Keynote Report Measures Fulfillment of Online Retailers During [...]

📅 November 7, 2001 - Keynote Systems (keynote.com) is producing the KeynoteHoliday 2001 Fulfillment Report, a comparative study based on quantifiablemetrics of the ability of major retailers to fill and ship online orders tocustomers during this holiday season.

The full report, including weekly updates throughout the holiday season,will be available for $14,950, and will provide detailed comparisons betweenkey retailing competitors, performance trends during periods of peak volume,and reliability of Christmas delivery guarantees - all based on thousands ofreal orders placed by online shoppers. The detailed 'click-to-finish'fulfillment metrics include: time to confirm orders, back-end orderprocessing, shipment and receipt time, reflecting the actual experience ofonline shoppers. In addition, the report will examine such factors aspreferred shipping methods, delivery guarantees, and performance versusexpectations - how often retailers succeed or fail in meeting their deliverypromises. More information on the report can be found atkeynote.com/fulfillment/.
The Keynote Holiday 2001 Fulfillment Report allows retailers to validatereliable fulfillment for delivery-sensitive shoppers and make necessaryimprovements to meet the holiday rush. The report gives retailersquantifiable data in order to measure, manage and assure the quality ofexperience for their online customers; and compare that experience directlyagainst competitors. With this information, retailers can diagnose problemsin their fulfillment operation, manage Service Level Agreements withpartners, and improve their fulfillment process, including back-endprocessing and shipping choices in order to assure timely delivery for theholidays, as well as throughout the year.
"Order fulfillment, and transaction performance and availability are allcritical components of online customer quality of experience," said BillJones, Senior director of Public Services at Keynote. "The holidays are aparticular test of a retailer's online customer service ability. Despite theeconomy numerous studies are quite bullish about this year's online shoppingseason. Success or failure in site performance and fulfillment translatesinto big bucks made or lost. A site can make or break its reputation onthese factors especially during this critical shopping time. Retailers thatare serious about quality of experience should be interested in Keynote'sfulfillment report."
During the 2000 holiday season, eight percent of last minute orders misseddelivery in time for Christmas. Following the 1999 holiday season the FTCfined several online retailers for failing to deliver products as promisedor notify customers of shipping delays, as regulated by the Federal Mail orTelephone Order Merchandise Rule. E-commerce businesses lost an estimated$14 Billion in 1999 from unsatisfied customers: McKinsey reported $11Billion lost because of product fulfillment errors and Datamonitor reported$3.2 billion lost due to poor online customer service. A 2000 survey byAccenture revealed that 95 percent of shoppers consider on-time deliveryguarantees as a factor driving their decision to purchase at a retail site.
The Keynote Holiday 2001 Fulfillment Report includes details of all sitesmeasured at the close of the holiday season in January, as well ascustomized weekly updates for retailers purchasing the report early in theseason, that can be used to immediately track fulfillment status, validatereliability for shoppers and make improvements in time for the holidayshopping period. If purchased before Dec. 1, a retailer not currentlyincluded in the study can be added and receive fulfillment results for itsperformance through the remainder of the year.
Keynote will publish on its Web site a high level summary ranking of theresults of its Holiday 2001 Fulfillment Report, as well as resultsthroughout the holiday season on the performance and availability of keyretailing Web sites and their transaction ability as part of its ongoingPublic Services reports.
The Keynote Holiday 2001 Fulfillment Report monitors the fulfillment of liveorders using a distributed software meter that captures and timestamps keyfulfillment activity for orders placed by actual online shoppers, startingwith the click of the buy button, and includes email communications with theshopper concerning order status. The results are correlated into meaningfulperformance metrics by Keynote's database. The Keynote Holiday 2001Fulfillment Report is powered by the industry's first automated, outsourcedtransaction tracking technology from Bizmetric, an enterprise softwarecompany in San Francisco, CA.