OPERATIONS
merchants are now seeing the consumer wants to freely choose and have options.
THE CUSTOMER IN CHARGE Companies and merchants would historically have made the delivery choice for their customers, mostly based on price. Now those roles are being reversed and consumers want to choose in the checkout how a package is delivered. To achieve this, it is important to balance supply and demand - and unfortunately, that isn’t as easy as it sounds.
When you place an order today, in many cases it is still the practice that it is processed as quickly as possible, handed over to the delivery guy and delivered within 24 hours. As a matter of fact, carriers are investing heavily in their capacity to remain compliant with this standard.
However, this is not in line with consumers' desire for flexible delivery. To really meet consumer demand, the delivery world needs a complete overhaul and logistic processes must be reviewed thoroughly. Rather than processing every order right away, the delivery process must be
adapted to individual customer needs.
If Customer A doesn’t want to receive his order for another week, this means holding stock and only shipping the parcel in a few days, while customer B may need his order right away and requires express delivery. Tis requires both insight in individual customer expectations as well as a mix of delivery options and carriers.
DATA OFFERS A NEW PERSPECTIVE TO CONSUMER’ DEMANDS In order to conquer the heart of the decision maker of the future - the consumer - access to data on an individual level is essential. Online stores should already identify in the checkout, how customers want to receive their order and should adapt their logistics processes accordingly.
Tis requires work not only from the online retailer, but certainly also from carriers who have to adapt their supply chains accordingly.
Fortunately, the first steps in this direction are gradually being taken. With shipping platforms it is becoming increasingly easy to
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offer a flexible checkout that does not only offer multiple carriers, but also different shipping options and time slots.
Such a ‘flexible’ checkout ensures the customer is in charge. At the same time, carriers are also evolving step by step. New kids on the block are leading in this respect. Companies such as Glovo and Budbee are prime examples of this, adjusting their shipping processes based on a smart algorithm that looks at customer needs.
Both carriers and merchants need to exchange data among themselves to ensure a seamless delivery experience that suits the customers’ expectations in the long term. Carriers that fail to offer this risk seeing customers move away and parcel volumes reducing.
To successfully address this transformation, both retailers and carriers need to change their mindset and understand the customer is ultimately king when it comes to the delivery experience. Tey need to listen to their current and future customers, not just broadly, but on an individual level.
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