Close to 30% of shoppers will switch retailers if they receive an incorrect delivery just once, according to recent research from Voxware. Nearly 62% of survey respondents said they were less likely to shop with a retailer online or by phone for future purchases if an item they purchased through those channels was not delivered within two days of the date promised.
These statistics should be wake-up calls for retailers. “Those aren’t just negative numbers, that’s a death spiral for a company that can’t make a correction,” said Keith Phillips, President and CEO of Voxware. “If you’re losing 30% of your customers, it doesn’t take long to get to the point where you don’t have a whole lot left.”
Advertisement
To meet the needs of today’s demanding consumers, retailers can take a significant step forward by implementing a fast and accurate product fulfillment process.
Hollywood Feed, a natural and holistic pet food merchant, looked for ways to improve its product fulfillment process as it prepared to expand its stores to Dallas, Texas, in 2014. To address this challenge, the retailer implemented a voice solution from Voxware throughout its warehouse management system. The Voxware Voice Management Suite, implemented within two weeks, would bring “a tremendous amount of efficiency” to business processes, and would be a positive change from the previous paper pick operating system, noted Hollywood Feed CEO Shawn McGhee.
The solution delivered on its promises. Following implementation, Hollywood Feed was able to successfully distribute products to additional stores with the same amount of warehouse pickers at a faster rate than before. Additionally, the solution delivered a return on investment in less than 60 days. In total, the merchant expects to open as many as 10 new stores in 2014.
“Voxware’s implementation could not have gone easier or faster, and I can’t emphasize that enough,” McGhee said. “If I had to do it over again, the one thing I would do is definitely contact Voxware faster and implement the technology sooner.”
Benefits Of The Cloud
The cloud-based Voxware solution also has offered financial benefits, according to McGhee. “The huge advantage that Voxware brought to the table that no one else was able to bring was an affordable solution,” he said. “Everyone else wanted at least a $250,000 initial engagement. A company of our size can’t get enough value out of the program to be able to drive that kind of investment.”
With the birth of cloud-based voice solutions, companies such as Hollywood Feed no longer have to depend on an internal IT department for technology maintenance. Voxware will manage the technology, including implementation, reporting and maintenance. Complimentary solution updates, which often include major functionality improvements, are released every 18 months.
“The cloud offering, for large and small customers alike, makes it a much more palatable investment,” said Phillips, “because they’re able to save their capital and invest that in other strategic areas of business.”