Creating Effective Policies for Customer Service

It is sometimes suggested that the role of distribution is to provide “time and place utility” in the transfer of goods and services between buyer and seller. Put another way, there is no value in a product or service until it is in the hands of the customer or consumer. It follows that making the product or service “available” is what, in essence, the distribution function of the business is all about. “Availability” is in itself a complex concept, impacted upon by a galaxy of factors which together constitute customer service. These factors might include delivery frequency and reliability, stock levels and order cycle time, for example, as they all impact upon availability. Indeed, it could be said that ultimately customer service is determined by the interaction of all those factors that affect the process of making products and services available to the buyer.