How to Overcome Common Challenges in Delivery Management?

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Updated on: June 12, 2025

You’ve got orders. You’ve got drivers. So why is delivery still a headache?

Delivery management has become a high-stakes game. Speed matters because margins get tighter due to high competition, and customers expect updates faster than ever.

Messy routes, overwhelmed drivers, and zero visibility prevent you from unlocking success in such a business environment. Suddenly, your logistics start looking like chaos with a GPS signal.

Of course, delivery management has challenges. But you need a solution, one of which is Zeo Route Planner slides. You get a real-time routing and fleet management system that can replace your spreadsheets and multiple applications and add visibility to your delivery.

Do you think managing deliveries and running logistics is difficult?

Zeo can help you plan smarter by tracking every move, reducing waste, and making drivers more productive without burning them out.

Challenge #1. Delivery Delays and Missed Time Windows

A report suggests that 70% of customers may get upset if their orders don’t arrive on time. Sure, you try your best to deliver it on time, but with the rise of quick commerce use, customers now expect even faster deliveries.

So, even a 30-minute window can feel like a lifetime when they’re waiting for medicines, groceries, or a new phone charger.

But what causes the delays?

• Routes made in a hurry (or manually… yikes)
• No real-time rerouting when traffic hits
• Wrong or incomplete addresses
• And yes, drivers calling you to ask which apartment again

Here’s how Zeo Route Planner helps

Below are a few ways Zeo can help you avoid delivery delays and show commitment to providing deliveries within the given timeframe.

Smart routing that actually thinks

Zeo uses AI-backed route planning that updates on the go.

So, if a driver needs to skip a stop or reach the other one on the fly, then it helps reshuffle the path and recalculate the fastest way to wrap it up.

Read more on how Zeo’s AI algorithms work for smart routing.

Live ETAs customers actually believe

Customers appreciate transparency, so it is best to share the expected time of arrival (delivery) with them.

Here, Zeo Route Planner provides real-time updates on route and driver location, helping you notify customers with real-time ETAs. It also has a live tracking link for customers who need customized service, such as a preferred delivery time or shift in delivery time.

Ultimately, your customers can track every step of the delivery process and stay updated on delivery time.

Drivers get everything they need on the app

The mobile app for drivers provides them with instant access to addresses, customer information, parcel counts, and notes.

They can rely on this app to follow the optimized route, resulting in on-time deliveries.

This way, drivers will guess less, resulting in fewer delays in the delivery.

Proof of Delivery to verify drop-offs

Drivers can collect signatures, photos, or notes on the spot.

So if someone says, “I never got it,” you’ve got the receipts to avoid confusion and drive accountability.

Challenge #2. Rising Fuel and Operational Costs

Fuel prices doing somersaults?

You’re not alone in feeling the burn of budgeting woes. A few extra kilometers here and there can turn into a small fortune over the month, especially when you’ve got multiple drivers running routes daily.

The impact of rising fuel and operational costs is felt because of —

• Poorly clustered stops
• Drivers zig-zagging across town
• Empty return trips
• Lack of clarity on driver availability

You can still counter such issues with Zeo.

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How Zeo Route Planner optimizes fuel and operational expenses

Below, we’ll take a look at what Zeo does to help keep the operational costs in check.

Route optimization algorithm that reduces distance and idle time

A simple math is: smarter routes = lower fuel bills

You can use Zeo Route Planner’s route optimizer to reduce travel time, backtracking, and fuel-wasting loops.

Check out how Zeo Route Planner’s optimization algorithm works to improve the bottom line.

Store-based route planning to reduce empty miles

Next, start the routes directly from your store by pinning down a fixed start and end point and assigning a store to a driver.

This keeps all routes tidy and cuts down unnecessary driving by implementing the Backhauling system so that you.

To set the same starting and ending location, the entire round trip should facilitate assigning stores to your drivers.

Reports that highlight inefficiencies

First, you’d want fuel-focused analytics so that you can identify which route guzzled fuel or where delays happened.

Again, with Zeo, you have detailed delivery analytics so you can fix waste fast. You can analyze reports and discover exactly where things are efficient and where they’re not, so you can course correct before costs spiral.

Challenge #3. Poor Route Planning and Manual Scheduling

Time to move beyond the route planning using Spreadsheets and Google Maps. You remain oblivious to business efficiencies if you’re not analyzing routes, tracking drivers’ performance, and scheduling deliveries in a manual business.

Managing a team of drivers can be an issue due to the following reasons:

• Manual driver assignments
• Repeated tasks for daily routes
• No visibility into workload balance
• Can’t handle order volume spikes
• Now, imagine handing all that off to Zeo

How Zeo helps overcome planning and scheduling challenges

Zeo takes the stress out of planning by addressing key bottlenecks in route planning and scheduling.

Bulk route assignment and auto-assign stops

Prioritize based on the skill of drivers, as Zeo Route Planner provides one-click bulk route assignment.

In this case, even if the driver has a hundred orders a day, you can simply upload the location and details via CSV.

Zeo’s feature involves auto-assignment based on driver shifts or skill, with the help of smart routing technology.

Plan ahead with scheduled routes

Let’s say you run similar deliveries every week.

Then, Zeo can help you pre-schedule those routes in advance — build, edit, and assign routes directly from your device. It also extends to real-time syncing across your driver’s app.

Favorite stop feature and store-based start points

If you’ve got certain high-frequency addresses, save them as Favorites. Got service zones or delivery limits?

Assign a store and set delivery boundaries. Zeo will plan routes based on those zones without a hitch.

Conclusion

Delivery management is chaotic — but it doesn’t have to stay that way. There are challenges involved at every step when you enter the delivery business. But, with the right tools and planning, you can turn it into a profitable business,

Zeo Route Planner gives you the kind of control, automation, and visibility that most small teams only dream of. You are assured of fewer delays, lower costs, and smoother driver communication.

Ready to see how your delivery business challenges are addressed in a jiffy?

Book a demo of Zeo Route Planner.