Logistics and Distribution is a Customer Service Business

Logistics_and_Distribution_is_a_Customer_Service_Business

The Distribution and Logistics industry is trying to keep up with the changing market and customer dynamics that have fostered new customer expectations. WIth the proliferation of technology in every aspect of the industry, customers have chosen new ways to transact business. The Logistics operators are to keep up with the pace if they wish to retain customers and acquire new. But companies in Logistics and Distribution face the challenge of delivering exceptional customer experience on wafer thin profit margins. Whilst investing in IT and warehouses, fleet management systems, etc, investing in customer facing solutions is equally important.

Whether providing the bridge between retailers and customers or fulfilling the role of trusted carriers to B2B firms, logistics companies should deliver seamless customer journey across multiple touch-points. Contact center software solutions help logistics operators tremendously to maintain credibility and customer loyalty. This is how;

Provide Omnichannel customer service on all the channel like social media, chat, email, voice.

  • Omni-channel Opportunity
    Companies need to establish their presence on the communication channels that their customers prefer. And with the growth of e-commerce the business clientele base of Third-party Logistics providers and Supply Chain Management companies are rapidly increasing. With Contact center technology logistics operators can now embrace the true omni-channel experience and provide services across multiple channels including web, mobile, email, IVR, and social media. There is an evident increase in the trend of companies implementing IVR to improve customer service and self-service that incorporates dynamic FAQs relieving agents from handling routine queries.
  • In-Sync with Evolving Customer Demands
    With changing market dynamics and technology advancements, customer demands have transformed posing a new set of challenges for logistics operators to tackle;
    Flexibility: The freedom to change the order within a certain period to suit new requirements of the customer
    Visibility and Transparency: Complete disclosure throughout order placements and delivery process in real time.
  • Scalability Requirements
    The demand for logistics services are likely to increase during sale periods and holiday seasons with the increasing number of orders, especially with 3PL providers. In such scenarios, the technology should be able to scale up to meet the requirements of business demands.
  • Constant Touch with Customer
    With customers eagerly and impatiently waiting for their deliveries, logistics operators need to be in constant touch with customers of the time, location and status of the goods to avoid frustrations. The “We don’t know where your package is” excuse does not fly anymore. The customer wishes to be always kept in the loop and armed with his/her package information.
    For example; If a customer cannot locate his/her package, through Live Chat the customer could quickly get in touch with an agent that can check the delivery status and its whereabouts.
  • Knowledge based Routing
    With Skill-based routing functionality callers can quickly and efficiently be matched with agents or consultants that is best able to help them. It also allows managers to garner global visibility by routing calls to local offices that provides key local knowledge and personalized services.
  • Leverage Customer context
    Logistics operators normally face difficulties due to lack of departmental integration. But with call center software in place, back office data can be integrated with customer facing departments to keep everyone fully informed on every stage and aspect of the service. All relevant information on customer and their cases can be easily shared, making the supply chain to function seamlessly with business partners. This results in arming agents with information about the customer and his/her package expediting agent-customer conversations.
  • Single View of Customers
    Logistics operators work together with retailer, business partners, dispatch units, etc. raising the level of complexity for agents when dealing with customers. They are forced to toggle disparate systems to extract relevant information to resolve queries. Logistics operators require a CTI screen pop technology that is designed from the ground-up to provide a multi-channel platform that arms the agents with customer information (including order track, billing queries and service requests) along with account history, marketing preferences and social media interaction.
  • Real-time Reporting and Analytics
    Many Logistics operators cite standard KPIs (on-time delivery and order fill rate) to validate exceptional customer service. Others, however insist customer service falls into its own category and deserves its own standards of measurement. These standards of measurements are the actual proof of customer service to review and analyse agent performance. Managers and supervisors can now generate reports on real-time or historical data that implicates strategic decisions, training and coaching, and compensation grade.

“Logistics and Distribution is a Customer Service Business”, and regardless of smart personnel, sophisticated tools, advanced fleet management technology, engineered processes customers judge you on how well you handle day-to-day interactions.