More service, more dissatisfied customers? That’s the service paradox.

I recently spoke with the logistics manager of a fast-growing wholesaler. “We do everything to serve our customers,” she said. “That’s our strength. Customers call, we arrange it. But it’s starting to work against us.”

Many agreements run via emails or phone calls. Our people need extensive knowledge to get orders out the door properly. Coordination happens outside our systems. Onboarding new colleagues takes a long time — if they don’t leave prematurely. The workload is high: lots of coordination, chance of errors, very stressful.

“It used to be manageable,” she said. “Everyone knew what needed to be done. Now disruptions are piling up. What was once our strength is now turning against us.”

I see the same pattern in many companies. Strong customer focus turns into logistical chaos when growth kicks in. Sales promises to ship last-minute orders urgently. The “rush orders” disappoint and other orders run late. The orders grab the last inventory, leaving other customers empty-handed. The result: errors, frustration, and declining customer trust.

This is the service paradox: the harder you try for customers, the more often things go wrong.

In a small operation, exceptions are still manageable. But as volumes increase and systems fall short, things go wrong. Customer focus then requires not more exceptions, but a process that makes customer wishes manageable.

What we can learn from top 10% warehouses

• Process: Make special customer wishes part of the standard process, for example via separate workstations for value added services.
• IT: Record specific customer promises in systems. The WMS then determines what needs to happen without verbal interventions.
• Chain: Make clear agreements about lead times, fluctuating volumes, and additional services — with customers, suppliers, and internal departments.

This creates a manageable process where customer wishes no longer disrupt operations. Exceptions are allowed — if limited. For example, maximum five rush orders per day or large orders announced two days in advance.

Do you recognize the service paradox? How do you handle special customer wishes?

About the author
Jeroen van den Berg is the author of Highly Competitive Warehouse Management and holds a PhD in warehouse algorithms from the University of Twente. He has been advising companies on warehouse optimization and WMS since 1997, running his own consultancy since 2001. He develops Metrica, a Warehouse Optimization System.