How Henri-Lloyd Uses 3PL to Fix Their Supply Chain Bottleneck

Henri-Lloyd wanted to create a better customer experience that offered flexibility, insights and efficiency.

Jan and the team knew that to achieve this there were some key obstacles that had to be overcome to meet changing consumer behaviour.

“The rise of omnichannel has changed consumer behaviour forever. Our customers can now buy our products in more ways and at different times than ever before.” explained Jan. “We wanted a smooth and fast fulfilment experience that would help us to not only meet but exceed our customer expectations across each touchpoint. Our order fulfilment partner had to truly understand our needs and ensure we delivered a seamless brand experience.”

Consumer expectations have radically changed over the past few years with the ‘Amazon Prime Effect’ driving an eCommerce revolution around price, speed, and personalisation that has changed the end-to-end customer buying experience forever.

This has meant that brands have had to catch-up, or risk being left behind.

Jan emphasizes how this has pushed Henri-Lloyd to seek continuous improvement in their own customer journey. “The last-mile delivery evolution means that consumers expect more options, interaction and data enriching experiences – brands have to be fast, reliable and have the ability to get products to consumers when and where they need them – this is when we have the opportunity to create true moments of delight.”

Today’s consumers want to know when things are happening from the moment, they place an order. Friction occurs when customers are left in the dark about their consignment during the order fulfilment process.

“Being able to deliver a consistent experience was paramount,” says Jan. “It’s one thing to have a great product but you also need to give consumers a ‘wow’ experience – doing the unexpected things can set you apart.”

With more pressure on supply chains than ever before a perfect outsourced order fulfilment is a complex chain and the perfect partnership requires trust and alignment.

3PL’s depth of experience across eCommerce fulfilment and broad knowledge of delivering world-class customer experiences meant that Henri-Lloyd had found the perfect partner to help them deliver on their brand promise and meet consumer demands.

One of the initial and primary reasons that Henri-Lloyd chose 3PL over its competitors was its ability to combine cutting-edge technology and customer relationship to have a deeper understanding of its evolving needs as a business.

Many order fulfilment providers invest in the technology but forget about the human element of the process…something 3PL is passionate about.

As Jan says “3PL is a technology-enabled business, which sets it apart from other fulfilment providers, but they haven’t forgotten how important human interaction and communication is. Erica is doing a great job of gaining a deeper understanding of our business strategy and how 3PL can support it. My team communicate on a very regular basis with 3PL on more strategic and tactical pieces like stock holding and product profile changing over time – It’s a very important thing to have an internal customer champion that acts as the voice of the customer, this is where a lot of value in our relationship has been built”

3PL managed the warehousing, bespoke pre-retail services, order shipping to Henri-Lloyd customers and an enhanced delivery experience, which enabled the brand to maintain its market-leading reputation – and maintain a human touch.