Customer service by a 3PL plays a crucial role in propelling your brand’s expansion. In this blog post, we will explore why 3PL customer helps your brand to scale.
The significance of customer service from a third-party logistics (3PL) provider cannot be overstated. Many eCommerce brands often prioritize cost savings or flashy technology suites when selecting supply chain partners. However, what may go unnoticed are the hidden long-term expenses that arise when customer service is neglected. 86% of shippers believe that engaging with 3PLs has enhanced their customer service.
The primary rationale behind any eCommerce business’s quest for a 3PL with exceptional customer service is its potential to fuel the brand’s expansion. A 3PL renowned for top-tier customer service can expedite issue resolution and facilitate crucial vendor relationships for growth that gives you more time to concentrate on your core business, products, and customers.
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Also, 3PLs leverage cloud technology to mitigate your foremost challenges by cutting transportation expenses, enhancing visibility, effectively managing inventory, and ensuring regulatory compliance.
What to Check in a 3PL’s Customer Service
Measuring customer service as a quantifiable metric poses challenges due to its qualitative nature. However, when evaluating a partnership with a 3PL, there are essential inquiries to consider. Above all, you should ensure that your fulfillment provider exhibits the following qualities within their customer service support:
- Frequent and Detailed Communication: Open lines of communication are vital
- Dedicated Support Staff: Staff who intimately understand your brand
- Efficient Communication Tools: Tools that enhance productivity
- Collaborative Business Approach: A willingness to work closely with you
Ultimately, a 3PL with robust customer service capabilities can handle fulfillment, allowing you to concentrate on nurturing and expanding your brand. After all, that is why 90% of Fortune 500 companies engage with a 3PL provider for fulfillment.
Reasons Customer Service is essential for Your Brand to Scale
Exceptional customer service is not merely a support function but a potent catalyst for brand growth and scalability. In today’s competitive landscape, businesses prioritizing customer service reap remarkable benefits.
Here are the top four reasons why customer service can propel your brand to new heights:
Clarity of Communication is the Key to Faster Problem Resolution
Logistics inherently involves managing exceptions, with diverse challenges like delays, discrepancies, and damages requiring attention.
Outstanding customer service comprises transparent, frequent, and direct communication. A 3PL that excels in this regard ensures swift resolution when issues arise. They keep you updated on shipment statuses, inventory management, order flow, project progress, and shipping carrier updates and provide tracking and data crucial for your brand’s forecasting and growth.
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A responsive customer service team promptly tackles problems, minimizing disruptions and delays. Efficient issue resolution not only benefits your customers but also bolsters your brand’s reputation and fuels business expansion.
Service Quality Improves with Good Supply Chain Relationships
Exceptional customer service is pivotal in nurturing enduring partnerships. When your 3PL delivers top-notch communication and service to you, it signifies their commitment to extending the same level of support to retailers, shipping carriers, manufacturers, freight forwarders, and other supply chain collaborators.
They work closely with you as an extension of your brand as they interact with your vendors and partners on your behalf. The last thing you want is to jeopardize a contract due to the discourteous or inept actions of your fulfillment partner.
A 3PL capable of providing personalized support and tailoring solutions to meet the unique needs of your business partners becomes a valuable collaborator, fostering brand growth. Positive relationships often lead to repeat business, referrals, and heightened customer loyalty.
24/7 Support is Crucial for Quick and Efficient Customer Service
Customer expectations for package tracking and issue resolution have reached unprecedented levels currently. When an order goes astray, arrives late, or sustains damage, your brand’s ability to respond swiftly is paramount. A 3PL offering round-the-clock support becomes your best defense against irate or dissatisfied customers.
Timely customer support not only grants your brand a competitive edge but also directly influences your capacity to provide top-notch service to your clientele. Thus, exceptional customer service amplifies your brand’s reputation, solidifies consumer loyalty, and paves the way for comprehensive brand growth.
Professional Logistics Team Ensures Brand Growth
Many 3PLs limit customer service to hotlines, call centers, or AI chatbots for routine inquiries. However, this approach often falls short of providing dedicated account management support for your daily fulfillment operations.
In contrast, when you engage with a dedicated team, it unlocks significant growth potential for your business. A dedicated manager facilitates personalized communication and gains a deep understanding of your business’s specific needs.
Together, you can establish clear Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and consistently track performance to assess the effectiveness of your fulfillment projects, specialized campaigns, inventory distributions, and marketplace performance while identifying larger and more lucrative sales channels for expansion.
Conclusion:
Exceptional customer service from a 3PL is the cornerstone of effective communication, swift issue resolution, relationship cultivation, proactive engagement, competitive advantage, and safeguarding a positive brand image.
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Highly successful 3PLs are dedicated to continuous improvement. They solicit client feedback, conduct regular assessments, and implement process enhancements. By addressing areas that need refinement and aligning their services with evolving client requirements, your 3PL consistently elevates its customer service standards. This level of service directly impacts your brand’s overall growth potential and ability to scale.
For top-notch fulfillment support accompanied by stellar customer service, look no further than XPDEL. Our portfolio of value-added services is designed to empower your business’s growth and scalability. Contact us for a quote or to explore how we can bolster your expanding brand.
About XPDEL:
XPDEL helps eCommerce brands accelerate their growth, empowering them with multichannel fulfillment, whether shipping directly to consumers, delivering to businesses, or selling through retail stores. We are founded and operated by veterans with experience from Amazon, FedEx, UPS, JDA, Walmart, Target, and other leading companies in eCommerce and Retail. Guided by these experts, we provide customer experiences that help you grow your business.
