EXPERT OPINION


RIGHT TOOLS: HOW TO CREATE A BETTER CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE IN DIY


Wincanton director of home & e-fulfilment Paul Durkin looks at how DIY stores can differentiate on delivery and why the fulfilment journey is crucial to meeting customers’ expectations.


that offer a wide range of products with various delivery options. The choice of delivery options


D


IY can be a challenging sector to operate in and this can be exacerbated by disruptor brands


DIY Week Product News 1/4_Layout 1 04/05/2017 15:57 Page 1


and a brand’s ability to fulfil these is becoming an increasingly important means of driving customer loyalty. DIY retailers must strive to keep the end customer in mind from the start and appreciate their own demands as people. Ultimately, they want a reliable service with quality products, so the fulfilment


journey is crucial. This requires all constituent parts of the business to come together – from store replenishment and parcel fulfilment to click & collect – to give the customer a sense of the brand they are buying from being present in all parts of the journey. For DIY brands to differentiate on delivery, they need to consider whether they have the infrastructure to deliver goods in the way their customers demand. A key challenge for established brands, particularly those


who have historically


operated store-only propositions, is coming up against online retailers that can offer one-click purchasing, same day delivery and a whole host of fast and effective delivery options.


Play to your strengths Organisations are moving quickly to implement new technology in an attempt to keep pace with their competitors. But they can encounter problems if they try to adopt new processes too rapidly without the correct infrastructure in place. A company that offers next- day click & collect, without the infrastructure to properly fulfil this, runs the risk of doing damage to their reputation by consistently leaving customers disappointed.


New technology must be both


To feature in our product news pages send your press releases through to diyweekproducts@datateam.co.uk


relevant and fit for purpose. Brands also need to consider how it will converge with other technologies in the organisation and fit into the wider strategy for digitisation of the supply chain. One effective way that brands can achieve better success with their customers is by utilising what they already have. For example, a high street retailer with a string of stores across the UK can capitalise on this asset by ensuring all of


their stores are fully stocked with all their products. This assures customers that they can buy any product they want from the store, therefore building greater loyalty to the brand. Moreover, retailers can use their


stores the same way they would use fulfilment centres; instead of sending orders to a central warehouse, they can ship orders in from neighbouring stores, reducing wait times while utilising their existing stock. This requires a great deal of complexity - often involving shifts and changes within the supply chain – but, done well, it can ensure all existing resources are used effectively. Greater collaboration can also be an effective remedy to these challenges. At Wincanton, for example, we work with an ecosystem of partners to provide a more attractive proposition to customers – these range from fulfilment partners to technology start-ups. This kind of collaboration with other providers means Wincanton acts as an enabler to help our clients provide the best customer experience.


www.diyweek.net


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  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36