Customer Surveys, Step by Step
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....
10 Critical Mistakes in System Selection
10 major mistakes we see companies make in selecting order management systems...
A Look at International Distribution
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....
Ergonomics and Employee Satisfaction
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. ...
Surveying Call Center Success
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. ...
Adopt Automated E-mail Tactics for Follow-up Orders
Want to get customers to make that second purchase? There’s no better way than automated e-mail. ...
Logistics M&A Volume Reaches 20-Year High
2007 was a big year for mergers and acquisitions in the transportation and logistics sector. ...
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....
Warehouse KPIs: Who’s In Your “Fav Five?”
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. ...
The Lowdown on Bottom-Line Ergonomics
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....
Preparing for Inevitable Supply Chain Disruptions
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. ...
Putting a Cap on Calls Resolution
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....
8 Things An ELS Vendor Will Never Tell You
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. ...
How Moms Behave Online
Search is a self-targeted channel, and enables consumers to raise their hand and ask for information. But some merchants have found it difficult to integrate search into a more traditional branding program built on demographics or other targeting, where messages are typically pushed to the consumer....
Clear It Out
Faced with a boatload of inventory after a lackluster holiday? You're not alone. Many retailers fell well short of sales plans that were fairly conservative...
Build a better sweater
You can't blame merchants for being reluctant to take risks going into this past holiday season, and few did. Now many are paying for it with reports...
Borders to run its own site
Borders is breaking away from online giant Amazon.com. During a session at National Retail Federation's annual conference last month, Borders vice president...
Build brand through service
Brand is a promise kept, according to John Greening, an associate professor of integrated marketing communications at Northwestern, and a former ad exec...
THE NEW SCHOOL
Thinking of buying a new CRM system? Save your money until your employees know what they're talking about. Technology alone won't help you provide customers...
Fairytale Brownies on seasonal staffing
Multichannel merchants typically have to have their holiday season staff in place before the fall. How do they do it? We asked Phoenix-based Fairytale...
How Road Runner Sports trains for holiday fulfillment
Given that the fourth quarter is the busiest time for most merchants, how well they prepare for the big season is crucial to success. Jennifer Melzer,...
In Praise of 3PLs
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. ...
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....
Liquidation Tactics for the Holiday Hangover
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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