Last-mile delivery and shipping software

The last mile and the parcel, all the way to the customer's door

Think back to the phone case you ordered at ten at night, in Market Segment 30.2, Warehouse management systems (WMS) and warehouse robotics. It has left the warehouse, and it is now at a depot in your city. A rider has to bring it to your door. You chose cash on delivery, so if you are not home, or you change your mind, the parcel makes the trip for nothing.

That final stretch, from the depot to the door, is called the last mile. It is the most expensive part of delivery, and the only part the customer sees. Its software does five jobs:

choosing the courier company for each parcel
printing the label
planning each rider's route
handling the failed delivery
handling the return

The last mile from the depot to your door: choosing the courier for each parcel, printing the label, planning each rider's route, and handling the failed delivery and the return, with the companies in this Market Segment that work at each step.

India, with its huge online shopping market and its cash on delivery, has built a large industry around the last mile. This Market Segment covers the software, and the two ride-hailing platforms that deliver parcels too. The delivery companies that run their own networks come in Market Segment 30.7, Courier and parcel delivery networks.

Every company named here has posted software engineering jobs in India. Famous companies that don't actively hire software engineers in India are left out.

This Market Segment has one sub-segment.

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The last-mile software and the parcel

The last-mile software and the parcel

Back to the phone case at the depot from the start of this Market Segment. Before the rider sets off, software has already chosen the courier, printed the label and planned the route.

Pitney Bowes

with engineers in Delhi and Pune, has the most job postings of any company covered mainly in this Market Segment. It sells shipping software and cross-border parcel services to retailers and other businesses. It is the company that made postage meters, the machines that print postage for letters and parcels.

LogiNext

with engineers in Mumbai, plans last-mile routes and tracks deliveries for companies around the world.

Three companies connect a seller to many couriers through one system, and choose the best courier for each parcel:

ClickPost

with engineers in Bengaluru

eShipz

Easyship

Four companies run or coordinate parts of the delivery itself:

Delivery Solutions

with engineers in Chennai, coordinates same-day delivery for retailers.

Blitz

with engineers in Bengaluru, runs a fulfilment network for quick commerce, the delivery of groceries and other goods in minutes.

BLive

runs fleets of electric delivery vehicles, and the software behind them. BLive also appears in Market Segment 38.4, Fleet management and telematics (in Industry Vertical 38, Automotive and mobility). (More on charging electric vehicles in Market Segment 38.8, EV charging networks and battery swapping, in Industry Vertical 38, Automotive and mobility.)

Blubirch

handles returned goods. It grades them by condition, repairs them and resells them.

Three smaller shipping companies complete the list: Shipway, Mojro and Shiplee India.

Two ride-hailing platforms also deliver parcels, beside their rides. Both are covered mainly in other Market Segments:

Uber

with engineers in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, is here for Uber Eats and its courier delivery. It is covered mainly in Market Segment 38.6, Ride-hailing and shared mobility apps (in Industry Vertical 38, Automotive and mobility).

Grab

is here for GrabExpress, its parcel delivery. It is covered mainly in Market Segment 26.6, On-demand services apps (in Industry Vertical 26, E-commerce and D2C brands).

The parcel that never fails.

A failed delivery costs Indian sellers heavily, especially a cash-on-delivery order that the customer refuses at the door. The software now predicts which orders will fail. It chooses the courier most likely to succeed, and schedules the delivery for a time the customer will be home. (More on the online store's checkout, where cash on delivery is chosen, in Market Segment 27.1, E-commerce storefront, checkout and search tools, in Industry Vertical 27, Retail tech.) The electric scooter and the dark store are changing the vehicle and the distance. The AI models are changing the decision.

The parcel that never fails: the software predicts which orders will fail, chooses the courier most likely to succeed, and schedules the delivery for a time the customer will be home.

That is the last mile: the courier chosen, the route planned and the parcel brought to your door, with software working to make sure it arrives the first time. Next, the goods that come from abroad. (More on them in Market Segment 30.6, Freight forwarding, customs and trade platforms.)

Who they hire

Who these companies hire, and for what, is on What supply chain and logistics companies hire for.

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