Why Improving Customer Experience Matters for eCommerce 3PLs 

Keeping your eCommerce 3PL customers happy helps “inflation-proof” your business through customer retention. However, this is easier said than done. With new 3PLs popping up daily, you must up your game to remain competitive. Improving customer experience is essential to customer retention, which requires your team to adopt new methods.   

Why Customer Feedback Matters 

It is easier to fathom customer satisfaction levels by going to the source. The best way to do this is to formalize a customer feedback process to keep your finger on the pulse of customer sentiment. Although this seems unnecessary to customer service, implementing the process prioritizes customer feedback. 

Customer feedback provides a clear view of how customers perceive your service. You can implement changes using feedback to identify customer pain points, such as:    

• Failing to meet prep requirements: Prep time ensures specific customer instructions are followed through. However, if your team has a long turnaround time to prep deliveries, it negatively impacts the end user, increasing the risk of lost revenues for your customer. Also, your customer might be subject to fees for failure to meet specific packaging requirements. Ensuring you understand special requirements allows you to set up stations designed to reduce steps in the order process so your customers never face fees or order delays.    
• Poor damage reports: Not having a process to report damaged goods causes inventory issues and disparate information on sales results. Internal guidelines on damaged goods ensure accuracy and accountability to build customer trust. 
• Inaccurate receiving: Miscounts and misroutes at the receiving stage cause multiple headaches for customers. Using WMS and warehouse barcode scanning informs customers when their shipments are received with accurate counts. 

• Order backlogs: Inefficiencies in warehouse inventory or picking can lead to backlogs. This disrupts customer service and negatively impacts profitability.  Ensuring your processes include accurate inventory counts and forecasting helps avoid backlogs. In addition, warehouse barcode scanning helps expedite your process. 
• Mistakes: Whether mistakes are made in inventory counts, mismanagement, lost orders, mispicks, etc., mistakes chase customers away. Quality controls ensure mistakes are avoided to keep customers happy. 
• Idle containers: Containers filled with inventory should never sit idle at your warehouse. Having streamlined receiving processes ensures there is always enough staff and space to receive and stock orders. In addition, scanning helps speed up the process. 

Feedback clarifies where your 3PL is missing the mark, allowing you to improve your processes and positively impact your bottom line.   

Why Improving Transparency and Visibility is Essential 

If customers find it difficult to keep track of inventory due to poor visibility and communication, their job becomes harder. Using the right warehouse inventory management software and warehouse barcode scanning, you can share real-time updates to make life easier. Customers don’t have to worry about who they should speak to when troubleshooting if they can access information regarding order processing, inventory status, and operational issues. 

A customer dashboard or portal improves visibility and transparency without the need to track down warehouse staff.  You can also proactively share information on inventory via scanning technology programmed to trigger low-stock notifications. 

Self-serve dashboards allow customers to: 

• Access accurate information in real-time 
• Minimize constant customer requests that take up warehouse staff time 

• Receive instant notifications based on specific criteria, such as when orders are received, when inventories are low, when shipments are received at your 3PL, etc. 

While introducing these methods to improve customer retention, you actually reduce demand on your team. As a result, they can focus on higher-value tasks that contribute to your profitability. 

How Integrated eCommerce Workflows Increase Efficiency 

Offering tech-driven e-commerce workflows that optimize customer orders facilitates a streamlined pick, pack, and ship process with close to 100% accuracy. This is a huge win for your customers, who reduce wasted time tracking mistakes while remaining scalable to meet growing customer demand. 

Quicker order turnover frees up warehouse space, allowing your customers to expand their offerings. Warehouse management software provides shareable key measurements on productivity to demonstrate your ability to keep pace with customer orders. Bar scanning also improves accuracy and works in hand with your WMS. 

While you increase efficiency to improve the customer order process, you also improve productivity and reduce your overhead. 

Although improved customer experience creates end-to-end solutions that streamline the e-commerce fulfillment process, it also positively influences your profitability. Combining warehouse bar scanning technology with leading-edge WMS and self-serve customer tools creates the perfect trifecta of ease of use, warehouse inventory visibility, and quality control. This, in turn, improves your team’s productivity creating a win-win situation.