Driving Lasting Returns: 5 Areas That Support a Customer-focused Approach to Distribution

Whether executing its own distribution practices or leaning on a 3PL partner or other provider, there are crucial benefits most all businesses expect to derive from effective distribution. Improvements in market reach, cost efficiency, inventory management, and — the topic of this article — customer satisfaction.

Most would start by focusing on the foundation in customer-facing distribution practices: namely, getting the right goods to the right customer at the right time. But in our opinion, that’s an expectation, not a benefit. We are examining some surprisingly easy ways a business can optimize its distribution practices to increase customer engagement and satisfaction through:

• Flexible delivery
• Real-time communication
• Streamlined returns
• Data and analytics
• Empowered personnel

1. Flexible delivery options

Whether you are a B2C or B2B concern, optimizing distribution requires an increased focus on customer preferences. Nowhere is this more important than when and how you get your goods into their hands. This means offering flexible delivery options. 

You will want to provide diverse delivery speeds, allowing customers to choose from same-day, next-day, or standard delivery, catering to varying urgency levels. And always ensure delivery windows are as narrow as possible. No one likes being told they have to be available for delivery “between 8 am and 5 pm.” Also, especially for B2C companies, offer multiple delivery locations: home, work, or designated pickup points like lockers or partner stores.

2. Real-time tracking and communication

It’s amazing the difference a simple update can make in setting and meeting customer expectations, so make sure you are providing as much detailed tracking information as possible, giving customers access to real-time updates on their shipment's location and estimated arrival. Allowing customers to easily contact delivery drivers or customer service for inquiries or adjustments adds another layer of customer satisfaction.

Be proactive with your notifications, sending alerts about delays, changes, or upcoming deliveries via SMS, email, or app notifications. By connecting your back end SCM systems (those tracking the movement of inventory) to customer-facing apps, these communications can even be delivered automatically.

3. Streamline returns

The truth is not every delivery — be it a pair of shoes to an individual or an HVAC system to a manufacturing plant — is always an exact fit. In today’s market, when more and more products are being shipped directly, customers of all stripes expect a simplified return process.

Offer easy-to-use return portals, pre-paid return labels, and flexible return windows, and provide multiple return options: Allow customers to return items through mail, drop-off locations, or in-store. As with initial deliveries, keep the communication flowing with proactive return tracking, keeping customers informed about the status of their returns and refunds.

4. Leverage data and analytics

While capturing, understanding, and acting on as much real-time data as possible is critical in the basic functionality of distribution (getting things where they need to be on time), it also plays a key role in a customer engagement and associated communications.

With advanced analytics tools in place (such as Fabric and Power BI), you can, of course, access the data that helps track delivery performance metrics to identify areas for improvement and optimize routes. But you can also use that data to anticipate customer demand and optimize inventory placement for faster delivery.

Customer communications should be analyzed as well as they can help you better understand specific pain points and preferences within distribution processes.

5. Empower delivery personnel

Finally, one of the most effective ways of transforming distribution processes to be more customer-centered lies in your people, the delivery personnel directly interacting with your customers.

Provide these team members with training and tools — and technology — to provide the level of personalized service detailed above. Create automated systems to both enable and capture driver feedback that can help you better understand challenges and improve delivery processes.

Most importantly, empower your people “in the trenches” with the knowledge, systems, and freedom to resolve issues on the spot. Just as no customer likes having to wait “between 8 am and 5 pm” for a delivery, no customer likes to hear, “I’ll have to check with my manager” when a problem arises.

By implementing these strategies and systems, businesses can create a more seamless and satisfying distribution experience that fosters customer loyalty and strengthens brand reputation.