Reuters Events | Supply Chain & Logistics Business Intelligence

Quality and the personal touch are critical to success in the supply chain but achieving that is proving to be tough for providers

It is important not to forget that supply chain logistics is a people’s business where success is determined by the relationships that are forged over time with customers. No amount of technology can replace vital human interaction. However, our new free report, made in conjunction with UPS® Supply Chain Solutions shows that suppliers are not always keeping this front of mind.

The report, which is free to download here now, surveyed Supply Chain Logistics (SCL) providers to find out what they look for from their suppliers and how well their needs were being met. Coming up top from the results was clear and consistent communication between the supplier and their customer that leads to a quality service.

Respondents to the survey rated the top factors they wanted from an ideal supply chain logistics provider as follows:

• Communicates clearly and in a timely manner
• Provides a high level of operational quality
• Has knowledgeable and skilled staff
• Sticks to its agreements
• Continuously provides clear and accurate data
• Learns from its mistakes and continuously improves itself

This puts customer service and experience management at the forefront of characteristics SCL providers are looking for. Delivering this to customers has been more problematic however. Reported performance of the main providers to survey respondents suggests that they are frequently not prioritising their customer experience enough, with average performance scores falling behind how important they were rated by SCL providers.   

The report notes that “When considering what to focus on it is best to take operational quality and pricing out of the equation. These are tickets of entry, but don’t distinguish one provider from another in the eyes of customers. Naturally they get a lot of attention however, they don’t fully explain the customer experience and as such they are poor predictors of customer loyalty. As the survey shows, the way to differentiate is to create a great customer experience in other areas that customers value as much, or even more, such as innovation, communication, etc.”

So, take a look at this brand new report and be inspired to change.