This week we had the opportunity of sitting together with Guy Bloch, CEO of Bringg and one of our selected partners for the Savant Supply Chain Congress in Amsterdam this May. Here’s what we talked about!
What are the challenges you see brands and retailers are facing in 2019?
What really changed the rules of the game is the so-called “Amazon Effect”. With the online market growing faster than offline retail, the standards of online retail are changing and the bar is getting higher every day: the entrance of Amazon and free two-day shipping set a bar for all other retailers and providers. If you don’t match the standard, your customers will move on. With companies like Uber, DoorDash, Deliveroo and Stuart, customers are getting used to 3-hour or even 30-minute delivery. So the main challenge becomes providing flawless Customer Experiences.
CX starts at checkout, and now customers want maximum convenience, meaning a multitude of options to choose from to so they can find the right one to suit their needs and preferences, be it Free Delivery, Same Day, Pick Up or Click and Collect. In addition, transparency became a crucial factor. From the moment customers choose their preferred delivery option, they want to have complete visibility into their order. They want to know the name and face of the delivery person, to see their route, to be able to chat with them: bottom-line, customers want to have full control over the experience.
This is creating a big shift in the market: technology digitised the last mile and the result of this digitisation is an increase in customer demand for speed and convenience at a reasonable cost.
We see these changes as an opportunity. If you want to offer more, you have to do more. And since FedEx, UPS and DHL deliveries can’t be the only options anymore, brands and retailers are faced with a very big challenge.
Dealing with such complex logistics is a hassle and enterprises often end up relying solely on point solutions that cover a single aspect instead of solutions that can be deployed strategically. The business model in which the point solution becomes your full solution ends up being a challenge because either you charge your customers more and they move on to a cheaper option, or you absorb the cost which significantly reduces your margins.
How can companies commoditise the entire delivery process and keep it under control? and how can they do so in real time?
We see that the companies that are taking ownership of their logistics processes gaining a lot of control over the market by bringing a layer of technology that connects all the different components: orders with inventory, stores, fulfilment centers, delivery fleets and the customer.
If brands want to compete in the Age of Amazon, they have to digitise and connect all the moving pieces in the last mile in order to orchestrate and optimise the process.
As part of this shift, the world is moving from being transactional to relational. In a transactional world, retailers and brands had to grab the customer’s attention on the street or via the media to bring them into the store.
Now, they’re shifting over to managing omnichannel relationships: in-store, website, app, marketplaces and so on. Wherever the customer goes, you have to meet them and build a relationship with them. The relationship is also reflected in providing the customers with control over their order.
How does this translate into a real-life scenario?
Well, it’s all about having control over data, and combining all the parameters of the last mile is the only way you can assume full control of it. For example, think of a situation they deal with every day at an auto parts retailer. One of the largest auto parts retailers in the world is a Bringg customer so this is a real life example.
A driver goes to the mechanic to fix their car mirror. It’s likely that the mechanic won’t have that part in inventory, as it’s impossible to have all parts for all cars in inventory.
The mechanic sends an order out to multiple vendors and the first one that shows up will win the bid. This is highly inefficient and uncertain. Now that they’re using Bringg, all the orders are connected in the system.
We provide an overview of the order and of the shop inventory so they always know the available inventory that is closest to the customer.
Then, we see which driver is closest to that store and we trigger the fastest dispatch possible. Everything is automated. The closest driver picks up the parcel from the closest shop, the mechanic receives a notification, and the customer receives the part immediately with full transparency, as well as feedback and ratings.
If you would like to hear more from Bringg about Last Mile Delivery and Customer Experience. join us at Supply Chain Congress on 8th-9th May. Secure your pass here!
