Metapack > Case Studies > Automation through MetaPack Leads to significant cost Savings

Automation through MetaPack Leads to significant cost Savings

Company Size

200-1,000

Region

Europe

Country

United Kingdom

Product

MetaPack Manager

Tech Stack

Automation
Tracking
Customer Care

Implementation Scale

Enterprise-wide Deployment

Impact Metrics

Cost Savings
Customer Satisfaction
Productivity Improvements

Technology Category

Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Connectivity Platforms

Applicable Industries

Retail

Applicable Functions

Logistics & Transportation
Sales & Marketing

Use Cases

Supply Chain Visibility
Track & Trace of Assets

Services

System Integration

About The Customer

Childrensalon is a UK-based online retailer of children's fashion. Established in 1952, the company has grown to become one of the largest in its sector, offering over 270 brands across a range of products including luxury clothing, special occasion outfits, accessories, toys, gifts, and bags. Despite having automated systems in place, the company was facing challenges with its despatch operation, which was largely manual and involved the use of several different carriers. This was leading to inefficiencies in time and resource use, as well as difficulties in tracking orders once they were in transit.

The Challenge

Childrensalon, one of the UK’s largest online retailers of children’s fashion, was running a manual despatch operation that used a number of different carriers. In order to process orders through the website, picking lists and invoices had to be printed manually. Although systems were automated as far as possible, there was pressure on staff to select the best carrier and to ensure that all necessary paperwork had been completed correctly. Once the goods were in transit, obtaining tracking information was a time-consuming task that placed an additional burden on customer service personnel. This inefficient use of time and resource combined with the lack of sufficient tracking information led to a procedure that would enable the company to maintain exceptional levels of service to customers.

The Solution

Childrensalon chose to implement MetaPack as a way to tackle these challenges at the same time that it moved to a much larger warehouse, providing the ideal opportunity to start fresh with an automated delivery management solution capable of efficiently handling the company’s growing sales. Now orders are downloaded from the website stock management system into MetaPack, and with just a few clicks each order is allocated to the correct carrier, automatically creating an order history for each consignment. Childrensalon has also introduced MetaPack’s tracking functionality, so that emails are sent at the point of despatch to notify the customer of the order number, complete with a link to the relevant carrier’s tracking facility.

Operational Impact

By automating decisions on carrier allocation, Childrensalon has significantly cut its carrier costs.
MetaPack produces all necessary labels through one system to one printer regardless of carrier, handwritten documentation has been eliminated. This means errors are reduced and efficiency has dramatically increased.
Childrensalon now completes periodic reviews on carrier performance to ensure service remains at the highest possible level.
MetaPack’s tracking functionality enables each customer to monitor his or her own delivery, which in turn has minimised the level of inbound calls to Childrensalon.
Since introducing automated tracking emails, Childrensalon has seen customer service calls fall – which means resource can be spent on other valuable activities to drive the business forward.

Quantitative Benefit