Improving customer service performance within a food supplier‐retailers context

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to provide a strategic approach to the improvement of customer service performance and apply it to a food supplier that distributes its products to food multiple retailers' stores (from now on, the term “retailers” instead of “food multiple retailers' stores” will be used to represent hypermarkets, supermarkets or neighbourhood stores).Design/methodology/approachTo attain the performance's enhancement, the requirements are: the identification, evaluation and selection of customer service elements and the establishment of measures as well as performance standards. To identify service elements, previous research and the food supplier's as well as the retailers' viewpoints were taken into consideration. To evaluate service elements, 40 retailers were asked to rate the elements' importance and the two competitors' performance. The usable questionnaires were subjected to correlation analysis, paired‐samples t‐test and multiple ANOVA. To select the appropriate service elements, on which measures and performance standards would be established, positioning matrices were also formed.FindingsWith respect to sausage market in Greece, the analysis points out that the supplier should apply measures in the service elements order completeness, invoice error‐free, on‐time delivery, delivery of products without defects, efficient handling of returned products, informing about shortages in the orders, providing technical information and efficient handling of customers' requests. The performance should be improved in the first three elements and maintained as it is in the remaining five elements.Originality/valueThe study provides insight into the customer service elements which a supplier should measure and into which of them a supplier should improve its performance or maintain it. Moreover, the elements that constitute customer service in the Greek sausage sector are identified.