Improving Customer Service in the Logistics Industry

With shifting customer expectations driven by the "Amazon effect”, real-time tracking and seamless communication have evolved from luxuries to necessities in logistics customer service.

This article explores how logistics providers can leverage visibility technology to enhance the customer experience, streamline operations, and stand out in a competitive market.

Shifting Expectations of Logistics Customer Service

Customer service expectations in the logistics industry have changed considerably over the past decade. As a consequence of the “Amazon effect”, consumers have grown accustomed to having a real-time view of everything they buy—from books to groceries. Companies like Domino’s have even gamified tracking, letting customers follow their pizza’s journey in real-time. This high level of visibility has spilled over into the B2B world, reshaping what shippers expect from their logistics partners.

For shippers, inventory is their lifeblood. Delays or uncertainties in the supply chain can disrupt their entire operation, making real-time updates on shipment progress not just a convenience but a business imperative. 

However, meeting these expectations with traditional methods can overwhelm your operations and customer service teams. Assigning staff to manually track freight and communicate updates is both time-consuming and inefficient. It also diverts resources from higher-value tasks, creates a subpar experience for both you and your customers and inhibits your ability to proactively manage issues on your customers behalf. 

Logistics providers are adapting to these changing expectations by leveraging technology that automates visibility and communication, creating a seamless and efficient service experience that will keep you in your customers' good graces. 

Consequences of Poor Customer Service in Logistics 

As in any business, customer service and retention go hand in hand. 

Customers pay you to manage all the complexities associated with moving their goods around the world. If every customer touchpoint feels like a struggle, then customers will rightfully become agitated, start questioning the value they are receiving and ultimately seek out new service providers. 

Customer Service as a Differentiator 

Just as poor customer service can be your downfall, when done well it can be a real point of differentiation. 

The logistics services market is overwhelmingly driven by price. Shippers want the best rates and shortest lead times. In a sector where margins (and profits) are as volatile as freight rates, there tends to be an underinvestment in improving the customer experience. 

But the reality is that your customers place value on being able to interact with you in a way that is convenient for them – and that likely does not include chasing you for tracking updates and waiting a day (or more) to get a spreadsheet with updates that have been pulled manually from carrier portals and might already be out of date. 

Having on-demand access to all the relevant details about your shipments is vastly preferred to reaching out to customer service teams. If you can successfully deliver this experience, the reputational benefits of being easy to work with will go a long way in helping you stand out in an otherwise homogenous market – and shippers might just be willing to pay a premium for your services.

How to Improve Customer Experience in Logistics

The good news is changing how you support customers isn’t as difficult as it might seem. 

At Beacon, our visibility and workflow automation platform has helped dozens of logistics service providers connect their customers with real-time shipment tracking information.

Setting up bespoke, shareable tracking dashboards for each of your customers takes just a few clicks. Once set up, customers can access a live view of their shipments from any browser, whenever they want, using a single, static URL. Embedded document sharing and chat further streamlines logistics customer service workflows. 

The benefits of this approach extend beyond improved customer service. It also enables you to scale more efficiently. By eliminating virtually all the “Where’s my stuff?” questions that can bog down customer service and operations teams, you can escape the trap of having to expand headcount to serve a growing customer base. 

Claim your Beacon free trial and step into the future of logistics customer service.