Retail is a fast-paced industry that requires constant innovation and adaptation to meet customer expectations and stay ahead of the competition. However, many retailers face challenges in managing their operations efficiently and effectively, especially when it comes to logistics and delivery. And this is a critical issue because retail is a low-margin, highly competitive business where every point of optimization matters.

In the current macroeconomic context, the balance is tipped in favor of the customer. With more choice in the marketplace from local and cross-border retailers and lower spending willingness, customer satisfaction and loyalty are key, and logistics and delivery can make or break the entire business. Customers expect fast, reliable, convenient and affordable delivery options for their online purchases. They also want to track their orders in real time and communicate with delivery personnel when necessary. On the other hand, retailers need to optimize their logistics costs, reduce errors and delays, increase visibility and control over their supply chain, and coordinate with multiple delivery partners.

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There are many ways to quantify the efficiency of your team or the productivity of your business

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You can measure the cost of your operations and try to reduce it. We have dedicated an entire article to this topic, and you can read valuable insights here if this is one of your pain points.

You could measure time. It could be the time it takes to implement new projects, such as a new campaign, a new product category, or a new channel integration. Or it could be the seconds your customers are willing to spend browsing information in your eShop, the hours they are willing to wait for their home delivery, or the minutes they are willing to spend on a complaint call to your customer support. Any way you look at it, time is money, and it goes back to the previous point.

Some measure efficiency by the number of steps in their processes, supply chains, or conversion funnels. The shorter they are, the faster they deliver results. But streamlining operations must strike the right balance between standardization and customization. As we analyzed in a previous article, we live in a customer-centric world where one size does not fit all. Unless you have a scalable, flexible and agile partner ecosystem and digital tools that enable mass customization in real time.

And that leads to another way to measure your efficiency: the number of errors that occur in a process, the amount of work you put into identifying and evaluating them, redesigning the flow, rearranging the data, reworking the task. The more customized a journey is, the more complex the process is, and the more error-prone it is if you rely heavily on manual or human-assisted processes. From this perspective, it can be quantified in terms of headcount or man-hours, which is ultimately a cost, too.

Finally, you could measure your efficiency based on the output of your work. Depending on where you measure it, it could be the number of visitors, the conversion rate, the average order value, the number of repeat purchases, you name it. But in a low-margin, highly competitive environment, the output must always be analyzed against the value of your inputs.

If you look at it that way, it's high school economics. The more results with the less effort, the better the efficiency. But real business is not that simple, and this is where the Postis Platform comes in.

The Postis Platform is a cloud-based software solution that helps retailers streamline their logistics and delivery processes using artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics.

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The Postis Platform enables retailers to improve productivity and efficiency across their business at several critical points

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IT eco-systems integration

• Integrate and centrally manage multiple delivery partners through a single interface, aggregating customer orders from any system where they originate

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Process streamlining and automation

• Automate the selection of the best delivery option for each order based on multiple criteria such as cost, speed, quality, availability, location, customer preference, available journey etc.

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Unified data management

• Structured aggregation, homogenization, orchestration, analysis, reporting (out-of-the-box templates, multi-dimensional dashboards, deep customization)
• Monitor the performance of each delivery partner and provide feedback and data to improve their service quality
• Analyze data from multiple sources such as orders, deliveries, customers, partners, etc. to generate insights and recommendations for improving logistics efficiency

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Cross-departmental operations (logistics, marketing, sales, customer support, carriers, customers)

• Track the status of every order in real time from the warehouse to the customer's door
• Provide customers with accurate ETA (estimated time of arrival) notifications and live tracking links
• Collect customer feedback after each delivery and measure customer satisfaction

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With an optimized last-mile delivery ecosystem and an integrated management platform, you can achieve rapid results with long-term impact across your entire enterprise.

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Logistics & Operations

• Automation of manual tasks such as partner selection or order assignment, automated selection of best delivery options, supplier portfolio optimization with historical cost-performance-experience analysis, reporting.
• Results? 25% lower shipping costs, 20% fewer returns, 25% fewer out-of-SLA deliveries, 15% higher efficiency with zero errors and data translation/processing.

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Fulfillment Associates

• Automated order dispatch, AWB generation and printing, Ready for Delivery notification, Volume accumulation scenarios, Pickup scheduling by product type to optimize warehouse flow, Improved team efficiency by enabling better collaboration between internal teams such as warehouse staff, managers, customer service representatives, etc.
• Results? Double the volume fulfilled with the same team.

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Customer Support / Call Centers

• Instant access to current order status and delivery history, proactive troubleshooting.
• Results? 25% reduction in call center complaints, 82% reduction in "where is my package" customer calls

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Marketing

• Reduced time to market for new offers and customer journeys, rapid response to low satisfaction/churn due to bad experiences, improved customer experience through faster deliveries, more options, more transparency, more convenience, more communication, more satisfaction.
• Results? 20% reduction in shopping cart abandonment, 25% increase in NPS, 10% increase in average order value.

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Sales

• New sales channels such as online, marketplaces can be deployed in weeks and extend the customer reach to new territories, customer segments or product categories, using the same processes and unified management system as before
• Results? Higher sales volumes, larger customer base, more frequent purchases, bigger average order value

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IT

• Zero day activation for new carriers/delivery options, streamlined IT ecosystem with automated data flows, faster deployment for new integrations, greater scalability by being able to handle peak seasons or unexpected demand spikes without compromising quality or reliability.
• Results? Shift teams to more strategic programs, no more CAPEX, perpetual updates and upgrades

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Postis Platform is a powerful tool that can help retailers turn their logistics operations into a competitive advantage. By leveraging AI data analytics, Postis Platform can help retailers deliver more value to their customers while saving time and resources.

If you are interested in learning more about how Postis Platform can help you improve your productivity and team efficiency, contact us today and together we'll find the best solution for you.

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Photo by Seema Miah on Unsplash