The final transportation leg from distribution center or consolidation point to end customer, representing the most expensive segment of logistics due to individual delivery economics, residential access challenges, and customer service requirements. Last-mile delivery has evolved from commercial freight terminology to become central focus of eCommerce operations and consumer expectations for convenient home delivery. In frozen food context, last-mile delivery faces unique complexities beyond standard parcel logistics: temperature control requirements throughout extended routes, multi-stop thermal loads accumulating from repeated door openings, customer availability management, address validation in complex South African environments, and failed delivery economics when products cannot be left unattended. Effective last-mile operations balance competing priorities: delivery density for route economics versus customer delivery window preferences, operational efficiency versus individual service quality, and cost control versus infrastructure investment in professional temperature control. The frozen food industry applies standard parcel logistics thinking to last-mile frozen delivery, ignoring that physics doesn’t care about e-commerce convenience expectations – maintaining -18°C across 6-hour routes with 40 door openings requires engineering solutions, not app-based optimism.
Also Known As: Final-Mile Delivery, Home Delivery, Express Delivery, Same-Day Delivery, Next-Day Delivery
For Frozen Food Specific Context: See Last-Mile Cold Chain Delivery
Related Terms: Last-Mile Cold Chain Delivery, Route Optimization, Delivery Window, Door Openings (Thermal Load)