The functionality of websites, especially in relation to companies that rely heavily on the Internet for customer contact, is one of the significant – as practice has already shown – factors influencing, among other things, the acquisition of new partners and the growth of turnover. The study conducted for “Logistyka” – although we realize that it is initially on a very limited scale – is one of the first of its kind in the country and will be systematically continued in the future, also in relation to other industries related to broadly understood logistics. We are not interested in presenting websites for their own sake (which other magazines do), but in analyzing the essence of the matter, i.e., their functionality. Because it is this, and not, for example, color scheme or design, that determines whether a customer will establish cooperation or, discouraged, choose another service provider.
Track & Trace
In this category, 5 courier companies were examined (DHL, GLS, Masterlink, Siódemka, and UPS), as the author was unable to obtain sample waybill numbers from the other companies by the time the issue went to press. The websites of DHL and UPS showed the greatest functionality. What distinguished both companies from the competition were additional options for notification of shipment status: SMS, e-mail, and WAP (DHL). The GLS company provides the branch code instead of the location of the shipment, and therefore it was awarded only half a point.
Contact
The possibilities of establishing contact with courier companies were also evaluated. The Masterlink company received the maximum number of points. The UPS company performed the worst in this comparison. FedEx was awarded half a point for the possibility of ordering a courier via a form on the website, as it is only available after logging in.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” No. 1/2006.