We guarantee the delivery of the products in a maximum of 48 hours.
As soon as they click the checkout button and purchase a product, the customer also automatically activates the timer. Why? The anxious wait begins for the package to arrive at the door of his house, in his hands. An anxious wait It can be as short as 15 or 30 minutes, but it can also last for several days or perhaps weeks.
Nothing more annoying than going to a store with the intention of buying a product and getting the surprise, unpleasant, by the way, that there is no stock. “We are waiting for the order to arrive”, they explain to you, but it is not a convincing or satisfactory answer. It is an uncomfortable experience that often becomes the hinge point of your relationship with that brand.
In the age of immediacy and impatience, it is not easy to satisfy the urgency of customers. That sometimes they do not understand, or they overlook, the great amount of vicissitudes that their product must face from the moment the purchase is formalized until it is delivered to your home. Sometimes, believe it, they are adventures worthy of a Hollywood movie.
Behind the scenes, there are many things that happen, there are many people involved, there are many processes that take place. A laborious joint work of several teams, which is not easy to coordinate, implement and carry out. A chain that is usually fragile and that is affected when one of the links does not fulfill its task or does not perform it well.
The key is in the timing of the sequence and, likewise, in the fluidity of communication between the parties involved.. That involves tasks as dissimilar as manufacturing, distribution, marketing, sales, product design, finance and technology operations. A job that seeks to meet the needs of the consumer at the lowest possible cost.
Pretend that they are a group of industrious ants that support each other until they carry out the planned task. They are all important and a single failure, a small one, can ruin the mission entrusted to it. It is what is known in business as Supply Chain Management or Supply Chain Management (SCM), which is sometimes an art.
The supply chain is the variety of actions that take place in the period between the transaction (payment for the product) and delivery to the customer. A complex process in which logistics is also contemplated. Includes planning and management of purchasing activities, supply, manufacturing and logistics, a puzzle that is not easy to put together.
Among other reasons, because it is, as already mentioned, a race against time: the buyer anxiously awaits his product and eagerly counts every day, every hour, every minute, every second. Also, because it is essential that the product is kept intact and reaches the hands of the buyer as if he had just taken it from the counter in the store.
It doesn't matter if what you bought was a pizza, a pair of sneakers or an electronic device: the client wants it to be PERFECT! And there is no 99,99% worth. If that 0,01% is missing, the experience will not be satisfactory and not only is there a chance to refund and ask for the guarantee, but it is also very likely that I will never buy from that brand/store again.
a global problem
In recent months, for example, The world suffered two pandemics: that of COVID-19 and, in business, that of the supply chain. This is a consequence of that. Due to the closure of basic activities, the sequence disorder was logical, to be expected. However, once the restrictions were eased and the normal life, the complications not only continued, but worsened.
“We thought that the interruptions in the supply chains would be temporary, but they were not. Problems are taking longer to resolve, longer than we expected”said Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Which it was the result? Unforeseen delays in the delivery of goods and increased costs.
"If the current rise in freight rates for container transport continues, import and consumer prices will increase considerably", warned the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad, for its acronym in English). The entity also indicated that developing island countries are the most affected.
The problem arose because before and during the pandemic millions of consumers made purchases online, but the products were dammed in the logistics centers. When restrictions were lifted, the supply chain began to move, but the volume of accumulated merchandise was such that it was simply impossible to keep up.
This critical situation exposed the weaknesses of a system that seemed armored. And, of course, it resulted in the tension of consumers, whose anxiety exceeded all limits and his patience was exhausted. “Due to outsourcing, offshoring and underinvestment in resilience, supply chains have become complex and fragile”, said Joe Biden, president of the USA.
Of course, this is an extreme situation that got out of control, a collapse that no one had foreseen and, especially, for which no one was prepared. The solution? Adapt, readjust in the midst of adverse circumstances and innovate with strategies that allow mitigating the negative effect and, above all, that translate into the delivery of products.
At IOCA Group, as specialists in product distribution, we are vulnerable to these types of problems. We have learned to live with them, knowing that there are situations that are out of our control. However, we do not take them as an excuse and we focus on designing and implementing effective strategies that allow us to meet our commitments.
We do not like to make your customers wait and, therefore, our commitment is to deliver your orders in less than two days (48 hours).. It is a task that, in the current circumstances, raises the level of stress and puts us to the test, but it is a challenge that we are willing to take on, convinced that our work is crucial for the success of the supply chain.
We make use of powerful digital tools, such as Big data, and we carry out a detailed step-by-step follow-up to guarantee the success of the process.. Our staff have been trained to deal with the usual difficulties of the supply chain and from the recent crisis we have received valuable lessons that have allowed us to improve the sequence.
Moraleja
We are aware that the more people or actors involved in the process, the more complicated the management becomes. We have experienced it, especially in recent months. And we also know that there is no valid excuse for your clients, which is why we give 1.000% to ensure that what happens behind the scenes is invisible for the final consumer.
Proper supply chain management results in strengthening the loyalty of your customers, in greater profitability, improvement in competitiveness and leadership in the market. We know how it affects the final results of your business, our business, and, especially, the quality of your customer's experience. That's why we take it very seriously.
