The latest IRUK Top500 Operations & Logistics Performance Dimension Report is now available online. The report, published in association with Snapfulfil, is the sixth and final in the series of six IRUK Top500 reports that have come out of Top500 research during the course of 2016.
The research comes at a time when operations and logistics are now a key point of competition between retailers, something illustrated by the report’s findings. It shows retailers competing with a previously unmatched level of convenience around delivery, returns and collections. Leading retailers in this dimension are getting their products to customers as soon as within the hour, or in an hour-long window of their choosing.
Editor-in-chief Ian Jindal said: “Choice is becoming more diverse across the board: the average retailer in the index now offers two or three delivery options, and 63% offer next-day delivery. We’ll expect that to improve as time goes on, and the sector becomes ever more competitive. Collection services are widespread, while many retailers offer generous return policies.
“But while some traders stand out from the rest and the average service is improving quickly, others still lag behind the average. There is an opportunity here for traders in the many sectors where swift delivery is a customer priority. Improvement will no doubt be driven as customers become more demanding and move away from those traders that do not yet see delivery as a point of competition.”
In this report researchers have assessed retailers by their delivery promise, measuring delivery and collection options, and the ease and convenience of returns and refunds. Their findings are illustrated in two research-based features. The report then goes on to analyse what best practice in this sector looks like through case studies on Amazon , Screwfix , New Look , Next and Sainsbury’s , and focuses on best practice examples of cutting-edge services in operation in the 12 appraoches that work feature.
In the strategic overview, Sean Fleming sets out the current context for UK retail logistics, while the report also features an interview with Jan Godsell, professor of operations and supply chain strategy at WMG, University of Warwick, who considers how logistics that start with the customer might be different in future.
To find out more about the report and to download it, click here.