Q&A: Rory O’Connor, Founder and CEO, Scurri
Scurri is customisable next generation delivery management and post purchase experience software that was created to put retailers in control of the most fundamental pillars of their business, delivery.
What does your company do?/ What is your USP?
We process over 150 million orders per annum and have a workforce spanning Ireland, the UK and Europe that supports an international customer base of leading brands and retailers including Gousto, Beauty Pie, Everything5pounds, Biscuiteers and Natural Baby Shower.
With over 1,000 carrier services and 97% carrier coverage in the UK, Scurri provides a robust and reliable last mile delivery service offering to retailers. We offer the highest level of flexibility in the industry for effective carrier management and shipment allocation, to improve speed and choice for shoppers, as well as maintaining cost-effective and efficient fulfilment operations for retailers.
What’s special about the platform and your approach?
Scurri offers retailers increased agility in their delivery operations – using Scurri’s automated rules engine, retailers can change shipment allocation in real-time if any individual carrier goes down. Having this flexibility ensures clients avoid negative delivery related customer reviews, time consuming ‘Where Is My Order’ (WISMO) enquiries impacting the customer services teams, and ultimately costly missed revenue and loyalty opportunities created by poor delivery experiences.
At a time when many other providers are actively cutting headcounts and reducing investment, Scurri remains committed to delivering exceptional customer service. This has seen the business recognised with an Industry leading Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) score of 94% and a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of +82, all while processing 150 million shipments for clients and with platform uptime in 2022 coming in at 100%.
This year, we launched our newest product in the post purchase experience software space, Scurri Track Plus, which helps retailers boost loyalty and repeat purchase, combined with reducing WISMO queries and associated costs, through branded tracking communications. We developed Scurri Track Plus because we saw an increase in consumer demand for a joined up post-purchase experience – our recent research shows 90% of consumers see continuous post-purchase updates as a non-negotiable part of the purchasing journey.
What does a product/ service implementation actually look like and how do you measure success?
Scurri’s industry leading NPS score of +82 highlights the level of customer support we provide from initial onboarding to ongoing customer success support. For new customers a dedicated customer onboarding specialist is appointed who leads the project implementation for the entire onboarding project. They work with the customer to build a project plan and keep all stakeholders updated. Once the customer is live on the platform the onboarding specialist will then introduce the customer to our customer success team who work collaboratively with the client on an ongoing basis to ensure a long-term successful partnership.
More frequently we are seeing customers looking for an end-to-end solution, including both a carrier management platform and post purchase experience software, to take control of their full delivery experience. Scurri Track Plus was launched to meet the post purchase experience requirements of retailers but with the same exceptional support provided for our carrier management platform.
Clients expect clear value add and return on investment from any technology solution and that is exactly what Scurri Track Plus offers. From reducing the overall cost of supporting customer WISMO queries to saving on delivery related costs, at Scurri we constantly measure how we reduce the total cost to serve for retailers in relation to delivery. Not all measures are cost related, as one of the benefits of Scurri Track Plus is the ability to increase customer loyalty and drive incremental revenue through repeat purchase behaviour. Leveraging the branded delivery experience to tailor personalised offers and place them in front of highly engaged customers at the right time drives strong upsell opportunities.
How are retailers using your system to gain competitive advantage and what does best practice look like? Can you share a case study with us?
The luxury, hand-iced gifting company, Biscuiteers, has taken full control of its 365 days a year, worldwide customer delivery proposition – from dispatch to customer notifications – in partnership with Scurri. The British company currently bakes three million biscuits annually in its Ministry of Biscuits HQ in Wimbledon, London, with premium wholesale partners including Waitrose, Selfridges, Harrods and Harvey Nichols. While bespoke corporate gifting makes up approximately one third of orders, Biscuiteers is first and foremost an online, direct-to-consumer (DTC) business sending upward of 250,000 parcels a year through its online website.
As a luxury gifting company, a critical part of its brand promise is offering seven days a week delivery and exceptional customer service. Scurri has enabled greater business efficiency by allowing the company to automate key elements of their dispatch process, including carrier allocation, label generation and carrier notification. The seasonal nature of its products creates huge delivery demand spikes around key gifting dates in the year. Scurri enables Biscuiteers to effortlessly manage its extensive carrier network to scale to meet these peaks in demand, offering access to additional carriers when necessary, avoiding the need for onboarding.
This year, Biscuiteers extended its partnership to leverage Scurri Track Plus enabling them to take ownership of the end-to-end online customer experience. Scurri Track Plus gives Biscuiteers control over the branding and sending of customer notifications during the delivery process allowing the Customer Service team to have greater visibility and provide a highly personalised service creating an invaluable opportunity to put the right kind of messaging in front of their customers at the right time.
Are there other companies you partner with?
At Scurri we view carriers as key partners who we work with to ensure our clients have access to an enhanced and compelling offering. This has resulted in a 97% carrier coverage in the UK and over 1,000 carrier services in total. Accessing carrier choice via the Scurri platform, puts retailers back in control. Additionally, we also work with some key strategic partners including IMRG who represent UK retailers operating in the online sector, Hurricane Commerce who help simplify cross-border eCommerce, and what3words, the geocode system. We are always on the lookout for new innovative partners that add value to our overall customer offering.
What challenges and opportunities do you see in UK retail for 2023/ What challenges are retailers facing in 2023?
2023 continues to bring challenges for retailers and brands. The economic outlook is uncertain and consumer confidence, which has been remarkably resilient, is now lower across a wider range of demographic groups as inflation, higher interest rates, spiralling mortgage costs and increased private rents impact customers’ spending power. In the context of this, one would assume that demand for ecommerce – and in general – faces downward pressure, however, there are growth opportunities available to retailers willing to innovate.
How will you address these challenges and turn them into success?
To succeed, retailers will need to take control over the key pillars of delivery management: cost, offer, operations, issues, growth, and experience. A delivery management platform combined with post-purchase experience software gives retailers back control of the last mile experience. From ensuring the most suitable delivery option is presented, proactively identifying potential issues for quicker resolution, to improving the full customer experience with branded post-purchase tracking updates and personalised offers at high engagement points. Leveraging innovative technology can improve the customer experience, boost loyalty, and deliver all-important revenue growth.
What is on the horizon for you as a company?
Our focus remains on delivering our vision of connecting commerce. This seeks to empower brands and retailers as they proactively take control of their fulfilment processes by leveraging Scurri’s innovative technology to improve the customer experience, boost loyalty and deliver all-important revenue growth that can be sustained.
The Scurri team will be attending eCommerce Expo at the ExCel London on September 27 – 28th at stand N70. To book an appointment with the team to learn more about Scurri Track Plus contact: sales@scurri.com.
