‘People forget what you said; people forget what you did; what people will never forget though, is how you made them feel’ – Maya Angelou

Given the complexities of supply chain and logistics, along with the intricacies of the interconnected processes that hold this billion-dollar super structure in place; it wouldn’t really be improbable to come across miffed stakeholders, trying to navigate their way through ‘it’s-nobody’s-fault’ situations.

From procurement to fulfillment and roughly 6 critically essential processes centered within, (transportation, warehousing, inventory management, order fulfillment and return management); issues like delays, damages, bottlenecks, tracing the whereabouts of missing inventory / consignments etc. can invite a barrage of queries from customers that are best when addressed at first contact.

Quick Facts: Did you know, 86% customers are ready to increase their average spend on companies with improved and personalized customer experience.

Let’s admit; supply chain is one of the most complex and perhaps, one of the busiest industries that is keeping 21st century economy on its toes. Therefore, even with the best of customer interest in mind, it is nearly impossible for supply chain teams of respective organizations to address customer concerns with expected levels of precision, while grappling the overwhelming complications of operations on a day to day basis.

Based on comprehensive surveys carried out since early 2023, here’s what customers often find lacking in supply chain customer support that is not backed by a professional customer care construct–

  • Absence of real time support – given that 64% customers prefer being in business with companies that offer real time assistance
  • Unskilled representatives – given that nearly 65% customers had stopped business with companies where they had to repeat their issues numerous times
  • Long wait and response period – where 60% customers ended business relationships for delayed / untimely support responses
  • Privacy and data protection – where 46% customers chose to break ties with businesses over inadequate data security
  • Fragmented communication between departments – where customer touch points fumbled in retrieving data from different departments, leading to long waits and confusions in the part of customers.

Quick Facts: Did you know; 80% customers will convert to repeat buyers if their grievances are addressed in priority.

The Result?

  • dented brand reputation
  • rising defections
  • sluggish lead conversions
  • drainage of revenues in redressal
  • negative word-of-mouth
  • competitive surrender

The Remedy– Dedicated Customer Service Innovation For Supply Chain

‘Customers want to be where they feel safe, heard and connected’

Expectationsin supply chain customer care for a reasonably elevated business experience, however, is rather simple and attainable. It starts with understanding the specifics of ‘good CX anticipations’ and creating a specialized set-up to cater to the same.

In a nut-shell, what customers uphold as good CX in Supply chain are

  • transparency through product journey
  • real time alerts, updatesand data availability
  • quick and easy query-handling and issue resolution
  • bulletproof privacy and data security
  • end-to-end support personalization
  • round the clock availability
  • seamless communication through omni-channel touchpoints and,
  • in-depth knowledge and empathy in customer care representatives

In common practice, these expectations are left to operational teamsthat have no prior experience in customer support whatsoever, to address ad-hoc. Backed with the intension of time and cost optimization, this multi-tasking endeavor has in fact, left hundreds of clients heavily disgruntled with inept and unprofessional handling of their otherwise serious grievances.

Quick Facts: Did you know; every 1% increase in CX can result in 5% increase in customer retention rates.

Thankfully, the advent of dedicatedcustomer care services, CX in supply chain has witnessed a new high. And, here’s everything you need to know about how this ground breaking service innovation has been revolutionizing client retention in this domain.

  • One Stop Touch-Point For All Grievances / Queries / Issues – Dedicated customer care service for supply chain is a one stop touch point for just about everything that could concern a customer in this otherwise complex multi-dimensional landscape. This professional set-up allows customer care representatives to store, record, extract and integrate essential data from across all departments making the process of understanding and addressing client issues easy, quick and efficient.
  • Trained Agents With Supply Chain Experience–Dedicated customer support for supply chain exalts the predominance of agents that are trained specifically to handle prompt communications regarding core processes like order reception, order processing; dispatch, parcel details, consignment location tracking, last mile delivery, delivery updates, returns, refunds / exchange and more. Therefore, cluelessness and unnecessary delays arising from the same in issue handling can be successfully ruled out.
  • Proactive As Opposed To Reactive Construct–It is no surprise that supply chain is fraught with disruptions. With proactive customer support, which emphasizes identifying possible issues beforehand, initiates communications with the customers regarding the same at the right time and, takes active measures to resolve the hurdle before it sets in.

…disruptions can easily be avoided.

This is by far, one of the most trusted ways of personalizing customer care in supply chain, thereby improving customer satisfaction and loyalty scores significantly.

  • Precision Automation – Professional proactive dedicated customer support for supply chain comes fortified with automation tools and omni-channel integrations. This facilitates lightning fast data retrieval, seamless communication across all departments / channels of communication and lightning fast issue resolutions mostly on first contact be it through calls, mails or live chats.
  • SMART Support– Dedicated customer support for supply chain is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant / Reliable and Timely (SMART), making it a crucial catalyst in enhancing customer experience.

Final Thoughts:

Did you know, 5% increase in customer loyalty can increase profits by almost 85%.

The journey of converting customer expectations to real tangible customer experience is an art that gains velocity and direction with the implementation of comprehensive strategies and methodologies in customer care. In fact, dedicated supply-chain customer support solution is not just a strategic move, but a commitment to excellence that pays dividends in the form of customer loyalty, brand advocacy and sustained success in the ever competitive market.

At Holisol, customer experience is not just a metric to meet, but a key differentiator that underlines the company’s excellence in the supply chain and logistics industry.Extending excellence beyond supply chain / IT consultations and multi-dimensional fulfillment, Holisol caters to intricately specialized customer supportfortified with power features like :

  • tech enabled ticketing system for escalations
  • customer surveys
  • personalized solutions based on unique business needs and more, that elevates customer experience effortlessly.

More information available at www.holisollogistics.com

 

Reference: https://navata.com/cms/customer-service-in-logistics/
https://www.zdnet.com/article/the-supply-chain-critical-to-customer-experience/
https://www.superoffice.com/blog/customer-experience-statistics/
https://www.endava.com/insights/articles/why-customer-experience-is-at-the-heart-of-supply-chain-management
https://www.salesforce.com/eu/blog/customer-experiences-logistics/
https://copperdigital.com/blog/enhancing-customer-experience-in-logistics/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/from-feedback-quality-control-how-customer-care-shapes-asniah-gumama
https://golocad.com/blog/customer-service-in-the-supply-chain/
https://www.newcastlesys.com/blog/the-importance-of-customer-service-in-supply-management
https://www.newcastlesys.com/blog/the-importance-of-customer-service-in-supply-management
https://www.revechat.com/blog/customer-service-in-logistics/
https://www.expertcallers.com/blog/4-reasons-why-companies-fail-to-deliver-exceptional-customer-service/