Online stores are experiencing a surge in demand, and manufacturers and distributors are looking for ways to ensure fast and secure transaction fulfillment. Action is one of the companies that has achieved success in this market. It distributes IT equipment from over 250 manufacturers, offering 16,500 products. The company’s partners include most leading computer brands, such as Samsung, Microsoft, Sony, LG, Intel, Creative, ASUS, AMD, and Lenovo. The company targets its offer at independent retailers (resellers, including online stores), corporate clients, and the SME sector. Action serves 8,000 customers per month.
– At a certain stage of our company’s development, the logistics handling of customer orders required increasingly close cooperation with an experienced logistics partner – says Piotr Świętochowski, Logistics Manager at Action – UPS possesses this quality. Importantly, they have the ability to flexibly adapt existing solutions and tools to our needs. We began our cooperation in 2002. Two years later, when we launched our online ordering system, we had to expand our distribution center. Thanks to this, we currently have a base of 42,000 customers, and our logistics operations handle over 1,400,000 packages annually – adds Piotr Świętochowski.
– Our record working with Action is 10 trucks with shipments in a single day. Such warehouse and distribution efficiency can only be achieved through perfectly synchronized tools between the client and the logistics operator. Action’s growing needs have greatly stimulated the development of our services – says Piotr Sitarek, General Manager of UPS Poland.
At the beginning of the cooperation, UPS proposed that Action use the UPS WorldShip program to facilitate shipment preparation. The next stage was the integration of two tools: the order-taking system and the tool for preparing large volumes of shipments (printing shipping labels according to UPS standards). The goal was the automatic transmission of data from one system to the other. Thanks to the jointly implemented tool – PLD 0200, information entering the Action system at the time of ordering is adapted to the shipping program. PLD 0200 is one of the most modern UPS applications, which supports: generating and printing address labels, shipping goods, and enables sending collective information about completed shipments. To further optimize the shipping process, UPS often prepares so-called dedicated transport, which allows more time for receiving and picking orders and shortens delivery time.
– A customer can order a product even after 6:00 PM and have it on their desk by 9:00 AM the next day – says Piotr Świętochowski.
For Action as a distributor and manufacturer of IT equipment, after-sales services are also important. The cooperation with UPS guaranteed such an added service, namely UPS Returns®. This is reverse logistics management, i.e., bringing packages back from customers, for example, goods ordered online, products returned for warranty repair, or parts for recycling and reuse. The UPS Returns® service includes packaging and labeling functions, which increases the efficiency of these processes while allowing for the monitoring of delivery times and the location of these shipments in transit. All this is thanks to a special application for generating returns, which was built into Action’s online customer service system called i-Service, using UPS XML Online Tools. Thanks to the XML Online Shipping tool, one can create Returns-type orders by filling out a simple form that is an integral part of i-Service. After logging into the system, the Action customer only fills in information about the number of packages and the weight of the shipment (the rest of the data is pulled from i-Service) and approves the order. At this point, the information goes to the UPS servers and then to the appropriate UPS branch – the one that should pick up the shipment. The next morning, the courier receives a printed address label (the sender’s address is the ordering company’s address, and the recipient is Action) and goes to collect the return shipment.
– This entire process takes place in a practically maintenance-free manner, without calling, ordering, or summoning a courier – claims Piotr Sitarek.
Additionally, the i-Service system uses the XML Online Tracking tool, which monitors the status of Returns-type shipments.
– We have knowledge about all shipments, both those that have already reached Action and those not picked up, e.g., due to the customer’s absence – adds Piotr Świętochowski.