River Island generates cost savings with MetaPack Manager
MetaPack has announced that fashion retailer River Island has generated £3m in cost savings by implementing a rule-based approach to delivery with MetaPack. According to a statement issued by MetaPack today (6 April), up until three years ago River Island used to operate a manually intensive carrier management system which required personnel to assign each parcel to a carrier on an individual basis when processing an order.
But this has changed since River Island implemented MetaPack Manager and set up advanced allocation rules to dynamically assign each parcel to the right carrier based on factors such as product type, value, size and delivery postcode.
“MetaPack’s rule-based methodology has provided River Island much greater flexibility in terms of an international proposition and carrier services based on order weight and value, and this has been reflected in the savings that have been made in the last three years,” commented River Island’s eCommerce Logistics Manager Sunil Bhudia.
“We can clearly see that international rates have been dropping substantially year-on-year, with greater customer satisfaction, lower loss rates and around a 39% overall fall in costs of overseas delivery. This equates to around £3m in savings over this period based on the decreasing average delivery cost, lower customer service interactions and lower lost parcels.”
MetaPack’s carrier integration also allows River Island to use a wider range of delivery services in fulfilling international orders. Previously, River Island could only offer three or four international services; but now customers can choose from eight international delivery options as well as PUDO services through personalised delivery offerings on the website’s front end.
Bhudia said that the MetaPack system has also boosted productivity.
“The uniformity that MetaPack offers has provided us with an integrated solution across a multitude of delivery channels, including home delivery, click and collect, PUDO and international delivery,” said Bhudia. “In terms of streamlined operations, there’s no doubt that working with MetaPack has made a considerable difference in reducing the inherent complexities of order fulfilment and carrier management.”
The MetaPack system includes MetaTrack – which creates a consistent and centralised tracking experience for both River Island’s customers and their Customer Service teams, regardless of how many carriers are used.
