Hans Anders realizes substantial cost-saving on last-mile transport with Paazl
5
Active countries
600+
Retail locations
3
Carriers in use
400+
Delivery Options with Paazl
Flexibility in the last-mile with Paazl has resulted in significant savings on transportation costs.
Eyewear chain Hans Anders is a staple in the Dutch retail market. Since 1982, they have offered exceptional quality at unexpectedly low prices. Hans Anders opened their first store in Belgium in 1983, and they now have a total of 400 stores in the Netherlands and Belgium as of 2020. Hans Anders operates from Gorinchem, where we spoke with logistics manager Dik Hoogenes.
“2 years ago, we wanted to offer our customers an extra service by automatically delivering a package of contact lenses and liquids through the postbox, every 3 months. Orders were sent as standard postbox mail, both for the Netherlands and Belgium.
Mailbox post shipments are, by default, not traceable. To gain more insight into the progress of a shipment, we had to switch to a different delivery service. This was not only our desire, but the demand also came from the needs of our customers.”
More shipping options
“Adding a new shipping option and carrier has an impact on many components of the business, including managing different cut-off times, determining when which shipping option is used, a variety shipping labels as well as track & trace information.”
Carrier flexibility
“To make this possible, an integration was needed with the new shipping option from our back-end system SAP. And because we wanted to guarantee the flexibility to always be able to change delivery options, we had an aversion to custom integrations around one, two or three different carriers. All in all, we saw the benefits of offering a variety of shipping options, but we needed to find a solution to the increasing complexity we were presented with.”
“The number of customer service tickets is now significantly below the volume that it was prior to the introduction of Paazl. Our Customer Service team finds it especially positive that they can give the customer more detail, and provide a smoother service. The handling time and the percentage of repeat contacts for these tickets is lower as a result. In addition, Paazl provides flexibility in the way we want to approach the last-mile. This has resulted in significant savings on our transportation costs.”
– Dik Hoogenes, Logistics Manager
Paazl multi-carrier & delivery platform
“Hans Anders spoke with several companies and Paazl came out as the winner. Paazl offers the possibility to set up the back-end first, and pick up the front-end later. In addition, we were able to link Paazl to SAP at the back of our process and then ensure an efficient process for choosing the right carrier and delivery option based on order variables. To make this possible, Paazl has developed a handy delivery matrix. Within Paazl we can configure business rules based on variables such as location and order weight. This saves us a huge amount of time.
In addition to the enormous amount of delivery options that Paazl offers, their emphasis on the customer’s delivery experience was also a huge plus.”
Paazl Delivery Matrix
“The Paazl delivery matrix works very well for us. We use the Paazl matrix to determine the best delivery option for each shipment. When we create an order from SAP, SAP sends a message to Paazl, that then calculates which Matrix the order falls into, and which underlying delivery services apply. A label is then printed from SAP and Paazl sends the pre-notification to the carrier.
Paazl provides a controlled process that we hardly have to worry about. Something that is vital to us, given the large number of shipments we send to our customers.”
Why Paazl?
- A proven track record and therefore knowledge of the European market
- Extensive range of delivery options with local carriers
- Focus on the consumer: from check-out, to warehouse and delivery
- Strong proposition for both our back-end (SAP) and front-end
- Powerful & easy-to-use Delivery Matrix
- Ensures a controlled delivery process that requires little attention
“Consumers are increasingly demanding more convenience and control at every stage of the purchasing process. Paazl and Hans Anders share the vision that brands should be closer to the consumer. Flexibility in delivery is an important part of this.”
– Bernard Schreiner, co-founder Paazl
Key Results
- Introduced flexibility in switching between shipping options
- Significant savings on shipping costs
- A more efficient way of working on Customer Service
- Major reduction in WIMOs (“Where is my order?”)
- Automated decision-making process in SAP
“Paazl has given us easy access to new carriers and their underlying services. By implementing Paazl we have been able to achieve significant savings on our transportation costs.
The great thing about Paazl is that it gives us a complete overview of all shipments to our customers. Our customer service team therefore no longer has to look at the various carriers’ websites for updates. They simply check the Paazl overview to find the status of all orders. This also provides a certain way of saving, and above all, a pleasant and efficient way of working.”
What does the future hold for Hans Anders? And how do you think Paazl can play a role in this?
“Growth and expansion are essential parts of our strategy. I certainly think Paazl could play a role in this.
In the future, we also want to pay more attention to delivery in our webshop. We unquestionably see the benefits of this. We believe that we should be able to let our customers choose a delivery option that suits them best, during the purchasing process.
Hans Anders wants to expand further within Europe. What that growth will look like, and in which countries that will be, is still uncertain.”