Logistics is no longer a conversation between a 3PL and their client; the end consumer has a permanent eavesdropping position that needs to be respected and catered to. Rather than functioning as a point of positive difference, customers in eCommerce spheres now expect reasonably straightforward access to their tracking information on product shipments.
The question is, how many hurdles does your company place between your checkout process and that tracking information? eBay for some, still straddling the uncomfortable line of digital progress, the answer is often “too many.” If you want to stay competitive and cut back on customer service problems, here’s how to develop the level of transparency customers are looking for:
Step 1: Pick Your Logistics Partners Carefully
As customer-facing shipping data is becoming more commonplace, getting into a contract with a logistics provider that’s tight-lipped about sharing could be a real hassle down the road. Be sure to discuss your data-sharing expectations with current and future logistics partners, including any digital benefits they might offer, such as branded tracking pages that can be directly linked to through your site’s order status screen.
Step 2: Facilitate their Best Service Opportunity
Don’t take your 3PL provider’s posted delivery targets – particularly general maps of the US – for granted. Have a candid conversation with your 3PL rep about capabilities, potential slowdowns, and how you can keep your customers informed about shipping choices and expectations in a realistic way. You’ll need this information to accurately draft the customer-facing copy on your shipping pages, as well as for training your customer service staff on shipping responses.
Step 3: Evaluate Your Website Internally
It’s a basic truth: having information about processing, shipping, and delivery windows available isn’t helpful if your customers can’t find it. Be sure to walk through the entire ordering process as a “customer” periodically to make sure all the moving parts of your logistics reporting align. Set up notifications, such as email or text message/SMS updates, that empower your customers to stay up-to-date on their shipments. Proactively connecting them with this information cuts down on customer service calls and delivery complaints, shifting the responsibility of package receipt and planning to the end consumer.
Step 4: Solicit Feedback and Work on Continuous Improvement
While enabling customer-facing logistics data can look like a “set and forget” endeavor on the surface, it’s a system that can always be improved. Ask your customers if they’re satisfied – not only with their product, but with the packaging, labeling, presentation, and shipping speed of their delivery, as well. An affordable 3PL solution stops being affordable when shortcomings cost repeat business, and the only way you’ll get reliable information from the terminal point of your supply chain is if you actively solicit it.
Every customer that’s proactively informed about shipping information is potentially one less question for your customer service team. When an end consumer feels that they are in control of their shipments and have the “whole story” without needing to loop in a representative, their impression of your business becomes that much more favorable. So, ask yourself this: what is your current shipping story saying about your business? If you aren’t sure, or you’re worried that story isn’t reflecting your best efforts, it may be time for a top-down assessment on consumer-facing logistics transparency.
For a no obligation strategy session, email Mike.Rogers@4WLConsulting.com or call me at 800-282-4990 x190
