8 minutes

Understanding your position on the logistics performance curve

Your last mile isn't broken, it's plateaued. Moving from manual tools to full orchestration is key to enabling scale and resilience. See where your operation stands and how to move forward.

Managing varying delivery volumes, multiple transport partners, and rising customer expectations makes the last mile of logistics a critical focus area.

And a potential weak spot if left unchecked.

For many teams, the final leg is where complexity starts to outpace systems. What works at smaller scales begins to strain under pressure: manual processes, disconnected tools, and broad delivery windows that frustrate customers and stretch resources thin.

But the operation isn't broken, it’s simply stuck.

Understanding your operational maturity is key to breaking through that ceiling.

What does “maturity” in the last mile really mean?

If you want to improve your last-mile operation, the first step is knowing where you stand today.

We’ve designed a last-mile maturity model based on the diverse set of companies we’ve worked with over the years. It will help you benchmark your current state across three critical streams: digitalization, automation, and optimization. Together, these streams drive what we call the iron triangle of logistics – lower costs, higher service quality, and reduced emissions. These outcomes become increasingly achievable as your operation matures.

Each stream strengthens the next:

- Digitalization replaces manual processes with digital tools, capturing the data you need and building the foundation for better visibility and control

- Automation takes the data you’ve captured and uses it to streamline repetitive tasks, freeing up time and reducing errors

- Optimization sharpens your operations by refining routes, resources, and workflows to achieve maximum efficiency and resilience

Each level of maturity reflects a meaningful shift in how your people, processes, and systems work together to deliver better service and more control.

The five levels of
Mover’s maturity model

Now, let’s break down what each level looks like and what it means for your business.

Level 1: Ad hoc operations

Your team is making things work, but it’s manual, siloed, and often reactive rather than proactive. Deliveries are planned with little to no tech support (think phone calls, long paper trails, or Excel spreadsheets) and visibility over outbound deliveries is minimal. There is heavy dependence on paper documentation and while data is collected, it's rarely put to real use.

Customers get minimal communication beyond their initial order confirmation, leaving them in the dark until the delivery arrives (or doesn’t).

At this stage, you’re relying on experience rather than systems. While things may be holding together for now, cracks start to show as volumes rise or expectations shift.

The business impact:

- High operational overhead and inefficiency

- Limited visibility into delivery performance

- Frequent customer frustration and inbound service calls

Right now, a TMS may not feel essential. Your priority is to establish basic processes, build initial visibility, and get your team aligned around clear workflows.

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Level 2: Basic optimization

You’ve taken your first steps toward digitalization. Basic logistics software is in place to help with route planning and dispatching, and some customer notifications have been introduced (something like a “Your order is on its way!” email without much additional detail).

However, many tasks are still handled manually. Time is spent managing and assigning routes to multiple transport service providers (TSPs), often without a strategic framework. And delivery windows are still quite broad, leaving little room for the precision customers want.

While tech has made day-to-day operations easier, you’re likely seeing signs that your complexity is starting to outgrow the tools you have. Systems feel disconnected and data isn’t yet used enough to optimize your operation.

Where gaps remain:

- Precision and personalization are missing from customer updates

- Reliance on manual coordination with TSPs

- Proactive improvements are limited

Without deeper integration and automation, many logistics teams find themselves overwhelmed by growing complexity.

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Level 3: Standardization & integration

You’re at a turning point. Processes are standardized across your operation and your logistics software is integrated with key systems like ERP and CRM.

You’ve moved beyond basic digitalization: your systems are connected and your data is actively working for you, both internally and for your customers. Customers can now schedule deliveries or choose preferred timeslots and your teams have clearer, real-time insights into delivery status and performance.

This is where operations start to feel more connected and the customer experience becomes a true focus.

The benefits:

- Greater efficiency from standardized workflows

- Real-time tracking is shared directly with customers

- Greater data visibility across teams

Now, your focus is on breaking down any remaining silos, scaling customer-centric features, and creating a strong foundation for more advanced automation and optimization.

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Level 4: Advanced optimization

Now, logistics shifts from being reactive to proactive. You’re using advanced analytics to forecast demand and dynamically optimize routes in real time. IoT devices provide continuous monitoring of vehicles and shipments, ensuring your team has full visibility across the delivery network. Exception management is proactive, with issues spotted and resolved before they disrupt the customer experience.

You’re also delivering a more personalised, reliable service. One that offers smaller, precise delivery windows, proactive notifications, and feedback loops that help you continuously refine service quality.

The business impact:

- Up to 90% reduction in customer service calls (based on Mover data!)

- Enhanced service without added costs

- A data-driven operation that is agile and scalable

At this maturity stage, you’re using logistics as your competitive advantage and setting your business apart in a demanding market.

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Level 5: Innovation & differentiation

You’re leading the market, not just keeping up with competitors. Logistics is a true brand differentiator; you’re delivering smarter, faster, and more sustainably than others in your space.

From AI and machine learning to autonomous vehicles and blockchain, you’ve embraced cutting-edge technology to create greater supply chain transparency and operational agility. Sustainability is a core driver of your last-mile strategy, with green fleets and carbon-neutral delivery options embedded wherever possible.

Customer experience stays at the center of your innovation. Whether it’s offering hyper-precise delivery windows or omnichannel fulfilment, you’re setting a new standard for convenience, transparency, and trust.

Why it matters:

- Futureproofs your business against disruption

- Positions your brand as a leader in customer experience and sustainability

- Strengthens customer loyalty through personalization and reliability

Not every business needs to reach this stage immediately (or at all), but staying aware of what’s possible keeps you thinking, striving, and ahead of the curve.

Progress in practice:
A how-to

The next question is: how do you move forward?

Scaling your maturity relies on layering improvements over time, building confidence and capability as you go.

Stage 2 → Stage 3: From tools to systems

Many teams reach a point where their digital tools are in place, but planning still depends heavily on learned experience. Moving from basic optimization to integration means building system logic that scales.

A few organizational moves:

Define ownership clearly with a responsibility matrix across planning, TSPs, customer support, and driver operations

Onboard TSPs through standardized training, safety protocols, and certification processes to ensure readiness and compliance

Introduce service ladders and customer-facing scheduling to planning zones

Use transparent pricing logic with route effort (time + distance) as the basis for vendor compensation

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Stage 3 → Stage 4: From visibility to proactive optimization

Once workflows are integrated, the next step is to move from reactive to data-driven execution. Visibility alone isn’t enough. High performing teams use planned-versus-actual data to shape resource planning, continuously optimize routes, and handle deviations before they reach the customer.

Operational triggers to consider:

Automate assignment based on route rules, contractor capacity, and performance history

Run simulations to refine density and cutoffs, and base planning on actual order behavior, rather than static deadlines

Track real-time GPS and driver actions for proactive exception handling

Benchmark task durations, route efficiency, and reassignments to continuously tune planning logic

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Stage 4 → Stage 5: From optimization to orchestration

At this stage, logistics becomes a coordination system, rather than a series of touchpoints. The focus shifts from performance alone to orchestration across customer experience, environmental performance, and long-term cost-efficiency.

How to make it happen:

Vendors are paid through automated, deviation-aware settlement

Delivery pricing logic is aligned with route density and zone economics

EV usage and CO2 emissions are tracked and reviewed alongside cost per order

TSP and driver performance is benchmarked continuously and fed back into planning

Moving up the maturity scale relies on designing your operation for accountability and adaptability at every stage. From order intake to post-delivery assessment, orchestration happens when planning, execution, and improvement work and support each other across the same logic.

Key takeaways

- The last mile is one of the most complex parts of logistics and often where systems begin to show their limits as your business grows.

- You don’t have to leap from manual processes to full optimization overnight. Small, focused improvements (like system integration, improved customer updates, or proactive exception handling) can deliver measurable results quickly.

- Visibility is only useful if it drives action. Mature operations use planned-versus-actual data to continuously adapt and optimize delivery performance.

- Mover TMS is designed to help businesses progress from basic digital tools to fully optimized, data-driven operations.
- True last-mile maturity means moving beyond performance to orchestration, where planning, execution, and improvement all follow a single logic that scales with you.