Some sales people are all about how you can help them…
But we’re interested in how we can help you, so here’s our #tophack for reducing failed deliveries – a common problem most companies share!
Working with companies in various industries and shipping their freight all over the world, I’ve found many struggle with their suppliers not sticking to booking slots which results in failed deliveries, causing the customer (you) a whole lot of unnecessary stress and in some cases – loss of revenue and loss of business.
If this is something you’re challenged with as well, have you considered handing the whole booking process over to your supplier?
It may seem obvious, but it’s surprising just how many companies hold on to this responsibility and won’t let it go. Maybe it’s because the supplier has let the customer down that many times they feel like they’re incapable, but by simply handing that responsibility over to them can make whole lot of difference.
A client of ours who’s primary business is sending freight from the UK to Ireland used to book in all of their own orders with the delivery points. Whilst this gave them peace of mind knowing their order was booked in, it usually didn’t fit in around the suppliers schedule which resulted in failed deliveries, and ultimately cost the supplier the business.
In order for the customer to book in a delivery and to ensure the deadline is met, they must know what that supplier has on at that time. The customer may book a delivery in for 11am on Thursday, but on Thursday the supplier has already committed his fleet and the closest truck available will be an hour away, however he won’t be available until 12:00. If the supplier booked the delivery in themselves they would have gone for a realistic time of 13:30, allowing extra time for any delays.
Sometimes all it takes is a phone call to see when the supplier can realistically deliver the goods.
One thing to note is that the delivery point will work around your slot when taking other requests, therefore it’s imperative your slot is achieved as it has a domino effect on the rest of their bookings which is why they refuse late deliveries. Most of the time, so long as the delivery point has their stock by the end of that day they are happy. In this case, that 12:00 slot could have been filled by somebody else, leaving a later slot available for the supplier and thus increasing their chances of delivering the goods on time.
Handing the booking responsibility over to the supplier allows them to book the delivery in for a time they know they can achieve,reducing failed deliveries and keeping the delivery point happy!
We did this with our client in 2017 and have consistently held a 95% + hit rate. The remaining 5% is down to either late loading due to stock not being ready, traffic and sailing delays. Of course no transport company can make every slot, it’s just not logistically possible, but the above will certainly increase the hit rate ten fold.
Why not try implementing this strategy with your suppliers in 2018 to see how it affects your business?
Or better yet, why not let us handle it for you?