Customer service and order fulfillment services have often been regarded as two very separate parts of many businesses. However, there is a direct correlation between timely and correct distribution of goods and the perception of how well the company deals with customer service. The advent of the internet has seen several customer review sites spring up, along with consumer activist groups who campaign for better service on behalf of their readership.
This increased consumer awareness means that customers, whether they are business to business or business to customer clients, have higher expectations than they did previously when it comes to customer service.
Word of mouth and customer advocacy is crucial to the success of many businesses, whether they are small start-up firms or larger, more established companies. If a customer has a negative experience with a company due to the fact that the goods they ordered didn’t arrive on time, or the order was sent out incorrectly, then the whole customer experience is tainted by this and it is perceived to be a customer service issue rather than an error made in the logistic or order fulfillment department. Essentially, a faulty or incompetent fulfilment services department could cause people to actively encourage others to avoid using a company; or worse still, could jeopardise the entire perception of the business.
To ensure customer experiences remain smooth and fault-free and to encourage positive advocacy of a company or brand, many firms have reviewed their business from the inside out, ensuring all processes have an element of synergy to them. Where issues are discovered in the fulfilment services department, many companies have benefitted from outsourcing their order fulfillment and warehousing operations to ensure these do not impact negatively on the customer experience. Here at ILG, we work with a number of business partners to ensure their logistical operations run smoothly, thus maintaining their positive reputations with customers.