of localization services. Topics will involve strategies for identifying ”last miles” in processes and enter into dialogue with current narratives on the future of project management in the localization space.

Host organization: Yellownape