Improving the order fulfillment
This store has an issue. Miles of orders come incomplete, with one or more products in the packet. My investigation identified gaps and triggers and explored the logic behind the stock management system.
"Camila, your goal here will be to improve the set of communication about this theme." Users have reported unhappy situations about lack of information when occurs missing item cases during the logistics process. The after-sales strategy at that point consisted of increasing the user's experience after payment approval and significantly reducing the complaints in our channels.
The first thought was to organize a kickoff meeting to catch up on more ideas about the business needs. There, I could understand the importance of this project, and the challenge took me in the right direction: we needed to find out the communication's triggers and analyze the last-mile delivery process that could impact the final user.
I'd need to find the root cause and localize the best resolution for this case. Also, we needed to accelerate the order fulfillment. That's what I suggested.
What would we like to reach?
I needed to devise an effective strategy for pinpointing the primary gaps caused by the 'missing item.' In simpler terms, the 'missing item' refers to a product that isn't delivered to the end user, often due to factors like being out of stock at the time of picking or packing.
Our goal was to identify the various types of 'missing items,' their root causes, and the consequences for the final client. While it wasn't an easy task, the key focus was to delve deeper into the problems and analyze how we could anticipate communication for the user, and, if necessary, modify the triggers.
What's the issue?
The impact of the lost product on the fulfillment process probably causes several negative consequences. The return rate has decreased to the point that certain users don't come back again.
There is no doubt that the after-sales have contributed to this rough landscape. The users need to be informed as soon as possible, and depending on the circumstances need to find the best alternatives to solve that situation.
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Strategic Concept
Reduction of communications
Our starting point was to reduce unnecessary communications and shipments, avoiding more headaches for the end user.
Automation and content improvements
I was responsible for redesigning several manual systems flow, providing more speed to the process, and suggesting alternatives and opportunities for content improvements.
Standardizations and Future Actions
We highlighted immediate standardizations that should be made, always aiming for the future by measuring primary executions and advancing to deeper changes.
Approach
Step 1
Primary Interview
I met the logistics team, IT, devs, and in-store managers. It had a high level of complexity, but crucial to understand the logic behind the order fulfillment, the management stock system (ATG, WMS, RMS, OMS, Broker, ILS, SIM), and the server data.
Step 3
As-is journey and scenarios flow
This was a more complex journey but provided a comprehensive view of how technology systems integrate and connect with the logistics management system in-store or at the distribution center.
Step 2
General flow and diagram
After this stage, I began a preliminary drawing of the steps in the purchase flow and their connections with the messages received by users regarding missing items and order tracking.
Step 4
Crafting the user's feelings and opportunities
I drew a user sentiment flow from the moment they enter our e-commerce until the order arrives at their home. In the end, I outlined the opportunities based on everything analyzed so far.
Step 5
Trigger's communication mapping
One of the deliverables was the map of as-is and future communication triggers. There, I categorized the possibilities for trigger reallocation, removal of others, and the reconstruction of the journey by scenario.
Step 6
Final blueprint
In the final blueprint, I presented the systemic, communication, and logistical issues in an executive manner, addressing the pains and opportunities that arose along the way.
The research
1. Primary Interview
We spoke with key members of the logistics team and participated in working groups to understand the progress of the topic. In these conversations, we gained insights into the challenges of having a system where system parameterization and certain delays lead to urgent frictions.
2. General flow and diagram
In this overall flow, I understood how communications connect with the logistics system, including both the customer's perspective and the stages behind the order management process. We identified various levels of missing items and their variations.
Some things didn't fit, and we began to notice communications sent before or after the process was completed, resulting in information overload for the end user. Additionally, there was the case of the user who was not communicated under any circumstances. We knew we could anticipate changes on the "My Orders" page within the e-commerce.
3. As-is journey
This map was interesting due to the level of detail it provided in understanding how certain system-level decisions do not reach the physical store or distribution center in time, along with operational gaps. We divided the problem into macro scenarios that occur more frequently: total missing items, partial missing items, and operational missing items.
This is not effective, generating more confusion for the user. In this map, we also created a sentiment line according to the observed scenario, identifying opportunities to change the trigger for partial missing items to the next stage of logistics/delivery, close to the generation of the voucher or refund.
We also identified the opportunity to create micro-interface statuses with the core service, anticipating possible frictions and being more active in this issue. Around 70 opportunities were identified among logistics, IT systems, and communication.
4. Trigger map
In the trigger map, we went straight to the point: which triggers need to be changed, removed, or improved. This would significantly impact the end customer, providing a more concise, clear, and enduring communication journey.
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5. Blueprint
In the final blueprint, we presented the customer's backstage and front-end perspective. We included information about system delays that are the root cause of missing item problems. The physical store and distribution center must work together with interfaces that communicate and systems that bring clarity to the entire customer order cycle. We have operational problems beyond our control, but we can circumvent them with early communication, offering reasons to build customer loyalty.
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Key solution elements
Within the process of identifying pains and opportunities, we selected some key solutions that can be worked on in a palliative manner, addressing what can be treated in future actions. Remediable triggers treated via code and sent via different servers were identified.
The main trigger is for partial missing items, which should be repositioned after the checkout system, at the end of the logistics distribution. In total, nine prioritized final opportunities were diagnosed.
Business Impact
The change is still ongoing, but the impact will be significant. Some users know that e-commerce can have post-sale problems, but how these problems are handled is the key to loyalty. The NPS will likely be impacted by these changes in content and systemic triggers, enabling a comprehensive connection with the e-commerce on the website or app.