The following are considered the most important logistics customer service elements

The following are the elements of customer service

logistics customer services





Order Delivery Cycle Time


The general trend for a manufacturer is physical delivery of the product when orders are not delivered on time. Therefore, when orders are not delivered on time and customer complaints are received, the manufacturer oversees physical delivery of the product to the customer and tries to solve this problem by bringing the product closer to the customer. Thus, there has been a tremendous increase in the stock-holding points for the manufacturer. When the manufacturer examines this closely, he will find that physical delivery is not the most time-consuming element of the order-delivery cycle time, but there are many other activities such as transmission of orders, processing orders, etc. are distribution. In fact an activity like order processing involves many activities such as entering orders into the supplier's system, allocation of materials from work-in-progress, warehousing and distribution centers, packing of materials, dispatch of materials, etc.



Reliability of inventory


When a specific item goes out of stock, that is interpreted as a loss of sales and if these out of stock situations occur frequently, it will affect customer service levels. and the company's reputation will suffer in the long run,


 Consistency and frequency in delivery

The firm should ensure the maintenance of the same or similar delivery period in order to deliver the material to the customer. This means the firm must have the ability to coordinate the various logistics arms, as well as the efficiency and effectiveness of the entire chain.


Also, frequency of delivery is an important part of customer service. Typically, a customer does not like to stock large quantities of particular items, and would prefer smaller quantities over smaller ones. Ultimately the transportation cost increases. But the cost of inventory goes down and there is a net effect across the entire supply chain. When multiple orders are received from smaller customers, the logistics pipeline becomes congested, and thus reduces a company's ability to serve its larger customers more efficiently. Also the logistics cost for small orders is higher than for large orders and at the same time they swallow up the profit on large orders. To avoid such troubles, and to avoid additional costs, frequency of delivery and minimum orders are being used as limits imposed on suppliers as an attempt to reduce the general tendency of most customers.




Other factors

There are other than regular factors such as transmission of order collection, frequency of visits of salesmen to customers, invoicing and collection systems, communication level between customers and suppliers which may be more important for some organizations.


Phases in Customer Service

a) Pre-Transactional Stage: In this stage, the service level and other related activities are defined at the policy level in both qualitative and quantitative measures. It is the creation of a service platform to serve the customer, so as to build credibility in the market and create a good image among the existing and potential customers. In other words, it refers to the elements which determine the capability of the service before it is provided. Pre-transaction elements typically relate to corporate policies or programs, written statements of service policy, adequacy of the organizational structure, and system flexibility.


The following are the important elements of the pre-transaction phase:


o Customer Service Policy Statement

It lays out the service standards for the company. For example, Company X, a leading automobile spare parts manufacturing company, makes a policy commitment to deliver spare parts to its customers within 48 hours of placing an order.

o Accessibility

It refers to the ease with which customers can approach the firm


o Building the organization

To implement the policy on customer service derivatives. The firm should formalize the reporting structure, delegate authority and also allocate responsibility. Also, a proper reward system will motivate employees who are involved in customer service to efficiently interface with the customer.


o Structure of the service

Customer expectations, industry standards and the standard of service that the firm would like to influence the infrastructure of any service. In order to maintain the competitive advantage, innovation in service is very essential. Innovation adds value to the offerings to the customers. Another important aspect of service infrastructure is delivery. Two important aspects of distribution are space and time.


o Educating the customer

 This is important as it can reduce customer complaints on the delivery of products, their operation and maintenance etc. Usually customers are educated through manual training, seminars, workshops etc.


o System design and flexibility

 While designing the system, care should be taken that all possible questions asked by the customers should be answered. The system can be manual or fully automated, similar to e-commerce. Also the adaptability of the service delivery system to meet the requirement of a particular customer is essential.


b) Transaction Phase:

During this phase, customer service is associated with routine tasks that have to be performed in the logistics supply chain. Those variables are directly involved in the performance of logistics functions, for example, product availability, order cycle times, reliability of delivery, etc. Following are the various service elements associated with this phase


o Reliability of order fulfillment


 This is an important factor. There is also a need for reliability with respect to order fulfillment within the agreed time frame and the quantity and quality of the ordered material.


o Order Convenience:

Customer can place order easily. There are various obstacles like Paperwork required by the supplier. Compliance with various procedures, complex payment terms. Poor communication network at the suppliers end etc.


o Order Postponement

 Sometimes, the customer may postpone the entire order or parts of it. This means that the customer will have to re-set their needs. In any other case, due to availability of a certain product category in the future, Seller may allow Buyer to place an order immediately and he will ship the product when it becomes available at future dates.


o Consistency of delivery:

Continuity of delivery of repeated orders is critical.



Product substitute

There may be situations in which the ordered product cannot be shipped due to certain manufacturing or quality issues. In such cases, the seller can offer a replacement product and honor its commitment.

c) Post-transaction phase

This is a stage where customer satisfaction and building a long-term relationship with the customer are involved. It involves the commitment of resources to provide the desired level of service. These measure customer satisfaction based on the expected results. Commonly used product supports, for example, products warranty, parts and repair service, process for customer complaints and replacement of products. Following:

o Order Status Information

In B2B transactions and e-commerce, the customer requests feedback on the status of the shipment on an ongoing basis, after payment of part price (sometimes full price) of the product as an advance.

o Customer complaints, claims and returns:

 The seller's responsibility will not end once the product is shipped to the customer. Sometimes, products damaged during transit. Or the product may not be in accordance with the functional requirements of the customer. For this there should be a policy for product return and this is usually done through reverse logistics system.

o Product installation, commissioning and technical snags

This is part of the after-sales service, as complex products can sometimes develop technical faults during the warranty period. After sales department takes care of all these issues.

Customer awareness and training

A key aspect of the service in this phase. For technically complex products, the seller is required to train or educate the user about its operation