Customer service in logistics shipping involves customer care at each stage, from order placement to final delivery. It also helps in creating the impression of your logistics company. When the experience is good, it is able to convert customers to repeat customers and even make customers become supporters of your brand, and thereby refer your services to other people. Indeed, the buying experience is highly important as 70% of it depends on the treatment of the customers. However, it does not always go smoothly to bring great customer service. Some of the common mistakes experienced by many logistics companies include delays, inadequate support, or failure to track orders.
One report published in 2025 revealed that 90 percent of buyers would like to know where their orders are, but one out of every three people was unable. Customer service assists in addressing these issues and maintaining consumers satisfied. When used properly, it becomes a significant strength that enables your business to grow and gain trust. This article will explain how attentive customer service in logistics will aid you in addressing the ordinary challenges in the industry and how outsourcing can give way to new solutions.
What is Customer Service in Logistics?
Customer service is the act of assisting and providing service to customers before their purchasing, after, or while dealing with a company. It comprises responding to inquiries, problem resolution, and making the customers satisfied.
Good customer service involves listening to what the customer requires and providing them with a quick and polite response. It is used to build good relations with the customers and to keep them coming back, as well as to make the company look trustworthy and caring.
The Significance of Customer Service in Logistics
What does customer service mean in logistics? All of these features will allow your company to present products and, at the same time, create a good and trustworthy experience.
Enhances Brand Image and Trust
To logistics businesses, trust and reliability are all that matter. The way you serve your customers and their needs in answering questions, solving issues, and communicating back tells a lot about your company.
Providing efficient and 24/7 customer service not only makes your brand look good, it also keeps it fresh in people’s minds for all the right reasons.
Provides Information that is Both Clear and Honest
Good customer service still demands a transparent and clear approach. Most customers like tracking their orders. An effective customer service strategy should provide real-time information, a situation where a buyer always knows the location of the package. This builds confidence and shows that your firm is sincere and reliable.
Keeps Customers Updated
As per findings, eighty percent of customers would like to get regular updates on their delivery status, and almost a quarter of the customers would like to be updated more than once a day. By informing them of the progress of their order every step of the way, including its delivery, you ensure that customers feel calm with the entire process.
Informs Customers About Any Delays
Although you do your best, delays may still arise. Yet the most important thing is how you respond. 60 percent of the clients would want to be informed when something goes wrong.
Making sure they know, even when the information is not good, sends them a message that they are important to you, and it contributes to their trust in your service.
Offers Backup Plans for Shipping Problems
Excellent service involves preparing for issues before they occur. Expert planning prepares you to assist the customer regardless of weather events or other logistical hurdles.
A team that quickly provides solutions shows that your business is truly committed to taking care of its customers, rain or shine.
What are the Major Roles of Customer Service in Logistics?
The following are some of the important roles of customer service in logistics:
- Order tracking and updates: This allows customers to be updated and kept informed on the status of their orders, issues, and delays.
- Managing complaints and problems: Response to complaints about late deliveries, damage to products, or incorrect orders made.
- Relationship with the vendors and suppliers: Making sure there is smooth communication with the suppliers, transporters, and customers, to address the problem.
- Exchange and returns: Helping customers to exchange or to refund something in case it is needed.
- Supplying products and transport details: Responding to the inquiries concerning the schedule of delivery, prices, and order status.
- Making sure the customers are happy: Do everything possible to satisfy the customers and ensure their positive general experience.
What are Common Logistical Customer Service issues?
The following are problems logistics companies experience most often that prevent them from providing great customer service:
Complex Supply Chains
Modern supply chains require a large number of individuals, such as manufacturers, delivery firms, distributors, as well as stores. All of them are significant in delivering goods to consumers. However, with such a large number of people, it is difficult to maintain everything well.
Delays and miscommunication tend to occur, which may frustrate the client. It is also difficult to pass updates to one another quickly, and one minor issue can lead to a series of delays.
Low Costs versus Good Service
Providing the best quality service is costly, particularly to small or new firms. On the one hand, you have to maintain a low cost to remain competitive. Customers, on the other hand, want to have a speedy and easy service.
Reducing expenses too far might be the cause of weak service, which would cause the loss of a customer. One out of 6 buyers will leave based on a negative experience, so it is important to maintain the right balance.
Damaged Goods
Arrival of defective and bad products may lead to complaints and product returns, which need to be effectively addressed.
Technological Issues and Opportunities
New technology, such as artificial intelligence (AI), chatbots, and cloud systems, can help services become better, however, migrating to new systems may not be easy. It is not free, requires professional assistance, and employees might require training.
It can even bring about troubles in everyday work when not addressed in a proper way. Nevertheless, technology, when properly implemented, can be useful in answering questions of customers more quickly, safeguarding personal information, and improving the flow.
Communicative Failure
Lack of timely updates or immediate response to customer inquiries may induce confusion and dissatisfaction.
Return and Exchange Management
Managing returns effectively yet continuing the experience with customer satisfaction can be both consuming and demanding of resources, especially in international logistics.
The Global Supply Disruptions
Due to the highly connected nature of the world, delays may happen throughout the entire globe due to a single problem in a single country. This happened throughout the pandemic and recent political issues.
Such issues might reduce the speed of delivery and complicate the ability to update the customers about their requests. When you are not prepared for such types of problems, it may damage your reputation and customer confidence.
Last-Mile Delivery Issues
Last-mile delivery refers to the transportation of the package within the warehouse to the doorstep. This is usually the most difficult part. City traffic, incorrect addresses, and varying delivery methods are a source of difficulties.
Although it is difficult, customers insist on quick and dynamic express delivery services. This is the hardest aspect, according to 61 percent of the logistics companies.
Best Practices of Customer Service in Logistics
Want to be able to give better customer service in logistics? Here are some easy and intelligent ways of doing it:
1. Train and Support Your Team
Your team should have the right skills, tools, and knowledge to deliver great service. Proper training of employees enables them to address customer inquiries in a short time and to tackle problems confidently. Moreover, employees are happier and are more committed when they get opportunities to learn.
As a matter of fact, 48 percent of workers want to be trained to remain engaged and happy employees can boost company profits by as much as 26 percent. Therefore, the more you train your team, the better the services and outcomes will be.
2. Enhance Important Customer Service Positions
You require excellent systems and individuals in strategic positions to provide the most optimal support. And here is the way to make them better:
- Invoice Processing: Automated systems can be used to send invoices in a correct and timely manner.
- Accounting and Bookkeeping: Maintain financial books in a very open way so that trust can be established.
- Tracking and Tracing: Allow customers to track their order in real time, and they will know where their goods are going.
- Multilingual Assistance: Provide assistance using various languages to reach more customers worldwide.
- Data Entry and Analysis: Ensure that data is clean and utilize it to make intelligent and error-free decisions.
These functions will aid your customer service objectives and assist in establishing trouble free shipping with your customers.
3. Be Quick and Always on Call
Shipping is an urgent process, and two-thirds of the buyers state that the speed is as important as the price. And this is why you should react fast, and it may be by email, chat, or phone. Sixty percent of the buyers prefer 24-hour service.
This may be achieved with the help of such tools as chatbots, automated responses, and support pages on the internet, where employees do not need to constantly be available.
4. Serve Customers Across all Channels
Allow customers to reach out to you how they prefer best through email, live chat, mobile apps, phone calls, or social media. It is referred to as omnichannel support. As an example, the customers can use your application to see the delivery status, but they may also need to contact your organization with a question using a chat.
The problem lies in the need to keep all this information linked together so that nothing is lost or confusing. An effective omnichannel system ensures that everything is brought to the same page and thus, regardless of how a customer communicates with you, whether it is online, by phone, or by paper, the response is the same, up-to-date, and correct. Such an arrangement will enable you to retain 89 percent of your customers.
5. Outsource to Save Money and Time
Outsourcing with a logistics-experienced company can make you grow quicker and at much lower costs. Such companies have prepared teams to respond to customer inquiries, tracking, and assistance.
It can also be easily scaled up or down depending on the demand, without much money being spent on hiring or training people through outsourcing. And that is why 57 percent of the business leaders utilize outsourcing to enhance the service to the customers.
6. Utilize Customer Service Software
Everything can go smoother with technology. Customer care software, such as tracking tools, order management, and communication tools, is used. These tools will provide a more pleasant experience to customers and show that your company is professional and up to date.
When you care about their orders, let them know, and remember that when they notice what you are doing, they will be more willing to return to shop again.
Conclusion
Logistics companies must offer great customer service to grow and remain competitive in a challenging industry. The above strategies can guide you to satisfy customer needs, manage difficulties, and develop great relationships.
Whatever action you may decide to proceed with, it is always a good idea to pay attention to what your customers worry about and what can help you approach them better. Get in touch with us today so that we can help your company give the highest quality customer service to your clients.
