eCommerce has allowed businesses of all sizes to connect to customers worldwide. You can now sell your products online and reach millions of potential buyers. One of the main areas influencing customer satisfaction is the ease of delivery, i.e., logistics. However, eCommerce businesses face several logistics challenges. Cutting costs, labor shortage, and managing inventory are the top challenges faced by logistics, according to data from a Statista report. Hence, an eCommerce business owner should invest time in streamlining logistics to increase revenue. But how would you do that? Here’s how.
Leverage National Fulfillment Services
If you’re an eCommerce business, getting your products to customers can be a nightmare. Moreover, it has to be done at speed and cost-effectively. It’s a fact that Amazon can already deliver to over 70% of the US population within a day.
With that in mind, it is vital to ensure that your deliveries should also reach the customers within a couple of days, if not the same day. That’s where national fulfillment centers come into the picture. These centers are usually spread across the country with different warehouses at multiple locations. This means that whenever a customer orders a product, the fulfillment service provider can simply contact the nearest center and get the order dispatched to deliver it quickly.
National fulfillment centers streamline your logistics by taking care of shipping and returns for you, so you don’t have to worry about tracking orders, managing inventory, or ensuring each customer gets the right product.
Automate Wherever Possible
Automating tasks wherever possible can help eCommerce businesses streamline logistics by reducing the need for manual intervention. For example, automating inventory management can help to ensure that stock levels are accurately maintained, and automating order routing can help to ensure that orders are sent to the most efficient fulfillment center.
In addition, automating customer communication can help to keep customers updated on the status of their orders and reduce the need for a customer service intervention. The use of automation in warehouses can also increase the speed of delivery. In fact, according to the robotics business review, automated warehouses are 40% more likely to dispatch orders within a day.
By automating as many tasks as possible, eCommerce businesses can free up resources to focus on more strategic initiatives.
Use Blockchain for Transparency
Blockchain is a revolutionary distributed ledger technology that is taking the world by storm. In fact, the hype around blockchain is so much that it is expected to increase with a CAGR of 56.3% to reach $163.83 billion by 2029.
Blockchain can offer real-time visibility into the supply chain. It can help eCommerce businesses streamline their logistics by providing an accurate, accessible record of all the data generated in a product’s lifecycle.
Here are three ways blockchain can help your business:
Provides Complete Transparency Into Your Supply Chain
Blockchain technology allows you to track every detail about your product from start to finish, giving you complete transparency regarding where it came from, who made it, and where it went—all in real-time. This means that if there’s ever any issue with your product, you’ll be able to identify its source and take action quickly and immediately.
Increases Efficiency In The Logistics Process
Because blockchain provides complete visibility into your supply chain, there’s no longer a need for paper records or manual reporting—everything happens automatically and instantly on the blockchain network. This means less time manually entering data and more time growing your business!
Decreases Cost By Eliminating Fraud And Reducing Fraud Risk
Blockchain makes fraud virtually impossible because each piece of information is encrypted with a private key—meaning no one can edit it without access to that key. Blockchain also makes it harder to steal data because it’s decentralized, so there’s no single place for hackers to attack. This means that you’ll save money on security and compliance costs in the long run!
Centralize Communications Using Cloud Technology
Whether making sure your orders are packed and shipped promptly or keeping track of inventory across multiple locations and suppliers, managing logistics can be a full-time job for any company.
That’s why we believe that cloud technology is the best way to streamline your logistics processes. Cloud-based solutions allow companies to centralize their communication—with that communication comes increased efficiency, security, and streamlined processes.
With cloud technology, all data can be stored in one place, so there’s no need for multiple software programs to keep track of shipments or inventory levels at various sites worldwide. This means less time spent on logistics management tasks like communications between teams and more on other essential aspects of running an eCommerce business like advertising campaigns or product development initiatives!
Tap Into the Power of Data Analytics
According to data, 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are generated every day. However, most of this data is unstructured. This unstructured data and even raw structured data is of no use. The data needs to be analyzed for insights, which can be extremely useful for businesses. This is where data analytics comes into the picture.
Data analytics is making its way into every industry and niche, from finance to consumer goods—and it’s no different for eCommerce businesses. Here’s how you can use data analytics to make your shipping more efficient.
Identify Your Most Valuable Customers
Your best customers are not all alike; some buy frequently, and others buy only once or twice a year. The more you know about your customer’s buying habits, the better you can tailor your marketing efforts to what they want and need. If you know which customers are most valuable to you, you can focus on them when it comes time to provide discounts or incentives for loyalty programs!
Reduce Waste: Know What You Need to Ship and Why
What happens when someone orders one if you have any unnecessary items in your warehouse? You have to charge them extra for shipping or send them out with another product they didn’t want or need! This is where data analytics can come in handy: by tracking inventory levels as well as customer preferences over time (via surveys), we can keep tabs on what products are most likely to sell during particular seasons (like summertime), which will help you reduce waste and keep your shipping costs down!
Final Thoughts
Following these tips will help give your business a competitive edge and keep you from making any significant logistics mistakes that could spell the end of your eCommerce venture. Take the time to explore each of these tips and do your best to integrate them into your operation; they’ll make your eCommerce business easier to run and more profitable as you go along.