For businesses looking to achieve long-term profitability in the competitive Christmas and holiday market, the pressure is on to look for new ways to deliver fast and accurate orders.
By Neil Kinson, vice president EMEA, Redwood Software
Retailers’ sales can double over this period, so innovating back- and front-end processes will be essential to building profits, brand value and ultimately customer loyalty.
In a time where customer loyalty is seemingly dead, as shoppers can move their business elsewhere at the click of a mouse, brand reputation is critical. The Christmas shopper is looking for an easy purchase journey from product selection right through to delivery.
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If companies are to meet this service expectation, effective delivery of information between supplier and customer (see fig. 1) will be essential in order to provide a seamless experience.
From pre-sale and contract negotiations through to billing and delivery of goods, a constant exchange of materials between back- and front-end operations will enable businesses to succeed in delivering a ‘single customer view’.
It may sound obvious, but looking at the number of frustrations customers are regularly sharing on Twitter and other social media channels, it’s clear that many companies are failing to deliver the services required.
Disconnected processes and poor service won’t cut it, especially when retailers are constantly looking for new ways to make shopping easier and more convenient. Ebay and Amazon are just two examples of retailers who have invested in technologies to facilitate speedy deliveries this Christmas.
Ebay’s purchase of Shutl aims to enable one-hour delivery in UK, while Amazon has most recently announced plans for a 30-minute delivery by drones with Prime Air service.
While these developments certainly impress customers at the front-end, services like this require just as much innovation in the back-end in order to be successful. By using tightly automated processes to keep everything running smoothly, businesses ensure that the right stock is in the right place, at the right time.
However, boosting net sales this Christmas isn’t just about conversions – retailers need to efficiently manage returns, especially with more consumers making purchases online and in store. Increasingly, customers expect companies’ online and physical storefronts to be integrated, delivering a seamless end-to-end experience.
As such, the impetus is on companies to make shopping convenient for customers by processing orders quickly and making returned stock available for sale again as soon as possible. This kind of collaboration across both sides of the business will be vital if customers are to enjoy a seamless shopping experience, especially as retailers feel the strain in the demanding festive period.
Efficiency, cost savings and customer satisfaction will be front of mind for retailers this Christmas and process automation can help meet businesses meet their targets to deliver an impressive ROI.
Businesses can’t afford to keep losing customers especially at this time of year — they need to be doing everything within their power to keep them engaged and spending. Any barriers preventing this need to be eliminated, and quickly.
For more information visit: Redwood Software
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