In this article
A modern approach to customer service
ERIKS has invested more than £20 million in its FCE, its Fulfilment Centre of Expertise near Birmingham and can now deliver to virtually every single customer at the time they want. In this article we’ll look at why we view this investment as essential in meeting our customers’ increased expectations.
Unsurprisingly during the global pandemic, the number of in-person visits to branches plummeted. These numbers have never recovered and have permanently moved to contact by phone, email, or Skype/Teams.
At the same time ERIKS was analysing its data in regard to what percentage of customer requests were serviced immediately from local stocks and how much product was being dispatched centrally.
Also, the business was looking at its environmental performance and aiming to reduce ‘product miles’ as well as inefficient practices such as unpacking and re-packing products for local distribution via ERIKS’ own vans.
An impossible guessing game
ERIKS has a broad product range and within each range there’s a myriad of options. Plus, it serves an enormous number of industry sectors, and they all use different types of products. So, when deciding what to keep in a local service centre it’s an impossible guessing game.
The only point of reference available is ‘What do I sell already?’ and from its data ERIKS was able to see that this broke down into broadly two categories: a) The showstoppers and b) the stock replenishment items.
The showstoppers are generally kept by the customer and the stock replenishment items are non-urgent and available from the FCE for next day delivery.
Centralised and flexible distribution
In terms of meeting customers’ needs, the advantages of a centralised distribution are well known. ERIKS’ FCE has 50,000 items that can be dispatched within one hour and more than 250,000 products on next day delivery. This huge range provides excellent supply chain redundancy as like-for-like products can be dispatched quickly if the specified product isn’t available.
Secondly, the turnover of products in a centralised facility is much faster, ensuring that stock is ‘factory fresh’. Same-day delivery is possible with the basic standards being next day delivery before 9am, 10am or midday (as stipulated by the customer) with no fuss returns.
The use of courier partners allows ERIKS to deliver to multiple businesses within the same time window as opposed to their former local approach which meant deliveries were met sequentially by their own vans. Using courier partners means that customers can also ‘Track and Trace’ their goods, so they know exactly when to expect them.
Centralised distribution is also more environmentally friendly with less vehicles running more efficient routes and using recyclable packaging. This is an important point for many businesses as they align themselves with net zero regulations.
Due to COVID we all became far more familiar with the digital purchasing experience as exemplified by Amazon. This approach has many positives in terms of convenience, but the one major negative is the detachment from people that this brings.
When it comes to purchasing spare parts people like to, when necessary, speak directly and immediately to an expert – there’s a fine balance between individual consultancy and automated logistics that needs to be struck.
ERIKS service centre teams are no longer concerned with basic logistics so now have more time to communicate with their customers, ensuring that the service they are receiving, be that basic spares delivery, getting advice about like-for-like parts with shorter lead times or having their own ring-fenced area at the FCE, is working for them.
We feel that this modern approach to customer service is what’s needed – world class logistics coupled with regular communication and consultancy all tailored to the individual customer.
For more information about ERIKS Fulfilment Centre of Expertise, or get in touch with your local ERIKS Service Centre who will be happy to discuss your options.
#ERIKS #LetsMakeIndustryWorkBetter #FulfilmentCentre #Oldbury #Distribution #Logistics #SupplyChain
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