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Over the past decade, online shops have taken the world by storm. Countless online fashion stores and blogshops pop up every single day, and this has changed the way we do shopping. With the development of apps and smart phones, almost everything has become available at the touch of our fingers. Most online stores have an extensive range of products, from shoes, clothes and accessories, to even electronics and home decor. Shopping has never been easier!
And in the world of Online Shopping, ZALORA is a massive behemoth that dominates the market – having recently picked up the #1 Top Brand Award under Online Apparel Platform in the 2014 Influential Brands Awards. Their website has one of the most organised and user-friendly interfaces and their delivery service is one of, if not THE most efficient out there in the market.
While ZALORA promises a delivery time of 1 to 3 working days, they aim to do it as soon as possible, sometimes even within 24 hours! How exactly do they manage to do this?
Online shopping is extremely convenient for all of us, but you may wonder what actually goes on behind the scenes. Or how the hardworking warehouse and delivery men process your orders and get your items delivered to your doorstep in such a short space of time.
I decided to find out myself by heading over to the ZALORA warehouse. I had the privilege of following a ZALORA delivery man, named Raymond, to understand what it was like being in the shoes of a delivery man for a day.
Here are 11 interesting things I learned about ZALORA from following a ZALORA delivery man for a day.
This is just one row.
I started my day early in the morning by heading to the ZALORA warehouse, tucked away in Joo Koon. I was truly shell-shocked at the size of the warehouse and at the amount of shoes, bags and apparel that they kept in stock. Yet, all their items were neatly organized and coded according to brand, item type and color.
Once you click on that checkout button, it triggers a well-greased clockwork-like process at the warehouse to get your order to you. Every morning, the hard working guys here rush to collect your purchases from warehouse shelves and intricately sort them out according to location, before loading them up and whisking them away to you.
The delivery system at ZALORA is simple. Every driver is given a specific location to service. After collecting the packages from the warehouse in the morning, they will head out to their respective areas to commence distribution.
This ensures optimum efficiency, without the drivers having to leave their delivery areas and sticking to areas they are 100% familiar with.
With ZALORA’s growing popularity, they receive many orders each day on their site. These orders are then taken care of by their delivery partners, including ZALORA drivers, with each of them taking up to 100 parcels a day. If you break that down, that’s an astonishing rate of one package delivered every 5 minutes! The efficiency of these guys really amazed me. I observed the way Raymond planned his route from one destination to the next without wasting time or backtracking – it was incredibly intricate and precise.
The delivery man, Raymond, specializes in the Tampines area. Those who live in Tampines and order from ZALORA will probably know him as the friendly delivery man. He makes it a point to interact with his customers during delivery, and has a small group of regular customers, or as he puts it, his “VIPs”.
Although he has no obligation to, Raymond has no qualms about going out of his way to ensure that the parcels are delivered to his customers where and when they want it, even if it is outside his working hours. I feel that this exceptional customer service in some of their delivery men is what differentiates ZALORA from its competitors.
Raymond says that this is the most fulfilling part of his job as he gets to meet and interact with new people. He was previously in the sales industry and uses his past experiences to ensure customers are satisfied, which makes him happy.
These delivery men make it a point to inform the customers in their respective zones before delivery. Willing to go the extra mile, these delivery men would typically do their best to accommodate any change in address or timing. For Raymond, he tries to accommodate to his customers so much that he wouldn’t even mind delivering their parcels after working hours. Amazing customer service.
ZALORA offers different delivery or collection options. First of course, is the direct courier service that Raymond does. Another option is collection from a 7-11 store of your choice, where you can make payment and collect your parcel. The ZALORA fleet will deliver the parcels to all 72 7-11 stores island wide.
The last method is collection from a POPStation. POPStations are located island-wide, mostly at MRT stations and shopping malls. You will be notified by Singpost when your item has been delivered, and you can pop down to collect your parcels anytime, 24/7! You can watch the video below to find out more.
When no one is home upon delivery, Raymond would leave a friendly notice at the door to notify instructions of re-delivery or collection from another carrier.
Raymond mentions that although most delivery runs go smoothly, there are hiccups at times. For instance, if a customer does not have enough cash to pay for their Cash-On-Delivery order, Raymond would have to make a second attempt or return the order to the warehouse for further notice.
He also mentions that on bad days, he can have a whole string of customers not home to collect their parcels and it all snowballs into the afternoon. He claims that this is just a sign for him to take a break, and after three consecutive failed deliveries, he would take a break over a cup of coffee before continuing his delivery run again.
Have you ever noticed a delivery man pushing a trolley load of ZALORA parcels around? This ZALORA walker ensures that the hard-to-get-to places are covered so customers can shop away with an ease of mind! This hardworking young man travels on foot every single day pushing a trolley of goods with him. Respect!
After a whole day of traveling, I finally got a clear understanding of what happens behind the scenes of an e-commerce company. From processing thousands of orders each day, to the warehouse assistants who run around picking your items and finally to the delivery men couriering your orders to you within a short span of time at pinpoint accuracy.
The ZALORA delivery team work tirelessly behind the scenes to make sure the shopping gets to you. They are the unsung heroes with quiet smiles who do their best to make our day, by arriving at our doorstep with our shopping box! This priceless experience has opened my eyes to something that most of us take for granted, especially since it comes all so easily to us.
This is for the delivery men all over Singapore. We salute you.
ZALORA is Asia’s leading online fashion store, and their products are available in 7 South-East Asian countries. They have a simple philosophy – offering their customers fabulous new fashion styles, trends and tips in a fun and easy shopping experience.
With a whole host of different brands on their website, ZALORA has an extensive collection of both male and female products. They also keep up with the latest trends, whilst offering personal styling tips and services for those who are keen on improving their sense of fashion.
Influential Brands awarded ZALORA the Top Brand Award in the Online Apparel Platform category, affirming its place in Online Shoppers’ hearts as the brand to trust.
Influential Brands is a consumer insight driven awards programme which provides a platform for brands to celebrate their achievement; for consumers, businesses and stakeholders to recognise the brands’ efforts in arriving where they are today. The study conducted by Influential Brands is purely consumer driven and the Top Brands are selected by consumers through their perception and preference, demonstrating the level of impact and influence of the brands in each consumer’s life.
Influential Brands seeks to identify consumer preferences, their behaviours, values and to understand how the ever-changing environment affects consumer experience in the purchase journey. The programme is tailored to enrich the brands’ relationship with their consumers through ongoing meaningful conversations and engagement.
For more information, like and follow Influential Brands on Facebook for more updates!
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This post is part of Influential Brands 2014, where we highlight the most influential brands in Singapore.
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