Blog > Increase Customer Retention with Supply Chain Management Software
Explore how to improve your business’s customer retention with a 360-degree view of your supply chain using purpose-built supply chain management software for food and beverage distributors.
Why improving customer service should be a top priority for customer retention
Continuously improving and maintaining customer service is a critical concept throughout all industries and particularly vital in the food and beverage industry for food processors and distributors.
Providing amazing customer service paves the way for customer retention and since many people look for reviews and recommendations before making purchasing decisions, the retention of existing customers is directly linked to reaching new customers.
Since the cost of acquiring new customers is much higher than the cost of retaining existing customers, it’s no surprise that customer retention has evolved from a secondary strategy to a main priority for many businesses. Driving customer retention through superior customer service may be the competitive advantage your business strategy needs to differentiate your operations from your competitors, and the first step to improving customer service is increasing your visibility of your organization’s operations.
The value of end-to-end supply chain visibility
For food distributors, superior customer service begins with maintaining an efficient food supply chain, which requires accessible and actionable visibility throughout the operation.
The value of providing actionable visibility to all workers and components throughout the supply chain is increasingly growing as supply chain complications continue to disrupt markets and buyer preferences shift. Transparency in supply chains has become an urgent requirement that has led many companies to search for supply chain management tools that will provide them with end-to-end visibility to help them move goods and services to the right place at the right time. One study showed that prior to 2020 retail grocers had only 75% confidence that products on their shelves were inventoried accurately.
The issues created by inaccuracies that occur along the supply chain are monumental and start a domino effect that can ultimately lead to a loss in customers. Read “Food Distribution Solutions for a Stable Supply Chain” for more insight into the issues and trends that challenged supply chains in 2021 and will continue impacting businesses in 2022.
Today, accuracy needs to be greatly improved in order to serve customers in the ways they demand. According to Oxford Economics,
“Problems existing throughout the supply chain [will persist well into 2022] – spanning from port and ship capacity to the ability of logistics networks to deliver goods to their final destination”
Increase visibility and reduce customer churn with supply chain management software
In our highly competitive industry, poor, mundane, or even “just plain average” customer service is one of the quickest ways to lose market share. Customer service errors are more than likely to occur when a business is unable to provide customers with the insight, data and information they need.
Blind substitutions, returned product, competitive intrusion, and even overstock conditions all cause pain, certainly temporary costs, and eventually permanent loss of business.
Businesses need systems in place that aren’t rigid and that are able to change and grow along with the business to remain profitable and flexible. Research from Forbes states:
“In addition to knowing about supply and delivery issues in advance, shoppers want customer service that is fast (60%), friendly (57%) and available when they need it (53%).”
With leading supply chain management software system, operators have the flexibility to adjust to market conditions. They’ll have the powers necessary to not only survive but thrive in today’s conditions with capabilities to:
Most systems had been built or procured in isolation of others with only the data flow moving “North/South”. Our research determined that competitive edge would be gained by not only talking to each other, but to have appropriate, even critical data flow “East/West”.
Those that lean into new technologies and capabilities that provide a distinct “East/West” component to their mission will gain actionable visibility and a complete 360-degree view across their sales, supply, assets, delivery, processes, and people.
End-to-end supply chain management software is the best and most effective strategy to achieving a stable and fully transparent supply chain that will provide your operation with actionable data and insight to measurable results.
Achieve 360-degree visibility with Ignition by TELUS supply chain management software
If your business is seeking competitive food distribution solutions to increase customer retention, supply chain management software may be the most effective tool. The Ignition by TELUS suite of solutions offers the best supply chain management software that is purpose-built for the food and beverage industry and provides the full 360-degree view of operations that businesses need now more than ever.
Read our Customer Testimonials for real-world examples of how our supply chain management software benefits companies like yours.
The complete food distribution suite of solutions streamlines your operation for end-to-end visibility from the sale to the final mile with extensive capabilities for traceability, food safety, complex deal management, efficiency and automation, production management, omnichannel order management, and perfect order success. The Ignition solution suite consists of modules that are offered together as a complete solution or as individual components to integrate with other systems and optimize performance. Modules include:
The system is fully scalable to support distributors of all sizes and designed to enable and support grow with you and your company. Visit Ignition by TELUS for additional information on our food distribution software.
If you’re interested in learning how these solutions could directly benefit your business’s unique challenges, contact an expert today and discover which solution is right for you.
