Why the Final Mile is Still a Service Issue

The shopping experience needs to work for those of us who hate shopping but want new things, and those who enjoy the actual experience of browsing and deciding.

Buying something you want or need has two distinct points of gratification: The first point is the selection of an item and a good experience at the till or at the pay point of internet shopping. The second point is the unwrapping of the product when you get home if you have visited a store, or the arrival of the courier.

So..Why is this second stage, the "final mile", as good as ignored by CEOs who have an internet sales channel?

Not too long ago I attended a seminar which had, as their guest speaker, an esteemed and well respected Group E Commerce Director. He talked about segmentation, penetration, look and feel as well as all the social media and blogs. All very interesting and relevant. But when I said I’ve given up shopping with his group of brands  because the courier can never find me and I never receive my eagerly anticipated purchase, imagine my surprise when with a dismissive wave of his arm he says “that’s down to the courier”! No it’s not! The shopping experience has to be managed end to end by the retailer. I don’t choose the courier – they do!

Whilst this attitude remains, these retailers will continue to lose people like me as customers to their rivals who include delivery as part of their responsibility.

Written by Erica Vilkauls: www.jemconsultants.co.uk

All Tied Up?

Wearing a tie has to be one of the most enduring of dress codes but isn’t it about time that it becomes regarded as a true anachronism?

When I started work as a fresh faced graduate recruit back in the mid-eighties wearing a tie to work was obligatory. Never mind that I regularly worked near conveyors and was therefore at constant risk of being throttled by the wretched thing, I would have risked censure if I had turned up to work without one. In really hot weather we may have generously been allowed to remove them for short periods.

The modern tie dates back to the 1920’s when Prince Edward popularised them as a symbol of success and status for the emerging middle class and Jesse Langsdorf in New York patented the method by which most ties are still produced today. The origin of the modern tie probably dates back to the Thirty Years’ War in France when it was worn as a means of identification by Croatian soldiers (the officers used silk) although its earliest predecessor was worn by Roman legionnaires to keep warm and blow their noses on!

Ties... true anarchronism.. or not?

It is over 10 years since I regularly wore a tie to work but it persists as a convention in any formal setting. This creates some peculiar situations such as client meetings with people who are far more casually dressed while I feel trussed up wearing this ridiculous and entirely superfluous item of clothing.

There was recently a lengthy discussion on a LinkedIn Group as to whether it is ever acceptable for male consultants to wear shorts to work in the hot weather. Although my instinctive reaction was “No” I subsequently had a change of heart. The acceptable dress code for my female colleagues certainly encompasses a much wider range of types and styles than it does for men, so I am now inclined to say “Why not?”

Although I am unlikely to inflict the sight of my legs on people I may work with any time soon, I do think it is time to consign the tie to history. If you want to wear one then fine, but stop regarding it as mandatory in any formal situation.

Written by Mike Gamble: www.jemconsultants.co.uk

The Birth of JEM Retail Consultants

The trials & tribulations of setting up JEM and all the tasks involved and the case studies.

 

So setting up JEM Retail Consultants sounds straight forward enough. Three colleagues who have worked together over the past 10 years decide to unite and market themselves as a consultancy firm. The deal should be clinched over lunch and a glass, or 2, of Sauvignon Blanc and away we go……or is it ……….umm not so…… now we need a name, a website, a logo, business cards, pictures, case studies oh my, it’s an endless list of tasks and decisions.  Luckily for me no argument over the name – JEM - I love shiny things so a name close to my heart and made up of Jane, Erica, Mike – so I come first – great can’t complain about that. But then it gets harder, good job we have Mike managing and nagging us – apparently normally my job as the resident Programme Manager.

JEM Retail Consultants: www.jemconsultants.co.uk

And so we write our case studies, Erica and Mike working together on Buying and Merchandising structure and operations and a Warehouse implementation at Awear. All of us at Jacques-Vert working on a complete Supply Chain Programme – won a retail Week Award for that one so a great photo opportunity there for the website. Then there was LK Bennett and again all 3 of us, this one a little more complex as Erica and I held senior positions in the business, Merchandise Director and Head of IT & Logistics respectively, as well as carrying out project & programme roles.  Meantime, Mike concentrated on resolving the ever increasing issue of what to do with stock at the end of the season. Easy, I hear you say, and yes, from an outsiders point of view but not when at LK Bennett.  However, for the real story you would need to ply me with more than 2 glasses of Sauvignon Blanc.

So the work continued, all of the time conscious of our story and the essence of what JEM is all about and how best to get that across to potential customers.  Why us, why not a blue chip Consultancy Firm, apart from the obvious cost savings!  We had to make sure the case studies bought to life the 3 of us as individuals; exceptionally skilled and experienced in our own area of expertise, having held various operational jobs as well as the project & programme work.  All 3 of us skilled at presenting strategic goals and then delivering those goals and benefits.  Three individuals who work as individuals yet work even better as a team.  Ten years together means we know how the other one works, so we don’t save time by cutting corners, we save time and deliver excellence by hitting the ground running together as one unit.  Anyway, don’t let me go on and on, just take a look at the websites and peruse through the case studies, see if you believe we have achieved what we set out to do?