What Does a 360° Customer View Actually Mean for a Logistics Company?

The logistics industry uses many tools to ensure visibility over their supply chains: end-to-end track and trace, RFID tags, sensors and more. They all aim at the same goal, and that is to let customers know where an asset or shipment is in real time.

Logistics companies are the backbone of any supply chain. They ensure that products are moved efficiently, with little waste, and that everything runs like clockwork. To do this successfully, they need to know not only their own business but also that of their customers inside out. So, they have to act not only as logistics experts, but also as customer experts.

Unfortunately, this task is incredibly difficult, especially when you're dealing with multiple tools that don't communicate with each other, or worse yet, no tools at all.

A simple solution is a customer data platform that brings all customer data together in one place. You no longer need isolated databases or spreadsheets, but a data platform that provides a 360° view of your customers across all channels.

360° visibility is much more than just a CRM. It is a single picture obtained with information and analytics from various systems that capture data along customer journeys.?

What are the key components of a 360° customer view?

Customer Profiling

The customer profiling process can be broken down into several key components. The sales organization should take the time to go through these components and understand the needs of their customers, as this will increase their chances of long-term success in this competitive market by providing a better product or service.

Contact Profiling

Contact profiling is an important part of the visibility process because it allows logistics companies to better understand what contacts want, including when and how. Contacts have similar, but also unique expectations when it comes to products and services. Contact profiling also enables personalized interactions with specific goals, such as announcing new events that may be important to the customer.

Account Planning

A key component to achieving a 360° customer view is customer planning, which creates transparency by providing insights into the needs and preferences of the customer.

Account planning is not a simple or straightforward process. It's mostly about setting the company's customer goals and developing a strategy for how to achieve those goals - in terms of volume or profit margins, among other things - and then implementing that planning with what works best in each department of a company so that everyone is working together toward a common goal, not against each other.

Sales Pipeline

The sales pipeline is the part that relates to understanding and reporting on upcoming business opportunities. It begins with an initial assessment of the current sales situation and then moves into the development of strategies to help achieve goals related to winning new business or securing existing business.

Service and Operations

Some logistics companies do not realize the importance of a strong customer service culture and presence. Customers are more likely to come back and recommend your company if they feel their experience was a good one. A smiling face always helps! It's important for customer satisfaction, but it's also an integral part of building a 360° view because completing the picture with information that is vital for marketing, cross-selling and retention activities.

Transaction History

For logistics companies, collecting and analyzing transactional data is fundamental to understanding the status and performance of their customers, and when it comes to customer performance, no detail is too small. The benefits of having detailed knowledge of customer transactions are immense. With this information, logistics companies can see how their customers are interacting with them and what might happen soon.

Financial Aspects

Financial aspects of a 360° customer view include things like payment terms, billing instructions, the status of outstanding payments, and other financial KPIs. Financial aspects are integral parts of any relationship, as they are relevant to understanding all potential costs associated with a customer. Long-term relationships usually also require a thorough understanding of the financial aspects between the two parties.

How to achieve a 360° customer view?

When it comes to 360° customer visibility, every little bit counts.

Getting customer data from a wide array of sources can be overwhelming and tricky. It's not just one set you have to worry about - it changes with every source, which means tracking all that information is difficult for both businesses and customers alike.

When you have a unified view of all your customers’ touchpoints, the different systems and processes of your organisation, such as marketing, claims and incidents handling tool, ERP, Transport Management System (TMS), Finance, etc., can work together in synergy towards a common target. The soft and hard data captured from multiple data sources allows for enhanced productivity and quick decision making. It also increases efficiencies pertaining to

●???????Reliable data

●???????Exact and fast RFQ/tender preparation

●???????Improved Customer Experience (CX)

●???????Preparation and execution of strategic customer meetings (SBR/QBR)

●???????Customer care and retention

Benefits of 360 Visibility

When you have a complete 360 degrees picture, you better understand not just your customers but the decision-makers that may be behind your customers as well. Consequently, you are able to provide exceptional customer experience (CX) and increase your profitability by determining their needs.

These are just some of the areas that 360 visibility offers advantages for. It is much more than only a CRM as it helps all the business functionalities, like air and ocean, sales, operations, back-office to connect with each other. Consequently, it equips you with crucial information that can be used to increase revenues across the entire organization.