Amazon and Walmart's e-commerce dominance have fueled rising expectations around the delivery experience for all brands, according to Chewy COO Scott Anderson.
Both companies "have done a great job conditioning the world to the convenience of e-commerce," Anderson told Supply Chain Dive in an interview. But that convenience has led consumers to start clamoring for the next wave of shipping features, from adjustable delivery windows to boxless returns.
Much of Anderson's career has focused on executing an effective operational strategy as customer preferences evolve. Prior to leading end-to-end logistics for online pet retail giant Chewy, Anderson spent nearly 10 years at Amazon. He rose to the role of VP overseeing transportation and customer fulfillment in North America, per his LinkedIn profile. More recently, Anderson joined the board of Veho, a growing parcel carrier that serves brands like Macy's, Sephora and Lululemon.
"Both at Amazon, at Chewy, we've noticed that delivery matters, and customers are engaged with that delivery," Anderson said. "And I think Veho itself is working on how do you bring that customer experience a bit more life?"
For parcel shippers looking to bolster their delivery strategies and stand out among competitors, Anderson offered three key tips during his interview with Supply Chain Dive.
1. Delivery experience a differentiator versus giants
Anderson said e-commerce sellers have to be great in at least one of the following "pillars" to succeed: Price, convenience, selection or experience. But in an era where Amazon and Walmart loom large, one pillar in particular stands out.
"It's very hard to compete against Amazon because they have selection and convenience nailed," Anderson said. "It's very hard to compete against price with Walmart, because they do a great job driving price. Where you can win in this space is experience, because you can engage your customer better on personalization."
Anderson said delivery is a key piece of the experience pillar. Beyond on-time reliability, features like picture proof of delivery, the ability to adjust delivery timeframes and contacting the driver directly can help businesses gain an edge. Specialty retailers need to make sure they're requesting these more advanced services and offerings from carriers, Anderson added. In addition to delivery features, the appearance of the box and the packaging materials inside can make an impact as well.
"That curated experience is really what drives you away from those large conglomerate e-commerce [companies] and into these specialty retailers, because they can give a differentiated experience," he said.
2. Weigh delivery metrics and customer anecdotes
During his time at Amazon, Anderson said the company valued both delivery-related metrics in addition to customer anecdotes to get a fuller picture of the company's performance. When a customer is voicing dissatisfaction with their experience, shippers can find a valuable piece of information they otherwise would have missed and build a process to address the issue, he said.
"Anytime you had an anecdote that told you something materially different from the aggregate, you knew that there was smoke there," Anderson said.
Paying attention to direct customer feedback and solving it quickly can help companies avoid "missing out" on serving certain shoppers, Anderson said. After all, customers' patience is limited.
"Customers are not satisfied with you continuing to miss on what they've told you already," Anderson said, adding that "they're not going to give you a second chance to screw it up."
3. Communicate openly with carrier partners
Shippers need to make sure they're working closely with their carriers at the operational level throughout the shipping process, rather than handing off the packages and having them be "someone else's problem," Anderson said.
For a successful carrier partnership, shippers should be vocal and specific about the challenges they face and their customers' needs, Anderson said. That requires an open conversation not focused solely on shipping at the lowest possible cost. Racing to the bottom on price "doesn't benefit anybody," he added.
"What I found is everyone wants to create a solution that's beneficial to both the customer, the shipper, and the carrier," he said. "When you work together, it's a lot better."
Most e-commerce companies want to get their parcel carrier mix to one or two providers that can provide the best combination of efficiency, service and speed, Anderson said. Chewy itself uses FedEx, the U.S. Postal Service and OnTrac, according to the company's website.
While adding more delivery companies risks increasing complexity, tapping regional carriers can be handy when there's an opportunity to provide better service in specific locations, according to Anderson.
"That's where regional carriers really do well, specifically kind of these rural and super rural areas," he said.
