Global Online Marketplace Optimizes Return Costs by 16% and Elevates CX with Intelligent Automation

Client Overview

A leading global e-commerce marketplace, recognized for its unparalleled product variety, seamless shopping experience, and steadfast focus on customer satisfaction. With a strong international footprint and a reputation for innovation, the platform continues to set the standard for online retail excellence.

The Challenge

Escalating Return Costs and Fragmented Customer Support Operations

The company’s customer-centric approach – marked by a highly flexible return policy, particularly for premium electronics – unintentionally fueled a sharp rise in reverse logistics costs. Frequent returns placed growing pressure on operations, introducing inefficiencies across inventory management, restocking, and financial reconciliation processes.

At the same time, customer service teams were burdened with fragmented workflows, outdated support tools, and limited access to centralized knowledge resources. This disjointed environment led to prolonged case resolution times, increased handling costs, and eroded customer satisfaction levels, ultimately threatening the company’s hard-earned reputation for service excellence.

Sutherland Solution

Enhanced Support Powered by Intelligent Automation 

To address operational inefficiencies and elevate the customer experience, Sutherland implemented a holistic strategy anchored in intelligent automation and AI-powered technologies:

1. AI-Powered Support Ecosystem
   Leveraging proprietary tools – including Extract, SmartLeap® HelpTree, and Connect® – Sutherland seamlessly aggregated and analyzed customer and operational data from multiple disparate sources. This integration streamlined support workflows, automated case categorization, and accelerated issue resolution, significantly reducing agent effort and improving first-contact resolution rates.
   
2. Contextual and Intelligent Knowledge Delivery
   Sutherland developed rich, contextual support content – including dynamic setup guides, intelligent troubleshooting workflows, and AI-curated FAQs – delivered through an adaptive knowledge base. This AI-driven solution ensured that both customers and agents had immediate access to precise, situation-specific information, dramatically enhancing the speed, accuracy, and quality of support interactions.

The Outcome

Accelerating Growth and Elevating Customer Experience Through Automation

Sutherland’s intelligent automation strategy delivered transformative business outcomes across key performance areas. The company realized a 3% uplift in product revenues and an 11% improvement in customer experience scores, demonstrating stronger engagement and loyalty.

Customer effort scores surged by 31%, reflecting a significantly smoother, more intuitive support experience for end-users. Operationally, the company achieved a 53% reduction in return prevention rates and a 16% decrease in reverse logistics costs, underscoring major gains in efficiency, cost containment, and service quality.

That’s digital outcomes delivered!

Together, these results reinforced the company’s commitment to delivering frictionless experiences while unlocking new revenue streams and driving sustainable operational excellence.