Holistic Lost and Found — The Future of an Emerging Industry
It is estimated that over 9 BILLION items are lost every year. Most readers will have experienced the issue first hand. The risk of losing your item is especially high while traveling for multiple reasons like being distracted, rushing, massive crowds and so on.
Traveling today can be stressful — even more so if you lose an important item along the way. “Where did I lose it? Who could have found it? Where did the finder hand it over?” So the odyssey of finding the right point of contact ensues, which can feel like looking for the needle in a haystack. There are simply too many variables to consider. Perhaps you called the correct place already, but your item will only be logged in their system at a later date. If the place in question is still using outdated spreadsheets or other insular systems, it is quite possible you’ll never find out about the emergence of your property.
Lost and Found Software.com is creating the first (and only) holistic network for misplaced items. Why? Because interconnected Lost & Found is not only beneficial for organizations. Customer service is also greatly improved for individual travelers.
Let’s have a look at an example. You just returned home from your trip. While unpacking, you notice the loss of your keys. Of course, you’ve used multiple means of travel and accommodation because those are just the times we live in. As a result, your keys could be at any of the following:
- Lyft / Uber / Taxi
- Hotel
- TSA / Customs
- Airport / Airline
- Ground Handler
- Public Transportation
- Municipal Lost and Found
- Police
- …
Most of these organization can only check their own inventory the moment you reach out to them.
No callbacks, no ongoing queries. It is up to you to get in touch and find out the status of your lost item. Every day. Repeatedly. That’s a lot of time-consuming work for everyone involved. Now imagine you switched planes during your return. That’s just another airline, an additional airport, new police stations, foreign customs, TSA, etc. for you to reach out to on your list.
Lost and Found Software.com connects all Lost & Found locations into one holistic network.
One submitted report on any of the connected organizations’ websites and the network will automatically check all possible matches from all locations. Continuously! As of writing these lines, our holistic network already has 9 Million found items connected in its system.
Let’s say the Lost and Found Software Smart Matching algorithm identifies that the airline you traveled with has an item matching your report, even though you submitted your claim at the hotel you stayed at. The System can then automatically redirect your inquiry to the airline’s system. No matter the venue, this creates the perfect network and will lead you to the right place.
On the other hand, organizations not only make sure their customers are satisfied. Staff workload is also decreased because only relevant cases pop up in their respective system. The Handling Gateway integrated into the Lost and Found Software even takes care of the last mile by automating the return and payment process for the organization returning the item.
The advantages for you as a company are considerable:
- Less inquiries for staff! (If the item hasn’t been found or somebody else found it, staff will not have to expend time on the case.)
- Higher return rates — fewer inquiries — better matches! (All thanks to unique and powerful automation.)
A better customer experience for your travelers! (They leave on a positive note with your organization even long after they’ve already returned home.)
