Home Furnishings Retailer Boosts Customer Service with ePOD Package

ScS, a UK home furnishings retailer specialising in sofas, carpets, flooring and furniture, has enhanced its customer experience by adopting Paragon’s fleXipod electronic proof of delivery (ePOD) software. The solution has been implemented to support its two-man home delivery operation, which handles around 1,000 customer appointments each day. By gaining real-time visibility and control of delivery processes, ScS has been able to achieve a more standardised on-site service and faster problem resolution.

“The delivery experience can make or break a retailer by quickly losing the goodwill of customers, so we have invested considerable time and resource into this area of the business,” explains Kelvin Bowes, Regional Distribution Manager – Northern at ScS. “By working with industry specialists such as Paragon, we are able to maintain the service excellence that underpins our successful brand and fleXipod has already made a significant contribution by enabling us to provide a consistent on-site customer experience, dynamically speed up our issue resolution procedures and gain increased visibility of our two-man operation.”

fleXipod was initially launched at two distribution centres at the end of 2018, before being rolled out to ScS’ remaining nine sites this year. As a result, the ePOD software is now being used across 120 two-man crews that deliver to customers six days a week using a modern fleet of commercial vehicles. The retailer also plans for its third-party logistics partners to start using fleXipod during 2019 to ensure standard operating and reporting procedures, especially during peak operating periods in July and December when delivery volumes can increase considerably.

ScS’ customer service team has gained far greater visibility of deliveries, so they can quickly understand issues and take steps to resolve them. By having immediate access to specific delivery details and supporting photos through fleXipod, service staff can now proactively liaise with the delivery crews and the customer within moments. The retailer is able to make a decision, typically within one hour, about whether to organise spare parts, schedule a technician or reorder products, whereas it had previously worked to an SLA of contacting the customer and arranging a technician within the following week.

Using fleXipod, ScS is also able to capture a wide range of reporting data to gain operational insight and business intelligence. By measuring delivery success, installation times and planned versus actual performance, the retailer is using KPI data to identify and address any areas of improvement. In addition, bespoke reports within the ePOD software including daily vehicle checks and on-site incidents are enabling the tracking of operational compliance and liabilities, while an electronic customer survey is helping measure ongoing levels of satisfaction.

“ScS has undertaken our first eight-week review since introducing fleXipod and we are extremely satisfied with the results. It has been widely welcomed by our customers, driving teams and customer care team, and is already helping us provide a more professional and responsive service, while generating efficiencies and reducing paperwork. The ePOD software is a natural fit for us, dovetailing with our existing Paragon routing and scheduling software to create integrated and streamlined delivery processes,” adds Bowes.

William Salter, Managing Director of Paragon Software Systems commented: “Final mile delivery is a critical part of the customer experience. We are increasingly seeing retailers – and organisations from a wide range of other sectors – looking to advanced ePOD software to exceed expectations, gain competitive advantage and differentiate their brands. fleXipod is a highly flexible solution that works seamlessly with Paragon’s routing and scheduling software. This means it can be configured to meet precise business goals, improving delivery offerings and enhancing customer service.”