TAKING CONTROL OF YOUR LAST-MILE OPERATIONS - COMPLETE VISIBILITY INTO YOUR CUSTOMER CONVERSATIONS

Transcription

1 TAKING CONTROL OF YOUR LAST-MILE OPERATIONS - COMPLETE VISIBILITY INTO YOUR CUSTOMER CONVERSATIONS

2 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The booming e-commerce market in Southeast Asia is no secret. With more than 250 million smartphone users in the region and an online retail penetration level of 3%, this presents an immense opportunity in the market for both, the product and service delivery. As is the trend of online shopping across the globe, South-east Asia is no different. Out of the 150 million digital consumers in the region, two-thirds shop online. In Indonesia alone, this figure is at 51 million. With the mounting level of competition and complex needs of the customer, this is the time for e-commerce companies to go big or go home. Despite major disruptions in the industry, last- mile logistics and operations continue to gain a lot of attention, and rightfully so in the age of the customer, the last mile makes or breaks the brand. And faster delivery isn t all that it takes to satisfy the customer. Greater knowledge about the status of the order through every step of the way is what really counts in these modern times. While autonomous cars and drones provide greater visibility into the last leg, traditional delivery methods will continue to thrive until the former is able to assert competitive prices. Meaning that traditional methods of delivery need to constantly evolve to meet the fast-growing needs of the customer. This document strives to look into bridging the gap of communication between the customer and the company in the stillpreferred means of delivery.

3 3 AN ERA OF INSTANT GRATIFICATION People s Expectations A lot of consumers in SEA (South-east Asia) express distrust at being unable to touch, feel, and examine products before they purchase it. Not to mention their growing expectations about the flexibility, speed and cost of the delivery. Here lies the biggest opportunity for e-commerce companies to make their mark and create loyalty. By making the entire delivery experience seamless, they would be enabling brand stickiness across their consumers. Creating brand loyalty and stickiness What happens once a customer places an order on the site/app is the real brand experience for the end user. The manner in which their order is handled and delivered decides if they will come back or lose their respect for the brand, never to return. Or worse, yield the power of social media to voice their distress. Automated customer communication E-commerce s trump card An efficient logistics system is all it takes to seal the deal, or risk losing a competitive edge in the market. The entire process - warehousing, inventory management, delivery, handling returns, COD orders, invoicing and customer communication must be made seamless and efficient. When a customer places an order on a website or an app, they are not privy to what happens behind the scenes, and why should they. All that matters to the customer is an overall smooth experience. Once the order is placed, the onus is on the logistics company. Despite transparent delivery timelines, customers are impatient to get their goods, and rightly so. While the speed of delivery can t really be controlled, communicating to the customer about their order every step of the way helps. This is where technological innovations play a major role. In this environment, the simple cloud telephony helps bridge the communication gap.

4 4 BRIDGING THE GAP In Exotel s experience, here are a few solutions that have been implemented by some of the top e-commerce companies in Southeast Asia: Reduction in delivery failures Reducing the first-attempt delivery failures and cash on delivery (COD) returns Companies report losses in the range of 18-40% due to customer no-shows. This can be tackled by automated calls/sms that can be sent to the customer before a day of the delivery. In case the customer is not available to pick up the order, they can be asked to give a missed call to a particular number in order to reschedule the delivery. One of the biggest sources of loss for e-commerce companies is failed COD orders. Cash on delivery orders usually fail due to three reasons: While we can't do much about the first abovementioned reason, we can bear control over the next two to a large extent. 1. Automated calls to confirm COD orders: When a customer places a cash on delivery order on the website, an automated call can quickly verify that they have indeed placed the order. The order is then dispatched only after the customer explicitly confirms that they have placed the order for certain. 2. Notification before delivery: An automated call or SMS notification sent to the customer right before the delivery with an expected time and date enables greater availability of the customers to pay for the orders. customers refusing to pay for the order bogus orders customers not being available to pay for the order

5 5 HOW DOES THIS HELP E-COMMERCE COMPANIES?

6 6 IMPROVED VISIBILITY THROUGH REAL-TIME DATA Improving visibility on last mile deliveries Many logistics companies keep track of their order deliveries the traditional way with a pen and paper (sign off after every delivery). At the end of the day, the delivery agents update the order status summary which is then collated and passed on to the customer. However, some logistics companies are moving away from the "sign off" system and have a custom app devised for their business. This app runs on a handheld or a mobile phone, in which the delivery personnel updates the order status. The data is then collated by the team monitoring the deliveries at the office. Not very different from the sign off system, the data is still collated only at the end of the day. Nevertheless, third-party logistics (3PL) companies continue to face these common, yet complex challenges that can be easily handled using cloud telephony: a. Dispute resolution and proof of communication When you use cloud telephony for the communication between your personnel and customers, all the conversations are recorded. You can lay down processes to ensure that failed deliveries or returns do not happen due to lack of communication between them. b. Real-time order tracking during delivery With cloud telephony, real-time order tracking can be done without depending on (possibly) patchy mobile data. This results not only in significant inventory management across the supply chain, but also with dispute resolution.

7 7 THIS IS HOW IT WORKS The delivery personnel dials into a specially assigned number with an IVR that will assist them in updating the order status. This data is then synced with the CRM of the logistics company, thereby updating the order status in real-time using just a simple phone call.

8 8 IMPROVED VISIBILITY THROUGH REAL-TIME DATA c. Easier reimbursements - Since all the calls are routed via cloud telephony, there is no need to reimburse the delivery personnel for all their calls. Only the calls that are routed using 2-3 numbers (virtual numbers) can be compensated. How this helps e-commerce companies: Our customers have reported that after implementing Exotel: 31% decrease in the turnaround time for the resolution of tickets related to delivery issues 28% reduction in telephony expenses 96% handset delivery rate for SMS 12% improvement in on-time delivery rates

9 9 GREATER CUSTOMER SATISFACTION Improving the customer experience According to a survey, 65% customers say that it makes them uncomfortable to share their mobile phone numbers with a business. These concerns are valid because often, sharing a number with a business means that it in turn gets shared with other vendors and third-party personnel they work with. Here s how cloud telephony can help boost customer satisfaction by improving their security: 1. Number anonymisation Number anonymisation or number masking, as it is called, is a simple way to protect your customers identities. All customer calls via Exotel can be routed without revealing either party s phone numbers. What is in this for an e- commerce business: 100% protection of customer privacy better brand image pay only for verified users 2. Easy customer verification process Authenticating customer information especially when your users are shopping using an app is important. The current verification process in most cases involves a one-time password (OTP) that is sent via . This is a long and laborious process. Our notp solution which is available as an SDK for android phones is a resourceful alternative to verify users. It works on a seamless verification process without any intervention from the user s end.

10 10 KEY TAKEAWAYS Given the rapid evolution of last-mile logistics, it s only sensible to contribute significant time and effort improving its operational efficiency by leveraging technological innovations. Technology assists e-commerce companies in devising standard operating procedures that save them both time and money. With cloud telephony a simple, yet powerful solution for e-commerce companies to implement, it s the optimal way to resolve the cumbersome issues plaguing the last leg of delivery. 3. Greater customer satisfaction Imbibe reliability and security by using number masking and anonymisation to protect your customers identities. 100% customer privacy pay only for verified users 1. Reduction in delivery failures Leverage automated calls and text notifications that can be sent to the customer on/ before the day of delivery. 32% improvement in first attempt delivery rates 22% drop in failed cash on delivery orders 2. Improved visibility through real-time data Make the most of dispute resolution and proof of communication, and encourage greater transparency through real-time order tracking. 31% decrease in the turnaround time for delivery related ticket resolution 28% reduction in telephony expenses

11 11 WORKING WITH EXOTEL Exotel is Asia s leading cloud telephony company. We work with some of the biggest companies in Asia including Uber, Go-Jek, Aramex, Lazada Express, Redmart, etc. We power over 4 million customer calls every day. We are the building block of communication and companies build important processes that improve their efficiency using our platform. We offer: The best uptimes in the industry % for outgoing calls and 99.5% for incoming calls 24x7 monitoring and 18x7 support Scale - grow as your business demands without worrying about the infrastructure Unlimited channel capacity and agent login - There is no cap on the number of channels that can be utilized. At Exotel, we maintain up to 130% of the peak traffic predicted by the customer. Clearly documented APIs - we also offer technical support to your teams in case they face any problems integrating with our system Get in touch with us if you d like Exotel to help you with your last mile operations