A state of the art delivery operation should be made up of seven key elements, according to Raanan Cohen, co-founder and CEO of technology delivery platform Bringg.
Speaking at the eDelivery Expo last week Cohen explained how retailers need to do more to adopt the advanced delivery management systems in use by the likes of Amazon rather than the more antiquated delivery management systems that he said many retailers were trying to get by on.
He said many were also relying on inefficient workarounds to delivery such as click and collect which he said simply didn’t answer the question of home delivery. “I don’t want click and collect. If I order something I want it in my house,” he said.
Find me technology – where customers need not even input an address – is already here and providing huge opportunity, he said. “We need to have a variety of options to support all the different users. We need to deliver ultimate customer experience. On the other hand we need very efficient optimisation and efficiency capabilities. These are the magic formula that’s needed. It’s enabled with technology,” he said.
He outlined what he believes are the 7 steps to building state of the art delivery operations.
7 key steps:
1) Streamline processes – He said retailers need to have a centralised platform that enables them to control the various delivery processes as well as look for ways for improving the way things are done– such as using delivery drivers to pick up returns when they are delivering nearby.
2) Improve efficiency – Retailers want to be able to optimise delivery so need to use different channels, he said.
3) Provide visibility – Today visibility has a different meaning, he said. “Customers expect to have a real-time visibility. We expect an unobtrusive visibility and don’t want a text or someone calling us,” he said. Cohen explained that visibility was critical, both for the customer but also for the operational requirements of a retailer.
4) Communicate effectively – Today’s customers don’t want to talk on the phone, said Cohen who said the same was also true within the B2B environment and said that businesses need to provide a variety of options for communication and let the customer choose what best suited them.
5) Customer experiences – Cohen said there was no reason retailers should not be able to provide customers with unique customer experiences, customised to them and based on all the data that is being collected to understand how and where customers want their parcels delivered.
6 Build loyalty – This feeds on from customer experience he said with the need to know how the delivery experience was through real-time feedback that also allows retailers to address any potential issues as a result. Having the ability for direct consumer branding was also important, he said.
7 Reducing costs – With delivery costs that can be up to 25% sometimes more of the product we need to be able to provide magical experience , according to Cohen. He said such magic was done through technology. “What Amazon and the tech service providers are setting is a new standard that is becoming standard – it’s not a nice to have and in the next few years our industry will be shifting there,” he said.
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