eft & Convey Retail Survey: Customer Experience Now A Top Priority in Supply Chain Operations
ORLANDO, Fla. – Feb. 14, 2017 – (PRWEB) February 16, 2017 -- Convey, the leading customer-centric delivery platform, and eft Supply Chain & Logistics Business Intelligence today announced the results of a joint study examining the importance of customer experience (CX) in final-mile delivery, and the impact of CX on supply chain performance and decision-making. The report, which surveyed 200 retail supply chain professionals, coincides with RILA’s Retail Supply Chain Conference 2017, where Convey is exhibiting.
Commissioned by Convey and conducted by eft, the study reveals that while most retailers understand the importance of providing a consistently positive customer experience, many struggle with legacy technology that fails to address CX needs. This issue is compounded by the desire to invest in innovation without sacrificing traditional operational metrics.
According to Jim Hourigan, BuildDirect, COO at BuildDirect, who participated in the survey, "We want to invest in a situation where if a customer orders patio furniture from us they’re not thinking about the delivery, they’re not thinking about the set-up, they’re thinking about the party they’re going to have that weekend. We want to invest in the types of things to make that experience happen."
The survey data, coupled with in-depth interviews, reveals that:
Retailers understand the importance of the customer experience
• More than 83 percent confirm CX is a company-wide goal, with nearly 56 percent reporting CX measurement is key to operational decisions.
• In addition, 67 percent say gaining greater control of CX is crucial or very important to delivery.
Current technologies are not addressing CX needs
• Only three percent say current systems “fully support efforts to improve the customer experience” while more than 66 percent report existing systems do nothing to improve CX.
Supply chain leaders are integrating customer experience into their operations
• Nearly 72 percent say improving access to data for in-transit shipments across consumer service, operations and logistics teams is crucial or very important.
• Similarly, 70 percent confirm it is either crucial or very important to improve “bidirectional communication” with consumers regarding their delivery expectations, package tracking and resolution of delivery options.
• Another 70 percent agree that “the ability to take dynamic and proactive action on in-transit issues (i.e., re-routing or expediting shipments, communicating efficiently with carriers),” is crucial or very important.
The desire to improve the customer experience is often at odds with traditional operational metrics
• More than 50 percent say reducing costs and improving margins is still crucial, with another 28 percent saying it is very important.
“Based on what we’ve heard from clients and others, the future of delivery is less likely to look like flying drones and more like the service you’d expect from a great concierge,” said Rob Taylor, CEO of Convey. “Making this a reality means thinking from the outside-in about what customers want and building that into your business processes – so the more transparent, proactive and flexible your supply chain is, the better the experience will be.”
The report also includes expert commentary from Willis Weirich of Neiman Marcus, Kevin Scott of Build.com, Joseph Bobko of Boxed Wholesale, and Jim Hourigan of BuildDirect on how they approach the challenges and opportunities of digital disruption in today’s retail supply chain operations.
To learn more, visit Convey at RILA’s Retail Supply Chain Conference, Booth: OMNI-3, or download a copy of the survey results here: Redefining Final Mile Delivery in the Age of the Customer.
About Convey
Convey enables retailers to take control of the customer delivery experience. We provide the experience shoppers demand and the efficiency retailers require. Our cloud-based platform aggregates and normalizes disparate data across carrier, retailer and customer systems, giving retailers the insights they need to make smarter decisions and the tools required to take action to improve the customer experience. From parcel to freight and cart to door, Convey helps the world’s largest retailers reduce costs, improve visibility and transform the delivery experience into their next competitive advantage. Founded in 2013, Convey is based in Austin, Texas. Learn more at: http://www.getconvey.com.
About eft
eft Supply Chain and Logistics Business Intelligence is the global leader in business intelligence and C-level networking for the transport, logistics and supply chain industry. We specialize in connecting senior industry executives with their industry peers, and with the crucial information they need to excel in their work. For 16 years, eft has provided the industry with essential business intelligence in the form of news, reports, benchmarking data, white papers and C-level events. Through constant direct engagement with industry leaders, we ensure our products and events are directly tailored to meet the industry’s needs. Learn more at: http://events.eft.com/d3/
Media Contact
Fabia Palmer
fpalmer(at)eft(dot)com
Fabia Palmer, eft, http://www.eft.com, +44 2073757218, [email protected]
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