This study uses a delayed matrix exponential to illustrate the solution of both linear and nonlinear delay problems using permutable matrices. We outline several prerequisites that are necessary to ensure the exponential stability of the trivial solution of delay systems. The conditions that are necessary and sufficient for the linear system to possess relative controllability are established by introducing a delayed Grammian matrix‐like criterion. A sufficient condition is obtained by Krasnoselskii's fixed point theorem for the relative controllability of nonlinear systems. Numerical examples provided at the end of the paper demonstrate the validity of our theoretical findings.