How We Use Customer Experience Data

In the supply chain management and logistics industry in which we operate, the rate and scope of change — across our business, our clients’ businesses and their customers’ preferences and behaviors — have been significant in recent years. The pace of transformation occurring within the consumer goods marketplace that we serve — product manufacturers, retailers and e-commerce companies — is unprecedented. 

Things are moving fast, so staying on top of the customer experience is a business imperative for every link in the supply chain. At FIDELITONE, we regularly solicit client feedback and rigorously analyze customer and program data to gauge our performance, inform our decision making and deliver the kinds of experiences to our clients and their customers that they expect and demand.

How about you? How are you collecting feedback and using customer data? How is it informing your business decisions?

Two types of customer experiences

At FIDELITONE, we manage to two types of customer experiences: those we create for our clients and those we provide to their customers. Tools we employ to stay on top of what our clients are experiencing with us include:

• Performance assessments
• Onboarding surveys
• User experience questionnaires
• Business reviews

Data we collect is reviewed and shared with key team members in order to facilitate problem solving and, if necessary, make improvements or a plan of action.

What do we look at?

Among the client feedback we solicit are satisfaction levels with our processes, teams/team members, practices and outcomes. The business reviews we conduct during the year provide our account team with an opportunity to go over the feedback with the client and share how we’re responding to it.

With our last mile delivery service, we are often inside the homes or businesses of our clients’ customers, delivering and setting up the high-value products they ordered. Satisfaction surveys we conduct at this critical point in the customer relationship provide valuable insights, not only for us but also for our clients.

Performance data and scorecards

Daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly reviews of pertinent data (e.g., on-time deliveries, same day fill rates, first call rates – depending on the service area) help us maintain high levels of service and react quickly to any unexpected dips or spikes. We provide clients with visibility to order status and details so they, too, can stay on top of the experience we’re providing to their customers.

At a business management level, all of our internal teams maintain scorecards containing function-specific performance metrics that they review together on a weekly basis. When everyone is aware of what’s happening and how we’re performing, meaningful collaboration, problem solving and action can take place.

This is also true at the program management level; the amount and complexity of the data we review here is generally based upon the inputs we receive, the metrics we use to manage our business and the service levels we’re delivering to the client. This varies depending on the service(s) we’re performing and the program objectives that were set.

Real world example: Improving the store experience

In our last mile delivery area, we recently acquired the product replenishment delivery business for a new client who was increasingly concerned about negative store experiences as a result of delivery failures and high damage rates. Delivery performance issues were threatening the customer experience. The retailer had been using an LTL carrier solution to handle deliveries to their 300+ stores, which are located in small plazas. With only one delivery person (the driver), no set delivery windows for store personnel to prepare for product arrival and poor handling of product while en route, quality was being impacted. During delivery, the large trucks blocked access to the stores, further exasperating the issue.

We were able to offer a damage-free solution and improve upon their existing delivery practices that were causing problems. The retailer began conducting store surveys after we began making deliveries, and data revealed that our solution was improving the store experience. As a result, our partnership has expanded.

Always improving

At FIDELITONE, our customer solutions group proactively engages in continuous improvement efforts for each of our operations. Employing lean principles, their goal is to identify ways to enhance our operations and provide year-over-year improvements to our clients’ businesses. Data collection is integral to how they pinpoint, recommend and structure operational improvements.

This team also supports our business development group, utilizing the collection and analysis of customer volumes, efficiency and head count, as well as other pertinent data elements, to build right-fit solutions for a prospective client.

Proven process – the Path to Loyalty™ 

Data is only as good as what you do with it. From a performance management perspective, it is our proven process, the Path to Loyalty™, that keeps us focused on increasing our clients’ business performance and profitability and delivering high levels of satisfaction. Through each step along the path (understand, design, implement, perform, review), we utilize data to uncover opportunities to influence program outcomes.

What kinds of feedback are you generating to impact your supply chain? If there are issues that are creating challenges or concerns in your business, let’s get together and solve the problem together. Contact us online to learn more about our Path to Loyalty™  and how we can help you.