With the current boom in the eCommerce market, customer service has become the ultimate differentiator for companies across the globe. The same is valid for the large and small business organisations in South Africa. Discounts and price are no longer the sole deciding factors for making a purchase. Now the customers are concerned about the delivery time, and also about a safe and reliable delivery partner.
Currently, the customer experiences are being protected by NDR (Non-Delivery Report). In this blog, we will discuss how an NDR is an important part of the user journey in South Africa and how it can help minimize escalations and reduce customer complaints. An NDR can also help in building brand loyalty in the long run.
Understanding NDR: Why Is It Important?
In layman’s terms, NDR is a notification that is generated when a delivery is not completed. It could be due to various reasons, such as an incorrect address, security restrictions, glitches in the payment method, or the recipient not being available.NDR is crucial because of the following reasons-
- Helps in the analysis of the root cause for failed deliveries
- Proactively communicates with the user to solve the problem
- Helps in assessing the reason for non-delivery in real time
- Helps in offering alternate solutions or redelivery
It also allows the company to impress the customer with a quick response to failed delivery. It shows a certain degree of responsiveness and care on the company’s part.
What Scenarios Can Lead To The Generation Of NDR?
Today’s eCommerce market has been heavily influenced by the increasing use of smartphones, urbanisation, and a dramatic shift in the shopping habits of consumers. Despite these developments, the companies face the following challenges in South Africa and across the globe:
Payment Methods: When people opt for cash on delivery as their payment method, it can result in multiple failed orders. This leads to a generation of NDR.
Security Reasons: Failed delivery attempts can also be caused due to high crime rates, access-controlled states, and a security risk for drivers.
Geographical Hurdles: Some cities can be less developed than others, making deliveries difficult or sometimes impossible. This can also be a possible reason for failed delivery.
Address of The Buyer: The addresses sometimes might be incomplete, or there might also be informal settlements, which cause a hurdle in deliveries.
All of the above-listed scenarios can increase the risk for negative reviews and a higher delivery cost. An effective NDR system becomes essential in controlling the costs and also maintaining the brand image.
How Does NDR Help In Reducing Escalations?
Customer escalations have always followed a similar pattern. At first, the parcel failed to be delivered due to a variety of reasons. This leads to the customer being frustrated due to poor communication. Sometimes, the customer might choose to raise the complaint on social media, which can lead to a tarnishing of the brand image.
This is where a robust system of NDR comes into play. It helps in the instant detection of the failed delivery, and it attempts to generate contact with the customer on a priority basis. The communication can happen via WhatsApp, call, email, or even SMS. This process helps the user to correct and reconfirm their address. As the next step, the customer can choose a flexible and preferred delivery slot. Finally, the customer is able to get reassurance and real-time tracking of their order.
This whole process ensures that the frustration of the user is diffused before becoming a complaint. It also gives reassurance that the operations of the brand are in control.
What Are Some Key Components Of The NDR?
An NDR process works on the following principles-
Real-Time Tracking Of The Order
The latest technology helps in capturing the data for a failed delivery on an instant basis. It then generates an alert for both the user and the merchant to allow visibility. It also helps in providing them with a same-day resolution.
Multiple Channels For Communication
The customers are usually most active on WhatsApp. Apart from this, some of the customers also make use of SMS and Email as channels of communication. This can help them companies in connecting with the user, regardless of their preferred channel for communication.
Smart Rescheduling Of Orders
When an order gets rescheduled for delivery, it allows the customer to choose from various time slots, and they also get to change their address for delivery. They also have the option to opt for a dynamic routine in case of high-value parcels. This can make the second delivery attempt faster than the previous one.
Detection Of Errors
A failed delivery might happen due to various reasons, such as payment issues, security reasons, or even an incorrect address. This can help the companies in identifying the systemic problems, such as a weak courier partner training or even warehousing problems when it comes to labelling.
Case Studies In South Africa
Let’s have a look at the following case studies to understand NDR more effectively-
SME Fashion Retailers
These retailers are making full use of courier partners like The Courier Guy and Pargo. They have reported that NDR has helped in cutting the re-delivery cost by up to 25%. It has also helped in improving the customer feedback.
Takealot
This company has invested heavily in NDR report tracking. They also have their logistics company, Mr D Courier, by their side. This has allowed the customers to easily reschedule their deliveries, which subsequently leads to fewer customer escalations. This has been made possible only because of the immediate SMS alerts.
Pick’n Pay Online
This company ensures that the customers can communicate effectively with the delivery partners via WhatsApp. They can fix their delivery slots without any hassle.
What Are The Business Benefits Offered By NDR?
A string NDR management system can offer the following benefits for a business organization-
Reduced Operational Costs
In the case of failed deliveries, it implies a higher product return, fuel cost, and river charge for the companies. Businesses are able to reduce these costs by providing a quick resolution of these issues.
Improvement In First-Delivery Attempts
If a company wants to improve its success rate over time, it needs to ensure a better route plan, faster verification of addresses, and better packaging. A strong NDR system can help in improving all these areas.
Better Insights
An NDR report can help in facilitating strategic fixes. It can help identify neighborhoods that need an address verification. Some neighborhoods face repeated payment issues. With better, quicker identification, an NDR report can help resolve these issues.
Building Customer Loyalty
As users are turning to social media for any minor inconvenience, it becomes important to focus on customer satisfaction. If the customers are impressed with the NDR system, they can even become advocates for a particular brand on social media.
What Does The Future Look Like?
The customer expectations for a seamless delivery are on the rise in South Africa. This has led to an increased number of two-hour and even same-day deliveries. Subsequently, with improved systems in place, this will lead to a reduction in the number of failed deliveries. The companies would need to incorporate the following measures to survive in the market:
- To prevent potential issues, they need to invest in predictive NDR tools.
- They need to train their customer support teams to deal with every NDR issue with absolute care and empathy.
- The companies should expand their delivery options and make full use of secure lockers and click and collect delivery service. This will help in reducing emissions and make their business model more sustainable. These practices will also resonate with environmentally conscious customers and help increase the company’s sales in the long run.
Final Thoughts
With the change in the eCommerce scenario in South Africa, it has become absolutely imperative to incorporate the latest technology and delivery services. Last-mile delivery service will eventually become a norm rather than a luxury. A Non-Delivery Report (NDR) will remain an essential part of this system, where it is able to act as an early warning system and an asset to impress the customer base.
A strong NDR management system will help in ensuring the following areas for a company: real-time data tracking, continuous analytics, seamless re-delivery of orders, and reduction in customer escalations. These factors will also ensure that the customers remain satisfied with the company and keep placing more orders.
The customers have a variety of alternatives available in the market, and they are increasingly becoming more vocal about their experiences on social media. By having a robust NDR system, a company will be able to get positive reviews for its services and scale its business in the long run.
