How customer experience revolutionizes transport and logistics companies

In the wake of record profits in 2022, the transport and logistics sector now faces challenges from lower prices and surplus capacity. But regardless of the impact of changing market conditions on their business, logistics companies always must provide the fundamental “seven Rs” to customers: the right product(s) must reach the right recipient at the right level of quality, at the right time, in the right quantity, with the right information, and at the right price.

Fueled by B2C experiences, B2B expectations around usability and responsiveness have risen, thus an additional eighth “R” has joined the B2B list: the right experience. While price remains a top priority for transport and logistics customers, providing a seamless customer experience based on accurate data is crucial to secure future success and certainly is a competitive advantage.

In many industries, companies with a high level of customer experience maturity see significant impact on their bottom line. Based on our project experience across industries, they reduce their costs by up to 25% compared to companies with a low level of customer experience maturity, because of lower customer acquisition and retention costs. They also make greater use of self-service options, and a have a higher first contact resolution (FCR) rate when customers report issues and claims.

Moreover, the best-performing companies across industries with regards to customer experience can enhance their top line and grow their revenue by 5 to 10% after improving their customer experience to a high maturity level because of higher numbers of returning customers and the ability to charge higher premiums.

While there is room for improvement within the transport and logistics sector, companies in this industry can distinguish themselves from competitors by enhancing their customer experience.

Companies excelling in customer experience management usually have higher customer loyalty, positive recommendations, increased market share, and higher profitability. To measure their “Return on eXperience” (RoX), the financial return a company receives because of providing an exceptional customer experience, companies need to have a clear understanding of their customer journey.

They must make effective use of data and technologies to support superior experiences, equip employees with timely and accurate information across channels, and implement automation, virtual assistants or chatbots, and self-service options.

In this article, we outline the status of customer experience in the transport and logistics industry, their customer objectives, and enablers, as well as how transport and logistics companies can transform towards a cutting-edge customer experience.

Growing expectations

Leading transport and logistics companies are prioritizing customer experience. The major players state that improving performance in this area will lead to higher growth rates, and successful companies in the industry are actively hiring customer experience managers.