Tech-Driven Deliveries

Delivery driver experience can be significantly enhanced with generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) techniques, particularly where traditional deep learning and machine learning (ML) technologies fall short. GenAI can determine the next, best position in the delivery sequence on the road, much in the way that large language models (LLMs) predict the next word in sentences, even if specific contexts, such as traffic, detours or closed properties, were not present in training datasets.

GenAI shows promise in providing context-aware routing solutions that minimize fatigue, reduce route complexity and improve job satisfaction. By continuously adapting to traffic conditions, delivery density and driver preferences, GenAI can reshape the last-mile experience, putting drivers at the center of intelligent, responsive and sustainable logistics systems. This approach creates more adaptable delivery routes that will improve the driver’s experience and thereby the overall customer outcomes from e-commerce purchases.

Three Stages of the Delivery Lifecycle

There are three stages to any last-mile delivery route: the initial work allocation to routes and drivers and associated optimization, the on-road experience, and post-delivery customer satisfaction. Traditional optimization relies on static models and historical data, limiting delivery accuracy in constantly changing environments, especially in scenarios where the delivery context is not present in the training datasets of traditional ML models.

As a differentiator, GenAI can estimate context-specific service and driving times, and make parking recommendations, based on on-road context. It enables dynamic route optimization by continuously analyzing data points, including traffic patterns, weather conditions and building access restrictions (e.g., the presence of loading docks or lockers), to generate efficient and intuitive delivery routes, including the sequence of stops and delivery instructions at each stop. Unlike traditional models, GenAI adapts to daily variability, predicting and responding to disruptions in real time.

Multimodal Foundation Models

Multimodal foundation models can vastly improve prediction accuracy by integrating diverse data types, like satellite imagery and actual photos from delivery workflows, into the maps and routing inputs estimation. GenAI can analyze images and videos, and learn from the context of these datasets to reveal insights that are not possible using traditional approaches, such as acquiring third-party data, property manager maps and ML-based learning.

Driver-submitted photos also provide real-time visual context, such as blocked entrances or unsafe areas, while weather data helps predict delays due to storms or hazardous road conditions. Companies use customer feedback to highlight service issues or building-access difficulties, like a broken elevator in a high-rise apartment building.

Contextual awareness in dynamic routing offers several key advantages over current conventional routing techniques, including improved accuracy based on a real-time understanding of traffic, weather and road conditions. Awareness of construction or building access issues and other local factors helps avoid delays and identify quicker alternatives en route to faster deliveries. Meanwhile, proactive adjustments based on context reduce missed time windows and improve delivery consistency, as routes can be adjusted to avoid perilous weather or dangerous areas.

GenAI routing techniques can also “bake in” customer preferences, delivery challenges and customer feedback. With fewer detours and delays for drivers, organizations can reduce fuel and labor costs while also decreasing waste. UPS, for example, uses On-Road Integrated Optimization and Navigation (ORION) to continuously re-optimize routes and minimize expenses.

AI-Enhanced Driver Workflows

Predictive AI analyzes real-time and historical data, including weather, traffic patterns and traffic-accident reports, to proactively identify potential hazards on delivery routes. It alerts drivers to risks, including icy roads, construction zones or congested areas, before they encounter them, improving driver safety and ensuring routes are faster and more predictable for last-mile delivery drivers.

For example, when delivering to a highly complex university campus, AI can summarize which packages to deliver to lockers and mailrooms, and organize them into separate groups. AI can also indicate the high-value items to deliver directly to customers’ doorsteps. This reduces the driver’s cognitive load from reading individual notes, and decreases manual errors, making for a seamless and easy-to-follow delivery experience on the app. For other challenging environments such as large buildings and gated communities, GenAI can identify optimal access points, entry codes or preferred drop-off zones, thereby reducing confusion and delays. This approach boosts efficiency, enhances safety and reduces stress, empowering drivers to focus on execution, rather than interpreting confusing directions.

Additional AI-powered systems such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) also enhance the driver experience. Early delivery company prototypes demonstrate promise: Drivers can use “smart” glasses to sort packages easily, and guardrail delivery workflows to physical locations, reducing delivery errors like leaving shipments at the wrong house. AR also assists last-mile drivers with navigation by displaying directions through complex environments such as apartment buildings, campuses or gated communities. AI-powered systems are being designed to use natural language processing to quickly analyze and summarize driver feedback.

GenAI is quickly transforming fast-delivery logistics companies by enabling smarter, real-time decisions across inventory, routing, and customer engagement. GenAI also enhances inventory forecasting by analyzing sales history, local demand shifts, real-time supply chain data and other datasets to predict what products are needed, where and when. Unlike traditional models, GenAI processes unstructured data from social media, customer reviews and behavioral patterns. That allows companies like DoorDash to anticipate spikes in demand (e.g., trending products) and adapt routing or stock allocation ahead of seasonal shifts or local events.

AI-Driven Visual Data Transformation

As the logistics industry increasingly relies on images and videos as primary data sources for learning, complementing traditional mapping of the real world and estimation of inputs for routing optimization, GenAI can uncover insights from visual content in real time. AI with multi-modal learning capabilities helps analyze site photos to evaluate accessibility or delivery feasibility, while driver-submitted visual proof of delivery, such as package-on-porch photos, reduces disputes, and builds trust with customers.

Drivers can also capture video or images of blocked access points, hazards or damaged goods, with AI auto-summarizing and tagging issues for rapid response. Trusting drivers to provide and use visual data encourages a culture of empowerment rather than surveillance. When supported by AI tools that simplify documentation and reduce manual entry, drivers can focus more on service and safety.

The Road Ahead For Intelligent Routing

GenAI helps aren't just enhancing last-mile delivery; they are redefining the relationship between drivers, technology and logistics operations. By leveraging visual data as a primary source of truth, organizations bring clarity to complex operations and empower frontline teams to make real-time, informed decisions.

Source: Supply Chain Brain