Are you part of this statistic? Well, the good news for you is that the queuing theory can contribute to defeating this issue.
In queuing theory, or the branch of mathematics that studies how lines form and how they function exists some behaviors that customers practice such as jockeying, balking, and reneging. Below you will find an explanation of those three as well as its own way to reduce them.
Jockeying:
Occurs when a customer sees another lane moving quicker than his own, and rationalizes that it’s faster to jump ship and try his luck on the next lane. It is a line-jumping behavior.
How to overcome this behavior? By implementing a serpentine line where the law of first come, first serve is in full force, even though for many customers it appears to be moving too slow.
Balking:
When customers look at a waiting line and decide it’s not worth their time to queue up and wait.
How to overcome this behavior? Here are two suggested ways:
Display the wait time: to anchor a customer’s patience.
Sign-in to wait in line: trading physical lines for a virtual queuing system by allowing customers to reserve their spot in line.
Reneging:
It’s when a customer has joined the line but decides he doesn’t want to wait. Given that customers don’t want to waste their time, how can this situation be fixed?:
Entertain the customers: keeping them distracted from waiting.
Collect customer analytics: to discover how sales representatives are to communicate with customers. Thus, relaxed customers who receive a service they need are less likely to balk, renege, or jockey on lines.
Who hasn’t bought online and then returned the product because they didn’t like it or because it wasn’t their size?
Well, I’m part of that group of people, so I was curious to understand how companies handle the pickup of the product that I didn’t like or didn’t fit me.
Definition:
It is a type of supply chain management that moves goods from customers back to the sellers or manufacturers as explained in an article from Oracle’s educational resources. Once a customer receives a product, processes such as returns or recycling require reverse logistics. Remanufacturing and refurbishing can sometimes also be considered under reverse logistics.
Organizations use reverse logistics when goods move from their destination back through the supply chain to the seller and potentially back to the suppliers.
Forward and Reverse Logistics Processes
The goal is to regain value from the product or dispose of it. Savvy companies use reverse logistics to build customer loyalty and repeat business and to minimize losses related to returns.
Reverse Logistics Explained
How can companies handle reverse logistics efficiently?
Put return labels on your products: separate different products by putting your merchandised label on them. This will make your work more convenient and easy to distinguish.
Separate your product with bins: make segregation for different sections of products and place them in their respective segments according to the labels mentioned above.
Prioritize your boxes: Separate the products and sort them according to priority.
Use durable boxes: Try to use thicker cardboard and bubble wraps that are tearproof to keep the product intact and in the proper place.
Make better collaboration with the retailers for handling reverse logistics: So that you can take quick action during any dispute regarding the product. Having a better relationship helps you deal with the customer better as well.
Making arrangements for proper transportation and disposal for handling reverse logistics: The boxes must be easily degradable and should not harm the environment in any way.
Set up better return and refund policies for handling reverse logistics: Make sure that there are proper rules. Otherwise, the process will increase, and the logistics will have to bear the entire expense.
Focus on the risks: Make sure to carry out every process efficiently and carefully so that you don’t get a return request.
Today companies should be concerned about free and fast delivery, just like this last-mile delivery solution explains. So, have you ever wondered how companies take care of their customers’ satisfaction by reaching and maintaining short delivery times?
In case your answer was “yes” you may find this post useful!
The last-mile delivery concept refers to the stage when a carrier picks up orders from a distribution hub or warehouse and delivers it to the final customer. It is recommended that this process goes on quickly and effectively.
In order to ensure customer satisfaction, the company should control its delivery process and consider that the sooner a customer receives their package, the happier they will be.
Consumer buying behaviors have changed, especially when it comes to online shopping. Nowadays, consumers expect free – or at least cheap – and fast delivery.
Last-mile logistics
So, how can the companies satisfy the consumers while staying competitive? With the aim of achieving so, companies attempt to find ways to improve efficiency and cut costs in order to fund their shipping logistics.
Key steps in the Last-Mile Delivery Process
#1:Orders are digitally entered into a centralized system
Orders and requests are monitored both by the sender and the end recipient, who is likely following the status of their delivery through a tracking number.
#2: Orders arrive at the transportation hub and await delivery to their end recipient
Businesses need to ensure the order gets from the transportation hub to the customer as quickly as possible.
#3: Orders are designated to delivery personnel based on routes and recipient addresses
For having an optimized, cost-effective delivery last-mile logistics solution, the parcels for delivery should be strategically sorted and designated.
#4: Orders are scanned before being loaded onto delivery vehicles
By doing so, the status of the order is updated for the sender, as well as the end recipient that tracks the shipment. In addition, it reduces the risk of packaged goods getting lost along the way.
#5: Orders successfully reach the end recipients, and proof of delivery is obtained
At this stage, the parcel has arrived at its final destination. The delivery personnel then updates the tracking information accordingly to verify and confirm that the delivery has been completed.
So, how can the drone technology evolutionary path be described? In short, it can be affirmed that advances in artificial intelligence, image processing, and robotics have equipped drones with autonomous functions and have stepped up their transformative potential.
The emergence of the drone industry
Drones’ roots date back to World War I when both the U.S. and France worked on developing automatic, unmanned airplanes. However, the last years have been relevant in respect of drone adoption, usage expansion across industries, and global awareness.
Brief history of drones
Today, drones are used in many ways including delivery of small items, industrial site inspections, infrastructure monitoring, mapping, crop monitoring, emergency response and security surveillance.
The implementation of drones in the logistics sector
Academic research is being conducted on many aspects of drone-based logistics systems that have a direct impact on their future design, planning, and operations.
Since drones are expected to be used as a delivery mode in the near future, it is critical that academic research and industrial align towards achieving aligned goals.
Companies are adopting innovative methods for responsiveness and efficiency in the logistics sector. As a consequence, interest from academicians and practitioners is exponentially growing due to its potential of reducing costs and improving responsiveness. Both parties are working hand-on-hand towards a commercial successfully implementation of drone delivery.
Drones in the logistics sector
Drones are currently implemented in a growing number of commercial and public sector services. These applications are addressed in the following.
1. Retailing and E-commerce:
2. Postal Services and Mail Delivery:
3. Food and Drink Delivery:
4. Healthcare and Emergency Services:
Advantages and barriers for drone-based models in logistics
Among the several advantages from using drones over conventional vehicles are:
A constant and high travel speed
No need for physical road infrastructure
Directness of travel
No exposure to traffic and congestion
As such, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) expected to reduce delivery times and increase the responsiveness of logistics systems. In urban areas, a rapid growth in direct e-commerce deliveries, and increasing density and congestion levels are found.
On one hand and for this scenario, the application of UAV-based delivery turns out to be benefitial. On the other hand, those rural areas usually located in developing countries, with often less developed road infrastructure, have solved problems regarding to medical supplies, rural distribution of packages and emergency services, by implementing drones.
Regarding barriers to drone logistics the following are found:
Threat to privacy and security: Drones could potentially discourage people from participating in social events and movements due to the fear of being recorded. Also, they can jeopardise national security if placed in the wrong hands.
Regulations: Even if the customer gives consent for the drone to deliver the product, the question of other people’s consent in the community remains. Therefore, a law regarding this is required, which is possible only through government intervention.
Public perception and psychological: People also have a perception that drones are only applicable for surveillance and military purposes, and hence they do not want to be in the vicinity of a drone due to the fear of being recorded or attacked.
Environmental issues: Drones create a negative physiological impact on animals, generate a buzzing noise and shadows which result in visual and sound pollution, and drones also cause CO2 emissions.
Economic aspects: The logistics industry creates employment opportunities for vehicle drivers. However, as the industry incorporates drones into the logistics business, many individuals including truck drivers are either facing a decrease in their paychecks or a job loss.
Technical issues: Bad weather conditions may cause a drone to crash which could result in physical injuries and property damage.
The blog of Logistics at MGEPS at UPV 