4. SOCIAL 4.4 Consumers and end-users Issues and impacts GEODIS is a service company. Its customers are mostly businesses, except for the Distribution & Express line of business, which also delivers to end customers (private individuals). The Group’s impact on consumers and end-users is limited because the services and products delivered are not manufactured by GEODIS. Nevertheless, the Group’s Purpose states that maintaining the distribution of goods that meet the essential needs of the population, including in situations of social, economic or health crisis, is at the heart of its commitments. In this context, service continuity is one of the priority issues identifi ed in the double materiality matrix. Additionally, the Group’s range of services includes the transport of goods containing products considered to be hazardous. The risks of accidents and pollution likely to affect the health and safety of local residents and the population at large are therefore part of its responsibility. The process of identifying the impacts, risks and opportunities of service continuity in relation to GEODIS’s business model and strategy is presented in section 2.6 of this report. Governance To ensure customer satisfaction and to guarantee that the solutions and services offered to businesses are reliable and secure, the Group is supported by a customer-focused regional organization. In each region, a sales department oversees offerings and services, supported by a team of 1,200 sales professionals. The sales teams are regularly trained to address the challenges of sustainability, a factor in competitiveness and customer satisfaction. In 2024, the Sales Academy revised the module dedicated to decarbonization to give teams a good understanding of this issue and to promote it in their interactions with customers. Policies The Group applies a business excellence model built on seven Golden Rules and seven Leadership Principles. Underpinned by frequent and regular measurement of key indicators, these fundamentals combine supply chain reliability and customer trust. Some policies for preventing, mitigating and correcting impacts affecting consumers and end-users are covered in other chapters of the Sustainability Report (safety and environmental policies in particular). Action plan The action plan addresses the main aspects of GEODIS’s relations with its customers. As a logistics operator, the Group’s intention is to ensure service continuity; to maintain a high level of service to achieve customer satisfaction; and to protect the health and safety of customers, consumers and local residents. 4.4.1 Service continuity Whether it is for internal or external reasons, GEODIS may have to deal with exceptional situations, such as IT system failures, the temporary closure of a sea, air or rail route, or a major incident occurring at a GEODIS or customer site. In addition to the best practices put in place to prevent these risks, continuity plans have been drawn up with many customers to meet their specifi c expectations and provide the level of service reliability they expect. In particularly sensitive sectors such as healthcare, for instance, business continuity plans (BCPs) are systematically discussed and developed with customers. These plans include a list of priority products defi ned by the customer, alternative plans to resume physical fl ows in different identifi ed scenarios, data backups making it possible to switch to manual management if necessary and joint decision-making processes to trigger the different stages of a crisis situation should it arise. Exercises at least once a year to test how ready teams, processes and technical resources are for the scenarios envisaged are also included. All of these measures are discussed periodically with customers, in full transparency. Ensuring the distribution of medicines in sensitive areas To deliver medicines from Northern Europe to Saudi Arabia, with a two-week lead time and a change to the initial route, GEODIS had to adapt by offering alternative transport solutions and seamless logistics to meet customer needs: • efforts from local teams to fi nd the most suitable transport solution to divert the ship’s route in view of the complex situation in the Red Sea and the inherent risks; • compliance with standards and regulations through a health protocol. 140 pallets had to be kept at a constant temperature to guarantee product integrity. Data loggers were placed on each pallet to detect any temperature anomalies; • involvement of a local agent to accept packages at an intermediate stage, and of a pharmaceutical expert to guarantee that operations were running smoothly and safely. 4.4.2 Customer satisfaction An extensive survey is carried out each year to measure customer satisfaction. This online questionnaire, which is available in 16 languages, is invaluable for identifying expectations, collecting feedback and detecting potential sources of dissatisfaction. The results of the satisfaction indicator showed an improvement in 2024. 92% of customers surveyed worldwide are satisfi ed with the relationship. The Net Promoter Score (NPS), which measures the customer experience, notably through how likely customers are to recommend the service, reached +36 in 2024, compared with +31 in 2023. The Customer Effort Score, which answers the question “Is it diffi cult to do business with GEODIS?”, also showed an improvement, with 2.2 in 2024 against 2.3 in 2023(1). (1) The Customer Effort Score measures the effort made by customers to carry out an action or process with GEODIS. The lower the score, the lower the level of effort for the customer. 82 - 2024 ACTIVITY AND SUSTAINABILITY REPORT
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