Just three months after announcing an initiative to fulfill orders more quickly, Target Corp.’s efforts are delivering results.
The company shaved three full days off delivery times according to new data from customer service monitor StellaService, leading the competition with an average fulfillment time of one day, 13 hours in the month of August. That’s a full day faster than its nearest competitor, Apple Inc. Target is No. 18 in Internet Retailer’s Top 500 Guide., Apple is No. 2.
Target has a number of initiatives to deliver online orders quickly, a Target spokesman says. This includes the just-launched ship from store capabilities as well as strategies to improve pick, pack and ship times from their fulfillment centers which he believes will continue to generate faster delivery times.
StellaService tracks 139 leading online retailers each month. August marks the first time Target has lead the StellaService rankings in shipping, and the third time the retail chain has been in the Top 25 since January. The one-day, 13-hour time of fulfillment marks a particularly noteworthy improvement in the company’s performance. StellaService data show Target took four days, 15 hours to fulfill online orders the previous month and six days, four hours in April.
A large part of this improvement stems from Target getting orders out the door quickly. A StellaService spokeswoman says that all but one package that StellaService ordered was shipped on the same day the order was placed, with orders being fulfilled from individual stores and distribution centers. The spokeswoman also said no package spent more than two days in transit. StellaService placed four orders, one each for delivery to four geographic regions.
CEO Brian Cornell, who replaced Gregg Steinhafel back in August, acknowledged on the company’s Q2 earnings call that the company needed to make improvements.
“We need to continue to move faster and grow faster than the marketplace,” he said. “We need to build capabilities focused on satisfying the wants and the needs of our guests, and ensuring that our digital and store operations operate seamlessly to provide a single superior experience.”
Responding to questions on the company’s web site not long after he was hired, Cornell said one of his priorities was to more closely tie together Target’s stores and online assets.
“I have been close to the changes business and consumers have experienced over the last few years, and I have an acute understanding of how important it is to connect stores, online and mobile,” he said. “For us to create the Target of tomorrow, all three of those elements have to work in tandem.”
Meanwhile, L.L. Bean Inc. ranked first overall in customer service once again for the month of August, the fourth time the retailer has topped the list in 2014. Also, men’s clothing website MrPorter.com lead the way in returns for August with an average of 6.3 days.
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