So far we covered how to improve your sales process and your production process. This week we’re going to talk about how to improve your delivery process.
Whether you deliver your product to your client’s place of business or to your client’s home, your delivery service is a valuable convenience to your clients and it’s important to do it right. Botched deliveries can reflect poorly on your business and can cost you clients.
Recently, we’ve looked at how we improve cycle times, eliminate mistakes or improve the business model. To improve your delivery process, all of these need to be addressed.
–Implement systems for delivery. Don’t leave your delivery service to chance or assume that your employees will do it right on their own. Create checklists your employees can use to make sure everything is done correctly. If there is any hand offs from department to another pay special attention that those are done smoothly.
–If you have your own delivery fleet, GPS tracking is a good way to optimize your fleet’s performance. This can also help you cut fuel costs and optimize delivery routes for improved performance. Be alert to outsource where appropriate. If you find that other service providers can handle your delivery schedule with higher efficiency at a reduced cost, be open to considering that option
–Communicate, communicate, communicate. Emails or texts to keep customers informed of their order’s delivery status or when their order has processed, shipped and estimated time of delivery. It’s important to inspect what you expect here and make sure the items was received and the client is happy with the purchase and delivery. This is also a way to head off potential problems.
–Train your drivers in customer service. Often your driver and your vehicle are the front line of your business. It’s important for them to be professional and clearly identified.
From your customer’s point of view, your delivery service is vitally important. It may be the only direct contact they have with your business. With any or all of these ideas implemented, you are well on your way to building customer loyalty and repeat business that improves your bottom line.
