The post-purchase experience has become a real strategic challenge for retailers, and a crucial moment for consumers.
The e-commerce business continues to grow, and has been accelerating ever since the Covid-19 crisis. With this development, the stakes are getting higher. Flows are becoming more complex; omnichannelforeign markets, ensuring the customer promise… All this complicates the task of e-tailers, who must now be more flexible, faster and more reliable to remain competitive.
The post-purchase experience represents a series of stages that must be understood and mastered. There are many different operations involved in ensuring optimal delivery. Indeed, there are a host of flows to manage: inventory, order preparation, transport management, delivery and customer satisfaction. To optimize operational performance, it is essential to understand how all these actions fit together. This requires the involvement of a number of specialized staff for each stage of the process, and the implementation of management systems.
There are many post-purchase service providers, and it can be difficult to identify and differentiate between them. We have listed the main players according to their areas of expertise: e-commerce platforms, transport & logistics, post-purchase experience software, customer service.
E-commerce platforms
What are the different options for selling on the Internet?
The post-purchase experience begins on an online store, once the buyer’s order has been validated. The e-commerce site is therefore an essential element for the seller. It’s essential to be familiar with the different functionalities in order to choose the solution best suited to your needs, and to establish an effective post-purchase strategy as soon as the order has been validated.
The e-commerce site is the basis for all e-commerce purchases. It enables merchants to sell and users to buy online. There are several ways to make your product catalog available: build your own site, use an e-commerce platform or a marketplace.
- Build your own site
This allows you to tailor your site to your needs and integrate all the functionalities you want, which may be specific to the products you sell. However, this option is time-consuming and costly, as it requires the services of a developer.
- The marketplace
It acts as an intermediary between buyer and seller. It enables the merchant to acquire visibility, a qualified audience and a secure payment system, in return for a commission on sales. The best-known marketplace is of course Amazon, but there are also smaller marketplaces that specialize in particular types of product (fashion, food, etc.).
- The e-commerce platform
These platforms are “turnkey”, allowing you to create a store that reflects your image. In fact, you have full control over your site’s design, navigation, ordering process, product catalog and more. E-commerce platforms give you the flexibility to manage your brand, your visibility, your SEO…
The different types of e-commerce platforms
There are 2 different types of e-commerce platforms:
- Open source platforms
The source code for these solutions can be downloaded free of charge. This collaborative system does, however, require a solid knowledge of web development. They are highly customizable if you know your way around. However, it may prove more difficult to connect with other solutions in your ecosystem.
Example: WooCommerce, Prestashop, Magento…
- Saas platforms that are not open source
These are platforms that offer a subscription fee for their online store software. They enable you to get started quickly, without requiring a great deal of technical knowledge of website creation. What‘ s more, they can be easily connected to other solutions (CRM, customer service, logistics….). However, customization is more limited than with open source.
Example: Shopify, Bigcommerce, Squarespace…
There are a plethora of different e-commerce platforms to choose from. It’s important to know your needs and maturity before choosing one of them. There are several criteria to take into account when choosing the most suitable platform:
- What type of products are sold?
- Will prices be displayed?
- Is it possible to pay with different currencies?
- Do we want to integrate a chatbot?
- What type of payments will be available?
- What delivery options are available to customers?
- Is it possible to connect other solutions/tools?
Supply chain: transport and logistics specialists
Once the order has been validated on the site, the parcel containing the order must be sent to its recipient as quickly as possible. It’s important to be familiar with the specifics of each logistics provider, so as to establish the best possible partnership and use the software best suited to your needs.
Logistics partners
What is a logistics partner?
This is a company that takes care of the logistics needs of e-tailers, delivering orders to the end customer. Since the logistics process involves many stages, service providers specialize in one or more parts of the routing process. These service providers are classified according to the level of service they provide. Order preparation, warehousing, delivery… several professions are included in this classification according to type: 1PL, 2PL, 3PL, 4PL, 5PL.
1PL or “first party logistics
A 1PL logistics provider acts as the first link in the chain, subcontracting transportation. It is a company with its own fleet of vehicles that can transport goods from one point to another. 1PL service providers take care of loading, routing and unloading. They may specialize in a particular type of cargo (cold, frozen goods, for example) or in a specific geographical area.
This type of outsourcing is particularly suitable for companies whose core business is not transport.
2PL or “second party logistics
2PL providers offer a more comprehensive range of services than 1PLs. In effect, they offer transport like 1PLs, as well as storage and warehousing services. Examples of 2PLs include shipping companies that operate ships, airlines that operate planes and transport companies that operate trucks.
3PL or “third party logistics
3PL is an evolution of 1PL and 2PL services, enabling companies to outsource their logistics activities. In addition to transport and storage activities, other services are offered: order preparation, inventory management, customs management, labeling… This offer also includes IT services for tracking and tracing delivery status.
These service providers take care of order logistics, enabling companies to concentrate on their core business and not waste time managing all the flows.
The term 3PL refers not only to the degree of outsourcing, but also to the companies providing these services.
4PL or “fourth party logistics
They assume many of the functions of 3PLs, but have a broader scope of action to help customers achieve their strategic objectives.
His role includes managing and analyzing large quantities of data, overseeing transport management, managing other 3PLs and transport service providers, overseeing warehouse operations, or operating any other part of the supply chain.
5PL or “fifth party logistics
5PL service providers, also known as logistics aggregators, are responsible for planning, organizing and implementing customer logistics solutions, including automated systems to improve the performance of the transport supply chain. These typically include ordering, inventory management and shipment management systems.
5PLs are particularly well suited to e-commerce activities. The tools used are the following systems:
- Warehouse Management System (WMS),
- Transport Management System (TMS)
- Order Management System (OMS).
Logistics software: WMS, TMS, OMS
In addition to logistics service providers, there are also digital solutions to help you manage and organize your business. Here are the main technologies available: WMS, TMS, OMS.
What is a WMS?
A Warehouse Management System (WMS) is software that enables you to gain visibility, maintain and improve overall warehouse operations and processes. Key WMS functions include :
- Inventory management
- Supply chain management
- Transport management
A WMS can provide real-time information on any aspect of warehouse operations, from the location of each item to picking and shipping. This software can make each of these steps more efficient by tracking goods as they enter, are stored and leave the warehouse.
Companies are increasingly turning to the WMS for the precision and efficiency needed to deliver products to customers on time, without increasing costs.
What is an MSD?
A “Transport Management System” is specialized software that focuses specifically on transport operations. This software enables the planning, execution and optimization of freight shipments. A TMS is a system that companies can use to manage their freight operations instead of calling and e-mailing internal and external partners.
Transportation management systems often sit between a company’s ERP system and a warehouse management system (WMS), linking the two for greater supply chain efficiency.
TMS solutions are mainly used by companies that need to ship, move and receive goods on a regular basis, including manufacturers, distributors, e-commerce companies, retailers, and logistics providers (3PL, 4PL, 5PL).
What is OMS?
An Order Management System, or OMS, is a system capable of managing all aspects of an order’s lifecycle to ensure omnichannel logistics.
This software enables you to control all a retailer’s stocks, whether they are located in a warehouse or in a store. It connects the various distribution channels (e-commerce sites, physical stores, etc.) with supply chain players such as stores, warehouses and so on.
Post-purchase solutions: customer experience specialists
What is a post-purchase solution?
The post-purchase customer experience encompasses all stages after a consumer has made a purchase. This is an important phase for e-commerce companies, as it enables them to understand how consumers perceive their brand, their quality of service and how likely they are to return. Companies have developed tailor-made solutions to help e-tailers create seamless, personalized experiences.
Post-purchase customer experience software provides an interface for managing orders via a single platform that integrates with various logistics partners, e-commerce platforms and customer service solutions.
What are the main advantages of post-purchase solutions?
They improve customer journeys through key functionalities:
Simplified parcel tracking.
The solution collects and formats tracking data from service providers. Employees have easy access to complete, reliable and clear information on the processing of each order, enabling them to respond to customers’ needs. The time saved enables them to focus on advice and customer satisfaction.
Carrier management.
Good carrier management means having to deal with several different accounts, and being reactive to changing carriers if you encounter service quality concerns.
With a post-purchase solution, you can monitor the overall performance of your various carriers. You’ll be able to monitor and analyze the quality of service (QS) offered by each of your carriers, and compare them to optimize their performance.
Unified follow-up.
All post-purchase activity is accessible in just a few clicks from a single interface. Thanks to a post-purchase tracking platform, all orders in progress with different logistics partners can be consulted in a single place.
Real-time communication with customers.
It is also possible to automate the detection of anomalies, so as to keep an eye on each parcel and send a message to the customer in the event of a problem. Immediate notification of the buyer reduces the number of contacts with customer service (WISMO).
These solutions are adapted to different company sizes, with some platforms offering tailor-made services to suit the specific needs of each company. One of the great advantages of this type of platform is the aggregation of multiple systems within a single environment, making it easier for e-tailers to understand, control and analyze their business. What’s more, these solutions are equipped with connectors that enable flows to be shared between different technologies (CRM, e-commerce platforms, etc.).
Customer relations and service platforms
What is customer support software?
Customer support software helps manage all customer queries from different channels within a single platform.
It’s a set of tools used to collect, organize, respond to and report requests to customer support. These systems can be used to manage one or more communication channels, including email, live chat, chatbots… and they can also integrate with external communication tools such as social networks.
Companies generally use this type of solution to enable faster, more efficient customer support provided by multiple agents all working via the same tool.
What are the advantages of using customer service software?
Using a specialized customer service system helps you create a better customer experience that improves buyer loyalty thanks to several features:
Offer responsive support
Thanks to the implementation of workflows, knowledge base integration, pre-recorded answers, etc., teams spend more time actually helping customers, rather than trying to master several tools at once.
Gather customer information
It’s possible to identify, collect and organize all relevant comments, questions about how your business works, and bug reports, so that they can be used to improve customer satisfaction.
Enabling better collaboration
Customer service platforms enable you to avoid duplication of work, keep track of customer requests, coordinate messages between multiple teams and always provide up-to-date answers.
Analyze and create reports
The software features integrated reporting capabilities to track the volume of customer requests addressed to support, team productivity, customer type and profile, and much more.
Connectivity and automation.
Customer relations tools make it possible to coordinate multiple teams to support a large customer base, using organizational features, automation and third-party integrations. They offer direct integration with other systems and APIs, and enable customer service data to be connected to various other tools (TMS, OMS, post-purchase software, e-commerce platform…).
Understanding post-purchase preferences is just as important as understanding the factors that drive consumers to the checkout. This requires the involvement of a number of collaborators, in order to help brands get their products to market and ensure customer satisfaction. This ecosystem, comprising many different players, can seem complex. What’s more, it’s particularly difficult to grasp from a technical point of view, with so many data and flows to take into account.
As soon as a brand acquires a certain volume of orders, it needs to call on reliable service providers and technology suppliers to manage its operational performance. Mastering the supply chain is a prerequisite for delivering a good customer experience and building loyalty.
Want to know how WelcomeTrack can help you improve your logistics tracking and customer satisfaction?