Spring 2010

IDIS Gold Standard, a brand new standard for home delivery performance, went live in May, setting a new benchmark for e-retailers.

Whilst covering a variety of aspects of the delivery process, the standard focuses above all on one fundamental point: the likelihood that first-time delivery will succeed.

As the explanatory material puts it: 'The IDIS Gold standard is designed to enable e-retailers to offer their customers the probability of 100 per cent first-time delivery success.'

Behind the initiative is IMRG, the e-retailers' association, which has been working on the project for more than two years. Its chief executive, James Roper, comments: 'We see this standard as central to the whole spirit of effective e-retail. Delivery is what people are buying into when they shop online, and IDIS Gold enables retailers to show that they understand the importance of getting it right.'

 

IDIS Gold is thought to be the first standard in its field to zoom in so unequivocally on delivery success. Moreover, it spells out the point that 'carded' deliveries (where the carrier attempts a delivery but there is no one at home to receive it) do not count as 'successful' deliveries in this context. Success in IDIS Gold terms means delivering the product to the satisfaction of the buyer.

The idea is that qualifying retailers should be entitled to display the IDIS Gold logo on their web sites as a mark of assurance that consumers really will get their goods at the first attempt.

The initials IDIS stand for 'Internet Delivery Is Safe', and describe a nine-point delivery charter established by IMRG for e-retailers some years ago. Whilst helping to promote the delivery cause, arguably this can now be seen as simply stepping stone on the path to this new, much more rigorous standard.

While the original IDIS charter (which remains in place) relies on self-accreditation, IDIS GOLD level requires retailers to complete a short but tough questionnaire about their delivery performance. Their claims are scrutinised by an IMRG panel before accreditation is granted.

IMRG emphasises that retailers are not required to apply the IDIS Gold standard on all consignments they despatch, but simply to offer a combination of ordering, pricing and delivery options that allow for the probability of first-time success on all the products they sell. They will still be free to offer additional, perhaps cheaper delivery options that do not match up to the IDIS Gold promise.

However, accreditation does apply across the board to any accredited web site; so within a single web site, retailers will not be allowed to flag up Gold-accredited delivery against some products but not others.

More on the standard – see our News Extra evaluation.