BIFAlink


Profile


MIQ skills deliver extra satisfaction for Gant


BIFA award winning MIQ Logistics added value to its customer by securing increased purchases and ensuring customer satisfaction, writes Giles Large


MIQ Logistics was the winner of the Extra Mile Award, sponsored by Descartes, at the 28th annual BIFA Freight Service Awards ceremony, held in London in January. According to the judges, MIQ Logistics “went the extra mile by providing direct customer support on behalf of its client. “In an area not traditionally supported by a


logistics provider in the B2C supply chain, it added value to its client by securing increased purchases and ensuring customer satisfaction as a result,” they added. “Gant is an iconic American heritage brand


and has been a customer of ours in the UK for about 15 years,” said Matt Fullard, UK general manager of MIQ Logistics. “Its previous major logistics operator’s solutions had not really been fit for purpose for Gant, as its products are at the premium end of the market. They are not cheap and if you look at its website, you are talking £70-£80 for a shirt. It is quite a boutique-type premium fashion brand and it needed more than just a standard service; it needed a bit of value, a little bit more hand-holding. “At the end of the day, it is a fashion brand and that is what it concentrates on, and so things like supply chain logistics are not one of its core competencies. Where we started 15 years ago, and where we are now, are two totally different things.


Global growth Its business has grown, not only in the UK but in Europe and globally. It has gone into new markets and retail channels, such as e-commerce, with consumers buying over the internet, wholesale, as well as its own stores. It is hitting every retail channel that exists,” he stated. In 2010, Gant had a light touch presence in the


UK retail market, with a modest number of concessions and wholesale outlets. As multi- channel demand for its products increased, Gant realised that it needed additional resources to provide effective customer service for its burgeoning e-commerce sales. “It got into the e-commerce boom at the right


16


www.bifa.org


the product range and work hand-in-hand with our supply chain team managing the goods coming in from the factories in Southeast Asia and China,” he said. “We now have operators who speak six different languages who deal with customer service enquiries, verbal and email, for the UK, Ireland, France, Holland, Italy, Spain and Portugal, so we can help on a pan-European basis.” Putting the team within the warehouse


provided instant benefits because the team was able to check the status of an order or return, or even locate a specific product to answer any queries a customer might have regarding measurements, fit, style and colour. “The team processes online payments by


consumers buying products over the Gant website. There is a series of automated checks that happen to make sure that these payments are not fraudulent. This does not happen very often but it is another service we provide for Gant,” he said. Following the earlier outsourcing problems, a


founding objective of the MIQ team has been to avoid being perceived as a call centre, which means that telephone scripts are avoided in favour of developing the team’s product knowledge, commitment to help and enthusiasm in developing a rapport with customers. Good examples are the customers who call to


time but it had difficulties managing this itself. The MIQ Logistics account team had witnessed Gant’s customer services struggles, both internally and externally, as volumes had increased from zero to 50,000 packages in just over a year. “Our approach to our customers and their


requirements is very hands-on and solution- driven, so it was as simple as understanding its issues during meetings and then suggesting that it would make sense for us to provide customer services alongside the existing supply chain management, order processing and fulfilment solutions. We said that if this support was offered close to the warehouse and the product ranges, we could be of more help to Gant and its customers. “Our relationship with Gant is very much a


partnership. We have now been working on this for the past five to seven years. The multilingual customer service team are MIQ employees who operate as Gant team members with Gant email addresses, access to Gant systems, and they can be contacted via publicly advertised Gant telephone numbers. As such, the public perception is that they are speaking to Gant personnel in the company’s Knightsbridge office, rather than the warehouse in Hemel Hempstead. “The team is on site there, they are close to


express satisfaction with an order, which leads to additional purchases.


Customer assistance Following an initial conversation, the MIQ team member located items the customer particularly liked in Bristol, Bluewater and Regent Street. Combining these favourites with a promotion running at Bluewater, the customer benefited from further reductions on their Gant favourites. Understanding another customer’s preference,


a team member positioned product they knew the customer would like and arranged for a VIP visit to Gant’s flagship Regent Street store so that they could view, and subsequently purchase, their reserved items. Since MIQ took over Gant’s customer


services, the company’s e-commerce volumes have been growing by at least 30% year-on-year, and last year, its growth was 45%. Customer satisfaction, as monitored by Feefo, has consistently stayed above 90%, has run for long periods at 96%, and peaked several times at 99%. Customer feedback on the team includes the following statement: “The lady who answered my call, and dealt with my enquiry from start to finish, was simply fantastic. If you have an employee of the month award, I would like to nominate her for it.”


December 2017


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20