Top Customer Service Issues and CustomerServ’s Call Center Expertise in Shipping Logistics

CustomerServ’s Outsourced Call Centers Help Shipping & Logistics Providers Keep Pace with Rising Demand

In the highly competitive e-commerce market, the shipping and delivery experience often provides the added value that differentiates one merchant from another in the customer’s view. In recent years, however, rising consumer demand for instant gratification has been putting considerable pressure on an increasingly complex supply chain.

Online retail giant Amazon, which accounts for nearly half of the e-commerce sales in the U.S., has been continually raising the bar for product delivery by offering fast, free shipping with the ability to customize final delivery options. Consumers have now come to expect an Amazon-like experience wherever they shop online.

For shippers, coping with the Amazon Effect on the supply chain has become a top pain point. Many are partnering with a mix of third-party logistics (3PLs) providers to shorten lead times, enable faster, more frequent deliveries and improve last-mile logistics. Forward-thinking shipping companies also have been exploring and testing innovative ways to deploy automation to provide a superior customer experience while managing the costs of skyrocketing demand. Package delivery drones, self-driving trucks and autonomous ground vehicles are just a few of the automated solutions that may soon become integral links in the supply chain.

In addition to automating the package delivery process, technological advancements in the warehouse (robotics), on route (advanced GPS systems, Internet of Things) and for customer-facing operations (omnichannel communication, real-time tracking, personalization) continue to disrupt the shipping and logistics business. In fact, 68% of transport and logistics CEOs say that changes in core technologies of service provision will disrupt their business in the next five years, according to a 2018 survey by professional services firm PwC.

Digital transformation looms on the horizon as a requirement to compete in the modern market as leaders look to artificial intelligence and data analytics to identify opportunities to manage costs, increase efficiency and keep abreast of changing consumer behaviors. The PwC survey found that 65% of CEOs are working to change distribution channels to reflect the digitalization of logistics.

Top Customer Service Challenges for Shipping and Logistics Providers

Consumers’ expectations for instant delivery of their online purchases has tasked shipping and logistics providers with ensuring on-time deliveries within an ever-shrinking window. Meeting continuously expanding demand while providing a seamless customer experience has become a critical pain point among shipping and logistics providers, many of which are simultaneously undergoing digitization efforts to optimize processes across customer and partner channels. Top customer service challenges for the shipping and logistics industry include:

• Increasing demand for variable shipping options. Rising package theft has consumers calling on merchants and shipping and logistics companies to provide customized options for final delivery, such as alternate delivery locations, shipping to brick-and-mortar retail sites for pickup, package delivery lockers, delivery to secure locations (such as in-home, in-garage and in the consumers’ car trunk) and signature on delivery. These types of options often present hurdles for carriers charged with handling last-mile deliveries, including problems gaining access to a secure location or with the extra time involved to obtain signatures.
• Ensuring a seamless customer experience across multiple handoffs and stakeholders in the value chain.
• Providing customers with accurate, immediate delivery status updates. Today’s informed, tech-savvy consumers want to know exactly where their package is at every stage of the fulfillment process. Providing end-to-end tracking transparency requires integrated technology with real-time visibility across all stakeholders. Customers also expect a seamless experience and up-to-date status updates whether tracking deliveries via an app, website or phone call.
• The ability to quickly staff up customer service staff to handle surges in contact volume due to seasonal shopping spikes or for unexpected surges caused by weather-related shipping delays.
• Capturing and leveraging customer data to understand shipping and delivery needs, accurately forecast demand, and continuously optimize the entire supply chain.
  
  

CustomerServ Outsourcers Deliver Seamless, Omnichannel Call Center Support for Shipping & Logistics Companies

CustomerServ’s shipping and logistics call center outsourcers provide dedicated service professionals coupled with omnichannel support tools to deliver seamless end-to-end customer support for shipping and delivery inquiries and issues.

Our expert call center vendors provide best-in-class customer service for shipping and delivery, including:

• Ability to quickly ramp up for seasonal and other high-volume periods
• White-glove customer service for problem-solving and order-tracking across carriers and hand-off points
• Complaint-tracking to identify recurring issues and opportunities to optimize the order fulfillment process
• Managing a frictionless product support process
• Providing a continuous improvement approach to service delivery that reduces costs and enhances customer satisfaction

Outsourced contact center services include:

• Customer service
• Sales and Retention
• Membership and loyalty programs
• Package/shipment location
• Tracking services
• Concierge services
• Corporate travel desk
• Seasonal and steady state staffing
• Live chat
• Email support
• SMS support
• Mobile app support
• Social media support
• Multi-lingual in over 50 languages
• US Based, near-shore and off-shore support
• PCI and SOC II Call Centers