For many of us it was a familiar situation – you selected the ‘next day delivery’ option at the online checkout so you could receive your order just that bit quicker, and now you’re at home and anxiously waiting for it to arrive. Hours pass, but you are left waiting with no way of finding out how close the delivery van is, or whether your order is even on its way at all. Waiting for something important to be delivered is the source of much stress for consumers.
The slickness of modern ecommerce sales platforms makes the discontinuity between the efficiency of placing the order and the fulfilment process that much more jarring.
In the digital age information can be continuously available, so it pays a retailer to be able to provide their online customers with trackable fulfilment solutions. Consumers expect information on the location of their order to be easily and readily accessible. Merely acknowledging payment and issuing a later dispatch advice is no longer enough.
With warehouse technology built on a Cloud platform, it is now possible to provide customers with full transparency – real-time updates on exactly where their order is in the chain, whether it is still processing, being picked, or out for delivery. This is also vital piece of mind if the customer is not at home, so they can see if their package has been left with a neighbour, in a designated ‘safe place’ or returned to the depot.
Efficiency of retail operation improved
Trackable fulfilment through a real time, 100% accurate Cloud-based system can relieve strain on retailers’ customer service teams and improve efficiency, as the need for customers to enquire for updates on their orders is significantly reduced. When your team does need to find out the status of an order, real-time updates via a Cloud interface such as the James and James Fulfilment Control Port dashboard means there is no need for reliance on databases that are hours out of date, and no need to keep the customer waiting for an answer. The database is real time, and can be accessed by retailer or customer around the clock, and from any connected device including a tablet or smartphone.
Improved customer loyalty
The main benefit of using trackable fulfilment solutions is a much smoother, more streamlined customer experience overall. Providing this additional communication and support helps build brand loyalty and encourages repurchase. With online reviews and ratings now a key deciding factor in customer confidence and purchase decisions, it’s clear that trackable fulfilment solutions are now more vital than ever. One less thing to stress about next Christmas!
James Hyde is Founder and Operations Director of e-fulfilment service provider James and James Fulfilment. www.ecommercefulfilment.com
