Dreams, the UK’s leading bed specialist, has adopted Paragon’s fleXipod electronic proof of delivery system to further enhance its customer-centric order fulfilment operation. The software will be used by the retailer’s two-man delivery teams, responsible for handling more than 12,000 orders each week, to ensure the highest levels of customer satisfaction and delivery success. This will be achieved by improving communications on the day of delivery, while simplifying the last mile administrative processes and keeping track of orders in real-time.

fleXipod will enable Dreams to electronically capture useful information from both deliveries and collections, as well as record the removal of packaging from the customer’s home, in a fast and simple manner. By replacing a previous paper-based system, the retailer is aiming to create a more efficient and professional on-site customer experience with live updates into a central management console. This will provide Dream’s customer services team with a complete view of all orders and the ability to respond immediately to any delivery issues.

“The key to home delivery is you’ve got to provide a brilliant service, so customer experience is absolutely critical to our business,” commented Brian McCarthy, Logistics Director at Dreams. “Having a paper-based system is both labour and time intensive, and from a service perspective it is slow to update our central systems. In contrast, fleXipod is able to give us job data in real-time, so we can quickly and efficiently track the status of orders and ensure we are sticking to our delivery promise.”

Dreams also intends to improve customer communications by using a combination of fleXipod and Paragon Route Execution software to send automated delivery notifications based on the latest vehicle location intelligence. Once a proceeding delivery in the schedule is marked as completed on the mobile application, an SMS text message will be sent automatically to the next customer providing a reminder and arrival time update. As well as keeping the customer informed of their upcoming delivery, this added functionality will drive operational improvements and savings within the Dreams customer service team.

“I think the fleXipod delivery notifications will contribute to an improved delivery service by providing positive customer interaction. From a business-perspective, this will drive down the volume of calls and emails into our contacts centre by providing useful information to our customers about the progress of their order, and as a result, making them more self-sufficient,” remarked McCarthy.

William Salter, Managing Director of Paragon Software Systems said: “With the customer experience at the heart of their delivery operation, fleXipod is an ideal fit for Dreams that will help them target improvements both now and in the future. The combination of both service and operational benefits is hugely appealing to retailers such as Dreams that are looking to exceed the expectations of their customers in the most cost efficient way.”

Paragon fleXipod

About the Author: John Loughran