Unlocking the Power of Data:
Find the Best eCommerce Shipping Solution by Leveraging Carrier Performance Metrics
First coined by Clive Humby, the British mathematician and data science pioneer, the quote “Data is the new oil” reflects how essential data has become in the digital age. Similarly, just like oil, data is a raw material that needs refining and processing to turn into something useful. Moreover, in the ever-evolving eCommerce landscape, effective data management is a crucial ingredient to ensure customer delivery expectations are met. By leveraging carrier performance metrics data, businesses can streamline this process, gain actionable insights, and optimise delivery choices. All this helps reduce costs while enhancing the customer experience. Finding the right eCommerce shipping solution is critical, but the vast array of carrier options and managing multiple delivery metrics can be overwhelming.
Why Carrier Performance Metrics Matter
When shipping products directly to customers, every stage in the journey is critical. Delayed, damaged or lost parcels can impact customer satisfaction, return rates, and ultimately, brand reputation (Retail Technology Innovation Hub). Tracking carrier performance metrics provides insight into how well your chosen carriers meet your service-level agreements (SLAs) and customer expectations. The benefits of monitoring and analysing these metrics include:
Enhanced Customer Experience: Quick and reliable delivery strengthens trust and loyalty.
Cost Optimisation: Carrier performance data reveals inefficiencies and areas for improvement, enabling businesses to adjust strategies to reduce costs.
Operational Efficiency: Analysing trends across carriers can help identify bottlenecks and support more efficient shipping processes.
However, managing these metrics can be complex — especially if you work with multiple carriers or operate across different regions. Comprehensive performance management software can simplify this with centralised, real-time analytics, which allow businesses to monitor and improve delivery performance at every level.
Key Carrier Performance Metrics to Track
Tracking the right metrics is essential to make informed shipping decisions. Some of the most important performance indicators that eCommerce businesses should monitor are:
On-Time Delivery Rate: Measures the percentage of parcels delivered on or before the estimated delivery date. A low on-time delivery rate can signal issues with carrier reliability or operational inefficiencies.
Delivery Accuracy: Tracks whether parcels are delivered to the correct address and in the right condition.
Transit Time: The time taken for a package to reach the customer after dispatch. Shorter transit times are generally preferred, however consistency in delivery speed is key to setting customer expectations.
First-Time Delivery Success Rate: Indicates how often parcels are delivered successfully on the first attempt.
Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) Scores: Surveys and feedback from customers offer qualitative insights into delivery experience, providing a valuable complement to quantitative data.
By monitoring these metrics, eCommerce businesses can better understand carrier performance, optimise delivery routes and identify the best carriers for their unique needs.
Data-Driven Decisions for Better Customer Outcomes
By unlocking the power of data with tools like GFS Reporter, eCommerce businesses can transform shipping from a basic logistics function into a strategic advantage. Rather than just choosing carriers based on cost, businesses can consider a full range of performance indicators, ensuring that the chosen carrier aligns with customer needs and company objectives.
Enhanced Customer Satisfaction: By consistently selecting the most reliable carriers, businesses can build a reputation for timely, accurate delivery.
Cost Savings: Using performance metrics to select the most efficient carriers can lead to lower shipping costs and fewer service disruptions.
Scalability: Data insights support agile growth, helping businesses quickly adjust their shipping strategies as they scale or enter new markets.
GFS Reportor – Transforming Delivery Performance Tracking
For eCommerce businesses that handle complex multi-carrier shipping strategies, GFS Reportor is a comprehensive analytics tool designed to help businesses maximise the value of their carrier partnerships. Furthermore, with GFS Reportor, you gain access to real-time, actionable insights across all your carriers, regardless of the number of regions, delivery partners or shipping channels involved.
Centralised Data Access
Managing multiple carriers often means juggling different reporting formats, platforms and performance standards. However, GFS Reportor consolidates these metrics from all carriers into a single, intuitive dashboard, making it easier to track, compare and act on critical metrics. This streamlined view allows businesses to assess their overall delivery performance at a glance and make swift adjustments when needed.
Pro-active Issue Resolution
GFS Reporter tracks metrics in real time, enabling early detection of potential issues — for instance, if a carrier’s on-time delivery rate begins to slip. Additionally, it allows businesses to investigate the root cause, switch carriers if needed, or communicate updates to customers.
Benchmarking for Improved Carrier Selection
GFS Reportor allows you to compare performance metrics across carriers, providing a clear picture of the partners who deliver consistent results and those who may be underperforming. Similarly, this benchmarking capability empowers businesses to make data-driven decisions on carrier selection, particularly useful when expanding to new regions or optimising delivery networks.
Customisable Reporting and Insights
Different businesses have unique priorities when it comes to shipping. With GFS Reportor, you can tailor reports to focus on the metrics that matter most to your business, from transit times to customer satisfaction scores. This flexibility allows a business to drill down into specific data points to adapt their delivery strategies based on insights that align with their goals.
Support for Scaling and Expansion
As a business grows, so does the complexity of its delivery operations. GFS Reportor’s scalable architecture ensures that as your carrier network expands, your data remains accessible and actionable.
The GFS Advantage: Delivering More Than Just Metrics
Today, data is more than an asset — it’s a game-changer. In fact, GFS Reportor is just one part of our comprehensive eCommerce shipping solutions, providing businesses with the flexibility, transparency, and control they need to excel.
Moreover, with GFS, you don’t just get a partner in shipping; you gain a strategic ally to help your business thrive. GFS helps you make smarter carrier choices, adapt to changing conditions, and meet customer expectations. Delivering more than metrics — GFS deliver insights that keep your business ahead.
