The Challenge: Optimizing Cash-on-Delivery (COD) and Delivery Efficiency
Snapdeal, a leading pan-India e-commerce marketplace, faced significant operational challenges common to high-volume e-commerce logistics: managing Cash-on-Delivery (COD) verification and ensuring successful last-mile delivery. High rates of unverified COD orders lead to increased return-to-origin (RTO) costs, while failed delivery attempts due to customer unavailability diminish customer experience (CX) and inflate delivery costs.
Snapdeal needed a solution that was scalable, reliable, and cost-effective to achieve the
following goals:
- Verify COD Orders: Pre-confirm the customer’s intent to accept and pay for COD orders before dispatch.
- Reduce Failed Deliveries: Proactively communicate the delivery agent’s arrival to the customer, ensuring availability.
- Enhance Logistics Process: Introduce a real-time, automated process for non-delivery reporting to flag and resolve last-mile issues faster.
The Times Mobile Solution: Intelligent IVR with Text-to-Speech
Snapdeal implemented an automated, voice-based solution utilising interactive voice response (IVR) calls and text-to-speech (TTS) technology as a critical component of its pan-India logistics framework.
● COD Verification: The IVR service automatically initiated calls to customers who placed COD orders. Using TTS, the system dynamically read out order details and presented a clear choice (e.g., “Press 1 to confirm your COD order,” “Press 2 to cancel”) to verify the transaction intent before the item left the warehouse.
● Delivery Confirmation/Non-Delivery Reporting: The service was further deployed to improve the last-mile process. Upon the delivery boy’s arrival at the customer’s location, the system automatically called the customer to confirm the delivery agent had arrived. This feature acted as a non-delivery report trigger, immediately flagging any failure to connect with the customer or an immediate refusal, allowing for faster intervention and process enhancement.
Key Metrics and Impact
The IVR-based verification and reporting system proved to be highly effective, delivering efficiency and scale across Snapdeal’s entire operational footprint.
Conclusion
Snapdeal’s adoption of an intelligent IVR system with text-to-speech for critical logistics touchpoints successfully leveraged voice technology to address key e-commerce challenges. By achieving strong engagement and operational efficiency at scale, the service delivered the automation needed to enhance delivery performance and streamline processes. The initiative
resulted in improved efficiency, reduced risks, and greater customer satisfaction, setting a new benchmark for automated logistics confirmation in India’s e-commerce landscape.
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