Rhenus Home Delivery combines WhatsApp and chatbot to transform customer service

Summary

Rhenus Home Delivery, part of the global Rhenus Logistics Group, offers a two-man handling delivery service specialising in larger consignments such as appliances, furniture, large sporting equipment and brown goods.

The UK team has been successfully using SMS from Esendex since 2011 and in 2023, decided to add WhatsApp Business Platform and chatbot functionality. The combined solution was chosen because it offered the potential to significantly reduce call centre volumes and minimise the time it took for customers to receive an answer to their enquiries. It also allowed for quicker and more seamless order and delivery notifications and marketing communications.       

Challenge & Key Obstacles

Rhenus Home Delivery had a busy customer call centre and wanted to find ways to speed up resolution times while improving customer experience. Esendex proposed a combination of WhatsApp and chatbot, and while initially reluctant to replace telephone as the primary means of contact, Rhenus agreed to a pilot program for WhatsApp which from the start, saw them inundated with enquiries from customers. The Professional Services team at Esendex then scoped out the required Chatbot journey and two bots were deployed for in-office (including escalation to an agent where necessary) and out of office enquiries to provide  24/7 cover.

The work is ongoing and improvements are continuous. The team is currently exploring adding functionality to link the Esendex multi-channel chatbot to the companies’ existing ERP system allowing customers to self-manage to a greater degree by setting their own preferences, modifying address details and rescheduling delivery slots.  

The features that changed the game

Smart automation across transactional conversations, allowing for speedier triage, and customer service resolution.

Business and customer initiated two-way WhatsApp functionality to support quicker response times.

Conversation histories ensure every team member is on the same page and reduces the need for customers to repeat themselves.

Data collection and customer insights – including keeping track of customers’ questions, the products or services they’ve purchased, and the times they prefer to chat.

End to end encryption earns customer trust and ensures information remains secure.

Results & Improvements

There was an immediate ROI from WhatsApp and chatbot automations. In week one, the chatbot handled 29% of customer enquiries, rising to 68% within just four weeks.

• Prior to the chatbot, the primary comms channel was inbound telephone, with an average wait time of 25-40 minutes. Now customers can get answers to their questions instantly without having to wait for an agent.
  
  
• Analytics and platform functionality has optimised communication. For example, in cases where a customer hasn’t activated WhatsApp, and a message cannot be sent, the system follows up with an SMS message instead.
  
  
• Automating order tracking and status updates has reduced the pressure on customer support while improving customer satisfaction.