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 Helping Phone Reps Increase AOV
By: By Liz Kislik
You can do a few things to increase your average order value. But you’ll have to work for it. Most customers calling to order have chosen their merchandise before they dial; some have even calculated their order total. So triggering the impulsive act of adding on to an order will take a little bit of advance planning....
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How to Shop for a System
By: By Joseph "Tocky" Lawrence
If you’re on the hunt for a new system, you know the process and the choices can be daunting. You have to remember that the vendors' job is to sell; yours is to match up your application requirements with the best application strategic approach.
The following five factors will help you do this.
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Six steps to voice deployment success
By: By Larry Sweeney
Voice-directed work has been proven to significantly boost productivity, accuracy, safety and job satisfaction in distribution centers. But such results are most easily realized when organizations simultaneously plan for the people side of a voice deployment. Here are six steps to start....
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The Ergonomic Effect
By: By Kathryn E. Jackson
Still not convinced of the benefits of ergonomic programs among contact centers? Many studies over the years have demonstrated the positive effects of ergonomics. Some are highly documented. Some are anecdotal. Here’s a few to help you understand the significant impact a proactive approach to ergonomics can have on your organization. ...
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Why Zappos.com is A Service Star
By: By Jeff Morris
If you build a company on the basis of service, you can branch into other areas, says Alfred Lin, chief operating officer/chief financial officer of the $850 million shoes merchant Zappos.com. “So we think of ourselves as a service company that just happens to sell shoes, handbags, and related items.” ...
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BlueSky Shutdown: What Happens to AB&C Clients?
By: By Melissa Dowling
BlueSky’s downfall is bad enough for the employees, vendors, and catalog customers. But what about the multichannel clients relying on AB&C Group to take and fulfill orders?...
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Surviving seasonal peaks
By: By Jeff Morris
The holiday order crush—assuming you had one last year—may seem like a long time ago. But holiday 2008 is right around the corner, and seasonal peaks can be destructive to your distribution center without the right survival strategies, says operations expert Sam Flanders....
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Forecasting Workloads for Special Events
By: By Bob Webb
Does your company’s call volume fluctuate according to seasonal buying, catalog drops, or other special events? If you’re like most catalogers, the answer is yes. And that means your workforce management software needs forecasting capabilities if you aim to have the right number of agents in their chairs at the right times....
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System Helps Art of Shaving Manage Growth
By: By Jim Tierney
While many retailers reported soft sales last year, multichannel merchant The Art of Shaving grew a record-breaking 62% in 2007. The marketer of upscale men’s shaving products credits its success in part to its software, NetSuite’s One System Architecture, which helped it sell via multiple sales channels, including retail, wholesale, and the Internet....
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Customer Surveys, Step by Step
By: By Penny Reynolds
A systematic surveying process will help you better understand customer perceptions of your contact center’s performance. The five basic steps in performing customer surveys are: project planning; instrument development; survey administration; data analysis; and reporting and action. Let’s take a closer look at each step....
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A Look at International Distribution
By: By Rob Martinez
As U.S. markets continue to expand abroad due to increased overseas demand for American products, globalization, and other economic forces, operations managers are being thrust into the strange new world of international distribution....
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Ergonomics and Employee Satisfaction
By: By Kathryn E. Jackson
In most contact centers, it is far more cost-effective for employers to retain a good agent than to recruit a replacement. Therefore, keeping employee satisfaction and morale at a good level is a common business goal. ...
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Surveying Call Center Success
By: By Penny Reynolds
The long-term success of any organization, and particularly a service organization such as a call center, depends upon continuous improvement. Most call centers have numerous measures of individual, team, and overall call center performance. ...
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Newgistics Acquires Cornerstone Shipping Services
Returns-management system provider Newgistics on Feb. 11 acquired Milan, IL-based small-package shipping software supplier Cornerstone Shipping Services. The combined company will be known as Newgistics....
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Warehouse KPIs: Who’s In Your “Fav Five?”
By: By Rene Jones
As a distribution professional, you have several key performance indicators you are always aware of. The operations and fulfillment field includes many KPIs--quantifiable measurements that reflect the success factors of an organization.
But which warehouse KPIs are in your “Fav Five?” Here are mine, in descending order.
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The Lowdown on Bottom-Line Ergonomics
By: By Kathryn E. Jackson
At almost every seminar I teach or attend I get asked, “How can I justify investing in the agents’ work space?” When I was managing contact centers, this was a very “iffy” situation. But the field of ergonomics has since blossomed, and the return on investment has been significantly substantiated....
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Preparing for Inevitable Supply Chain Disruptions
By: By Jose Li
Dozens if not hundreds of possible threats to your supply chain that could significantly disrupt the flow of your merchandise so it is NOT at the right place at the right time--when your customer is ready to buy. ...
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Putting a Cap on Calls Resolution
By: By Timothy J. Holody
You know why you should strive for first-call resolution, and if you read our last article (http://multichannelmerchant.com/opsandfulfillment/advisor/first_call_0129/index.html), you know how to do it. This week we’ll focus on limiting the number of calls to or from a customer it will take to resolve any problem or issue....
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8 Things An ELS Vendor Will Never Tell You
By: By Michael Droske
A daily battle goes on in distribution centers and manufacturing plants all across the country between unmotivated workers and the supervisors that lead them. The supervisor wants them to work harder but typically isn’t sure how to make that happen. ...
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In Praise of 3PLs
By: By Ron Cain
No doubt about it, 2008 will be a challenging year for business. With the Fed forecasting inflation rising between 1.7% and 1.9% in 2008 while GDP grows at a sluggish 1.8-2.5%, companies will need to be tightening their belts and looking for ways to make a profit anyway they can. ...
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Miles Kimball Meets Seasonal Fulfillment Challenges
For gift catalogers, the holiday season is the busiest time of the year in the distribution center. We decided to check in with some mailers to see how their operations fared for the final months of 2007. Tim Little, vice president of operations for Oshkosh, WI-based gifts and housewares merchant Miles Kimball spoke with MULTICHANNEL MERCHANT’s senior writer Jim Tierney....
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Liquidation Tactics for the Holiday Hangover
By: By Curt Barry
Many retailers fell well short of holiday sales plans that were fairly conservative to begin with. What does that mean? Challenges from 2007 are extending into this year during the final phase of the product life cycle: markdown and liquidation of unsold merchandise....
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The First Call Should Do it All
By: By Timothy J. Holody
“Just put me through to someone who can solve my problem!” I was done--totally fed up with the lack of customer service I was receiving. ...
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