Making supply chains as customer-centric as possible is set to become priority number 1 for companies. It’s what makes companies stand out. In turn, it’s what makes customers want to do repeat business with them. As such, companies are focusing on ways to use their supply chains to enhance customer experience.

As covered in a recent Supply Chain Movement article,

Customer experience will soon be the most important factor for a successful supply chain – even more important than low costs, according to six out of ten supply chain professionals. They ranked it as the number one brand differentiator in the coming years, putting it ahead of price and product in a recent global survey.

This article by Morai Logistics highlights 4 of the most critical ways in which companies can improve their customer experience via their supply chains.

Listen to and Study Your Customers

These are certainly obvious considerations. Nonetheless, they’re worth addressing. Customers want and often expect a personalized experience. If companies can provide it to them, they often gain longtime loyal consumers. Fortunately, there’s a fairly straightforward two-pronged approach to meeting this customer requirement.

The first thing companies can do is simply listen to their customers as well as specifically ask for feedback through whatever channels they have available. Secondly, once they have sufficient data on their customers, companies should create multiple buyer personas. These personas should include exactly what these potential buyers would want on their customer journey. This process should be dynamic, adapting to new customers and new expectations.

Eliminate Data Silos

The various teams, processes, and operations within a supply chain should have data flowing freely between them. More than that, all their data being collected should be consolidated and kept in a single, unified platform. The easiest avenue to achieving this is digital transformation. But regardless of how companies do so, they need their all data to be easily accessible and easy to sort through.

As a result of this, companies can then keep up with the functioning of their supply chain on all levels. And, in turn, keep their customers informed as well. This is also helpful in the case of any issues that arise. After all, customers are much more understanding of companies that are proactive in mentioning and addressing their mistakes, as opposed to ones that wait for negative feedback to respond.

Enhance Visibility

If companies want to be able to avoid and fix for impediments within their supply chains, it’s crucial that they have visibility across them. If an order is late or having problems, it’s of the utmost importance that companies be aware of that. Otherwise, orders may never arrive. Thus, companies have to ensure they utilize integrated and transparent supply chain management.

Visibility isn’t only important for the company itself, however. A post by Bringg distinguishes between the two types of visibility needed,

Internally, businesses need to have full visibility over their own fleets, inventory, warehouse and drivers. On the customer end, consumers today want to have full visibility over their delivery – from when it leaves the warehouse, restaurant, or service center until it arrives to their house.

Embrace Data, Analytics, and Machine Learning

Data is a company’s primary resource to transform into top notch customer experience. This is because, through data collection, companies can gain insights into how their various operations are doing through analytics. Which, in turn, can be conveyed to customers or used to mitigate any supply chain breakdowns. Moreover, that gathered data can also be used for machine learning. A function of AI that helps with predicting demand and forecasting.

The post Customer Experience: 4 Ways Supply Chains can Improve appeared first on Morai Logistics Inc..

Customer service is an ongoing priority in the supply chain industry. Customers, now more than ever, need a seamless experience across a supply chain. Customers want their orders delivered faster. They want them delivered more accurately. They demand transparency throughout the process. Moreover, they expect an ability to track their deliveries. And, in turn, they expect inventory to meet their demand. More than anything, customers expect an experience modified to their individual needs.

A 2018 Logility and APICS survey on supply chain priorities revealed that,

30% highlighted the need to respond to customer mandates for faster, more accurate and unique fulfillment as a top business priority moving forward

The industry is well aware of the importance of customer service and is making it a top priority to solve. For companies to address this issue, however, they’ll need to adopt the precision, productivity, and granularity technology brings.

This week’s article by Morai Logistics details the difficulties customer service presents supply chains and how various technologies can solve them.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The term “AI” is so prominent in so many industries that are dealing with or relying on technology that it’s something of a buzzword at this point. But, there is a reason for this, it is providing unprecedented benefits to companies the world over. The supply chain industry is no exception. Through AI, companies will be able to optimize their chains from start to finish. Gaining access to analytics and forecasting that will be crucial to getting the most out of their operations. Thus, the faster and more accurate deliveries customers want can be achieved.

Automation

Automation achieves many of the same results AI does. By being able to automate many of the processes in a supply chain, it becomes more efficient. Operations in warehouses, involving data collection, and transportation, should all be automated. In turn, supply chains can become more transparent and reliable, on top of being faster and more cost-effective.

Mobile Applications

In the short-to-medium term, mobile applications might be the most useful technology this article covers.

A 2018 report highlighted by eMarketer stated,

Mobile devices and apps (27.9%) were cited as the technology that would deliver the most innovation benefits in five years.

Their are several reasons for this. Key among them is convenience. Everyone carries mobiles. As such, accessing these supply chain applications is simple, any time, any place. These applications enable supply chain managers the ability to get real-time updates and closely monitor their inventory and operations. Consequently, this brings a degree of granularity to the customer experience unlike what was achievable before. Supply chain managers can continually monitor the various activities that make up their chain and customize them to fit their clients’ needs.

Inventory and Warehouse Management Softwares

Softwares that allow for the management of inventory and warehouses are tremendous tools for optimal customer service. They provide visibility, control, and tracking of inventory. Moreover, they assist in meeting customer demands, by tracking inventory levels and making sure they are in the desired range. Finally, like all the other technologies covered here, they improve the accuracy, speed, and reliability of deliveries.

The post Supply Chain: Customer Service and Technologies That Will Deliver it appeared first on Morai Logistics Inc..

In 2018, Easter was celebrated by 84% of Americans. This fun and festive April holiday, is a time for children, family and friends, to enjoy traditional gatherings and exciting Easter egg hunts.

This holiday is also a ‘time of generosity’. The most popular gift of 2018 was chocolate, sweets and candy. Statistics on planned consumer spending shows that last year, USD$2.6 billion was spent on candy. Food generated the most revenue at USD$5.7 billion, followed by gifts at $2.9 billion. That’s a large output of candy, food and gifts to deliver for such a short holiday season.

However, consumers want more than on-time delivery. They want something personal. More and more consumers notice stores providing the same options. Therefore, what differentiates these companies? Customer experience (CX).

While consumer demand is at an all-time high all year round, holiday seasons usually generates an incredible peak. To deliver positive CX, retail companies rely on their supply chains.

Customer Experience (CX)

The definition of a great customer experience has changed over the years in response to technology. It’s so easy for customers to buy what they want, as much as they want and whenever they want. According to Hubspot, good customer experience is,

The impression you leave with your customer, resulting in how they think of your brand, across every stage of the customer journey.

They further recognize that ‘multiple touchpoints’ impact the overall CX for a customer. From a supply chain standpoint, CX focuses not only on direct customers, but the customers they serve as well. That’s why consumer demand across any industry impacts the supply chain.

Retail companies, who serve the Easter market in particular, are recognizing how important personalization services are. Rather than send a generic bunny bear to your eight year old niece, wouldn’t it be more meaningful to personalize it with their name?

According to findings on customer experience (CX),

This requires digital supply chain capabilities — from the e-commerce site on the front end to supplier coordination for fulfilling orders to real-time logistics for tracking the goods.

In addition to personalization, other factors such as speed, on-time delivery, and visibility also create positive CX.

Impact on Supply Chains

Consumer demand is an ongoing barrier that retail companies and their supply chains face throughout the year. For any holiday season, the window to retain and capture new and loyal customers is shorter. Yet, customer expectation is high.

Retail companies face their own set of barriers, which impact their supply chains. When it comes to delivering CX to their customers during peak seasons, such as holidays, FedEx notes the following challenges:

• Increased product variation with multiple vendors
• Quality control
• Fraud prevention
• Inventory visibility
• Customer expectation

Supply chains and third party logistics (3PLs) providers play an important role in delivering positive customer experience. They enable their customers to deliver product with speed, agility and efficiency. When large outputs are required during high seasons, such as holidays, 3PLs can be the difference between loss and retention. They host a network of omni-channel services that include air, ground, rail and ocean shipping. Large product loads are also transported in a safe, efficient and time sensitive manner.

Innovative technologies are integrating into processes and operations within manufacturing, warehousing and on-the-road deployment. Machine learning, artificial intelligence, and robotics help create streamlined and automated processes. In addition, this also shows a reduction in errors, delays, while ensuring on-time delivery and safe handling. This helps improve transparency, inventory control and traceability, which enables their customers to deliver a positive customer experience.

The post Retailers Rely on Supply Chains to Deliver Positive Customer Experience this Easter appeared first on Morai Logistics Inc..

In 2018, online sales of physical goods amounted to 504.6 billion US dollars and are projected to surpass 735 billion US dollars in 2023.

According to the above statistic, e-commerce sales in the United States are generating incredible success. As the convenience of online shopping continues to increase the amount of orders, there is a greater need for businesses to move quickly and efficiently. On a global scale, the total revenue generated from retail e-Commerce is forecasted to exceed ‘4.88 trillion US dollars by 2021’. This will involve a tremendous amount of complex distribution, while also requiring businesses to position e-Commerce fulfillment as a top priority.

Experts believe that focusing on the customer experience is crucial to help e-commerce businesses grow and prosper. In 2018, same-day or next-day delivery was a significant online shopping trend. Consumers are now willing to pay more for prompt service, and consider these delivery options when choosing through competitors. However, they still look for fast and efficient service that’s free!

To address the growing expectations of e-commerce markets, 3PL prioritize e-commerce fulfillment objectives. This week Morai Logistics discusses the importance of e-commerce fulfillment and what areas logistics providers should look at to deliver superior customer service.

E-Commerce Fulfillment at a Glance

The definition of fulfillment involves the ‘process of receiving, packaging and shipping orders for goods’. There is a wide checklist of steps that must happen in order for a shipment lifecycle to meet and exceed customer expectations. Put it simply by Logistics Management, ‘e-commerce and multi-channel distribution have increased the complexity of distribution exponentially’.

When a customer purchases a product online, a business must go through many steps before they receive their order. Full-service fulfillment involves an ‘end-to-end solution’, which goes beyond packaging and delivery. Businesses who ensure a comprehensive service, also offer transparency with shipments and updates, management of inventory and personalization.

Trends in Fulfillment

There are a variety of trends in regard to order fulfillment, which are driven by the boom in online shopping. Let’s take a closer look at how 3PLs can help businesses move forward and deliver a positive customer experience.

Omni-Channel Distribution

E-commerce has broken down global borders, which means businesses, especially those who offer product internationally, must create expansive networks. This is also known as Omni-channel distribution. To meet consumer demands, 3PLs offer different modes of transportation. Furthermore, distribution centres and warehouses equip businesses with support to deliver same-day or next-day consumer requests.

Relationship Management

Also known as networking, 3PLs must build on their local and extended network of carriers, shippers and distribution personnel. According to SupplyChain247, ‘delivery partners are a crucial part of your fulfillment chain’.

Supply Chain Experience

A supply chain functions efficiently and effectively only if personnel throughout the entire chain are working together. In order to deliver exceptional customer service, it’s important for 3PLs to integrate optimized solutions that connect ‘supplier, warehouses and delivery partners’.

Visibility

In addition to providing a faster and on-time delivery service, customers also want to see transparency throughout the entire journey. This involves providing customers with information on their orders including shipping time, delays and updates to drop-off or pick-up.

Mass Inventory & Technology

As companies work toward producing and delivering high volumes of product, there is a greater need for inventory space. 3PLs offer solutions that improve the overall inventory of goods. With their network relationships and distribution centers, they can offer businesses a cost-effective solution for managing products.

The post 3PLs Focus on Customer Experience to Drive E-Commerce Fulfillment appeared first on Morai Logistics Inc..

When it relates to personalization, 76% of customers expect companies to understand their needs and expectations. Findings also indicate that 67% of customers have switched vendors to seek ‘a more customer-like experience’. Customer expectation is a significant driver to the way organizations operate. Providing both convenience and speed is crucial to building a customer-centric business and building long term relationships with those customers.

Logistics are learning to adapt to the demands of customers, and organizations are seeking the most effective solutions to remain competitive. Supply chain orchestration (SCO) has been connected to providing a positive customer experience. According to supply chain experts,

SCO enables you to make informed, conscious choices about how to serve your customers better.

Orchestration benefits ecommerce markets in particular because it increases a customer’s accessibility to a larger variety of products and services. Therefore, customers are provided with a wider variety of delivery options due to an expansive ‘network of operators and carriers’. In addition, SCO also provides a variety of benefits that help close the gaps when it comes to visibility and efficiency.

This article uncovers the foundation of supply chain orchestration and how supply chains can leverage it to better the customer experience.

Supply Chain Orchestration Foundations

To understand how supply chain orchestration improves the customer experience, it’s important to first understand the need for SCO. As mentioned above, consumer demand is changing dramatically in response to a variety of factors including a significant increase in accessibility. For instance, customers who shop online are becoming increasingly expectant of fast delivery, personalized customer experience and order fulfillment.

A poor experience can influence a customer’s intent to re-purchase. Research found that 67% of customers would stop buying from a company if a competitor offered a better experience. Omni-channel touch points and visibility must be a core focus to organizations who cater to different generations and demographics. To ensure all consumer demands are being met, a seamless supply chain operation must be implemented.
According to Supply Chain 247,

Successful SCO is based on the right blend of elements for end-to-end oversight and control, but at the root, it is driven by a desire to put the customer first.

The goal is to create a supply chain network that takes into consideration both the bottom line and customer experience.

The Benefits of SCO

By implementing SCO, you will provide a variety of benefits to improving customer satisfaction in a cost-effective way. Inbound Logistics identifies a number of trends supply chain orchestration can provide.

1. Increase Visibility

Personalization is only successful when an organization can understand the needs of their customers and deliver. SCO enables organizations to take a holistic look at their entire supply chain. Thus, they’re able to optimize their processes to delivers ‘the maximum volume of on-time, in-full orders’.

2. Optimize Inventory

An increase in orders requires organizations to ensure warehouses and inventories are abundantly stocked and ready for delivery. Therefore, experts suggest streamlining their networks which includes ‘warehouses, 3PLs, suppliers, and in-transit stock’.

3. Maintain Efficiency

As supply chains strive to meet increased demands, they become complex. This complexity may sometimes hinder the customer experience. According to their findings, Inbound Logistics found 95% of global companies agreed that discrepancies had increased. Implanting SCO would help create better processes that stimulate progression through the coordination of the right ‘internal and external systems.’

Organizations should continue to focus on creating innovative and creative ways to improve the customer experience. This is primarily important today because of the incredible level of accessibility online shoppers have. Based on the above information, supply chain orchestration proves to be an effective way to ensure a positive customer journey. Therefore, organizations should continue to look at ways such as SCO to optimize their supply chains.

The post How Supply Chain Orchestration Improves the Customer Experience appeared first on Morai Logistics Inc..

The digitization of any industry impacts the direct interactions customers have with businesses. Ecommerce platforms provide consumers with the ability to make on the spot transactions, and this results in increased expectations.

What does this translate into? Unpredictable demand on supply chains.

There are a variety of challenges that supply chains will have to face over the next three to five years due to this constant change in demand. While many speculate that price is a major determinant of customer conversion, research has found that customer experience is a vital component.

This eBook navigates through some of the challenges facing supply chains, and offers effective solutions 3PLs can implement to help improve the customer experience.

How Customer Service Will Win in the Logistics & Supply Chain Industry

That’s it for us this week! If you liked this blog post, why not subscribe to our blog? Interested in our 3rd party logistics services? If so, don’t hesitate to check out our services . We’re also in the twittersphere, so give us a follow to get the latest logistics and supply chain news.

The post Customer Service: A Long Term Strategy for Future Supply Chains appeared first on Morai Logistics Inc..