Sweet smell of success: AS Watson Group's The Perfume Shop brings in Scurri as delivery management partner

Specialist fragrance retailer, The Perfume Shop (TPS), says that it has seen “out on time” shipment rates across the UK and Ireland hit 99.2% and also implemented “ship from store” following the appointment of Scurri as its delivery management partner.

TPS is the UK’s largest specialist fragrance retailer with 209 stores in UK&I as well as an e-commerce offering. It is part of health and beauty giant AS Watson Group.

Having invested £2.5 million in warehouse automation technology at its Dunstable warehouse, it appointed Scurri to optimise its delivery management. 

Prior to this, delivery management issues were escalated to management on a regular basis - forcing TPS personnel to step in and solve unwanted delivery problems. 

Additionally, lack of system reliability was also a challenge, particularly during Peak, and while TPS were able to shield customers from these issues, it often came at significant efficiency costs within the warehouse.

Sean Wallis, Supply Chain Director at The Perfume Shop, comments: “Prior to partnering with Scurri, we had three Black Fridays where we couldn’t fully process orders for the first half of the day due to system reliability issues.”

“The average basket size at TPS is north of £20, and if the system is down during Peak it can impact thousands of orders.”

The Scurri system enabled TPS to exceed all previous Peaks with no performance issues. This has translated into faster shipping times, with shipments “out on time” rising as high as 99.2%. 

Wallis says: “Our new system has enabled us to get a reduction in packaging of 40%. Smaller packages means more orders can fit on fewer trucks. Thanks to the speed of Scurri, we can get orders processed quicker meaning we’re shipping more products, faster, and more sustainably.”

Also key here is ship from store - a process facilitated through Scurri – with products ordered within Northern Ireland being shipped from an in-country store if possible, rather than the Dunstable warehouse. 

This process has reduced emissions and enhanced profitability as it has maximised sellable inventory by an estimated 10% with approximately 18% of all orders now shipped from store.

TPS has also signed up for Scurri Track Plus, a post purchase communications tool that helps retailers take control of the customer delivery experience.

“We’re particularly looking forward to implementing the branded tracking timeline, branded tracking emails and estimated delivery date, further improving the customer experience and extending the visibility of The Perfume Shop brand during a time of peak engagement,” Wallis adds.

Rory O’Connor, Founder and CEO at Scurri, says: “TPS is on a continued growth trajectory that has been largely fuelled by innovation.”

“As it continues to redefine what omnichannel retail excellence looks like, Scurri is proud to be its delivery management partner - facilitating the seamless customer experiences and first to market offer the fragrance retailer is renowned for.”