CASE STUDY
C
oricraft wanted to reignite the
magic of the last mile, transforming
how customers perceived their
performance and delivery efficiency.
Today, Coricraft has reduced its delivery
window to less than two hours, reduced
customer complaints to a record low,
increased delivery drops per route, and has
transformed the customer experience, all
while cutting costs.
Last mile logistics is becoming increasingly
difficult to perfect and is evolving at a rapid
rate due to the growth of e-commerce.
There is a growing need to get goods to
customers faster and more cost effectively.
Customers are willing to pay a premium for
faster delivery fulfilment and companies
like Amazon are raising the bar and raising
customer delivery expectations. According
to McKinsey, last mile logistics have been
identified as the cornerstone to driving
growth and profitability and companies like
Coricraft are under increasing pressure to
create logistic strategies that align business
and customer expectations.
Last mile logistics are troublesome, especially
in South Africa. There are challenges around
infrastructure, addressing accuracy and
security that impact on delivery timing,
fuel costs and efficiency. This is further
compounded by the complexity of delivering
irregular size furniture items that requires
skilled unpacking and assembly upon
delivery. For Coricraft, these issues were
affecting its customer relationships and
brand reputation.
“In our industry, the journey doesn’t start and
end in the store,” said Craig Schneeberger,
Chief Operating Officer of Coricraft.
“The real magic is in the last mile when we
deliver to your home. Purchasing furniture is
a very emotive thing and, with us, you pay
money and leave empty handed. We needed
to refine our delivery element which is one of
the most difficult things for a business to do
successfully and profitably.”
Prior to its implementation of the Trackmatic
Driver-Led Visibility solution, Coricraft was
experiencing about 45 complaints a month.
The complaints were all centred around one
specific issue – customer service on delivery.
The delivery window sat at a lengthy three
WE NEEDED TO REFINE OUR DELIVERY
ELEMENT WHICH IS ONE OF THE MOST
DIFFICULT THINGS FOR A BUSINESS TO
DO SUCCESSFULLY AND PROFITABLY.
hours and customers were left uncertain
as to when their furniture would arrive,
what service they would receive on delivery
and timing around the re-delivery of any
incorrect or damaged items. In addition, it
was impossible to proactively respond to
failures in the field in real time.
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“When we started working with Coricraft
the first challenge was to address the
visibility of their fleet,” said David Slotow,
CEO, Trackmatic.
“They needed a tool that would allow them
to communicate more clearly with their
customer service team by developing richer
engagement with their operations team and
their drivers.”
For Coricraft, it was essential that delivery
fulfilment be transformed in such a way as
to revolutionise customer experiences. In
addition, the company also faced challenges
around address capturing. Customers often
provided incorrect location details or left out
critical delivery information. Coricraft needed
technology that helped their drivers get to
the right place at the right time. The solution
had to ensure that when they delivered, the
destination was location-perfect to meet
faster, tighter delivery windows.
“We could not tell customers accurately when
their deliveries would take place, especially
as we didn’t have an accurate measurement
to easily determine the time it would take
between customer deliveries,” said William
Webb, Operations Executive, Coricraft. “We
needed to find a way to manage the drivers
to ensure that they adhered to the scheduled
routes, stock on the truck was secure and the
customer experience was pleasurable.”
Any failures on route resulted in delays
further down the line. If a customer wasn’t
home or if the driver took longer than
planned to find an address, the waiting
times then had a knock-on effect until the
last customer had waited for far longer
than anticipated and the driver kicks into
overtime. This often resulted in failed
deliveries or high overtime expenditure for
teams returning late.
“Those challenges of wasted kilometres
and frustrated clients were endemic, further
impacted by unknown addresses, failed
deliveries and drivers wasting time and fuel
driving up and down a road looking for the
right place,” added Slotow.
“For a company as aspirational and
professional as Coricraft, these delays
and challenges were impacting on the
way customers perceived their service
and professionalism.”
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