For retailers choosing to add click and collect to their omnichannel shopping experience, Infinity ensures the customer experience is even more seamless and hassle-free with its two new features - the Order Orchestration Dashboard, and the Click and Collect Service.
Both features work with the existing Click and Collect function, bringing together data from the webstore to provide Head Office with a bird’s eye view of Click and Collect orders via the Dashboard. There is also the additional functionality to be able to manage order exceptions from Head Office, leaving in store staff to focus on a smooth collection process and great face to face customer service.
Using the Dashboard, Head Office monitors orders and receives alerts when there is an exception to the standard process. It’s not just about knowing what is going on – Head Office staff can intervene and actively manage order exceptions.
Imagine these scenarios:
- The item ordered by Click and Collect is not actually in stock at the store where the customer has arranged to pick it up, so Head Office redirects stock from the warehouse to the store.
- A store operator has not picked an order within the designated time frame, so Head Office prompts the store for action and addresses any issues with stock.
- A customer adds an additional item to their order, so Head Office ensures the new item is available at the collection point together with the original order.
- A customer changes their order from Click and Collect, wanting to view the item and purchase it instore instead, so Head Office refunds the order and ensure the stock is at the designated store.
- An order is cancelled as a customer has changed their mind, so Head Office refunds the order and relists the stock as available.
In each of these cases, a notification appears on the Dashboard, alerting Head Office to the exception, enabling them to act to rectify the issue to ensure the order is at the point of collection and ready for the customer.
The new features give Head Office a management tool which realises the journey of a Click and Collect order in real-time, giving a visual account of how orders are tracking and the ability to manage them.
The Order Orchestration Dashboard
Head Office staff view all Click and Collect orders for all stores within the dashboard, and can filter orders by branch, customer, web reference, order number and order status.
The dashboard displays:
- Order lines (items)
- Order notes
- Order payments
- Alert history
- Any loyalty offers applied to the order
- Full order history from creation to completion
- Stock holding of order lines in all stores
Using the dashboard Head Office staff can:
- Cancel an order
- Cancel order lines
- Change the size and/or colour of an order line
- Add notes to the order
- Change the fulfilment of order lines
- Process payments and refunds
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Changes to an order will notify the relevant store of an updated order, which they then action through the Pick Manager.
To streamline the order process even further, Head Office handles exceptions, meaning store staff are not responsible for making decisions about fulfilment if stock is unavailable.
The Click and Collect Service
The Click and Collect Service runs as a set frequency and includes several alerts and notifications processors.
Alerts are applied to orders based on configurable SLA settings.
Alert SLAs include:
- Order not acknowledged by store
- Order not picked by store
- Order on hold for Head Office to action
- Order not collected by the customer
- Order not updated by the store
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Where the SLAs are breached, the order is updated with the appropriate alert and highlighted in red.
Notifications of XML extractions produced by the service and can be used by third party processes to communicate order updates to customers throughout the order process. These include:
- When an order is ready for collection
- When an order is completed (collected)
- When an order is updated
Further service functions include:
- The disabling and re-enabling a store for Click and Collect if a branch has not linked within a set timeframe but then returns online
- Infinity CPM interfacing of Click and Collect orders
Specifications
Infinity Click and Collect Service Release 7 requires Infinity Webstore or Infinity Web Interface, and Infinity Orders and Quotes. It also works with Infinity Loyalty, where loyalty offers are applied to web orders and viewed in the Click and Collect dashboard.
