Since last year, the e-commerce industry has been steadily rising in popularity. This isn’t a surprise when billions of users constantly use their phones to check on social media, entertain themselves, and buy products and services online. If you’re planning on setting up an e-commerce business model, it’s crucial to place a good amount of emphasis on logistics. From the moment the parcel is shipped from your distribution facility up until it’s delivered to the consumer’s doorstep, logistics will always play a significant role in the delivery process of products.
Fortunately, you can incorporate into your logistical infrastructure several strategies that can help maximize customer experience. Here’s what you’ll need to know.
Outline and Mobilize Your Plans
First and foremost, one of the most critical parts of any business organization is to start outlining plans based on a systematic approach. Data and information are valuable resources in the planning phase. E-commerce retailers should be on their feet when predicting and forecasting their inventory and sales through historical data.
However, using data and analytics to your advantage might be easier said than done for many startups. Many larger companies will have consultants and equipment that can help forecast what’s needed in the future, but many small businesses don’t have the same luxury. So how do startups effectively plan out their inventory?
One meaningful way of forecasting your inventory is by monitoring your engagements and leads through digital marketing analytics. Social media marketing is one of the best ways of funneling organic engagements into your site. If there’s a good amount of views leading towards your product listing, there’s a good chance that it’s a spike in demand. That said, you’ll want to be ready for this situation. Certain types of products will also demand based on context and trends. For instance, scarves might spike in trend during cold weather seasons.
Another important thing that you’ll need to consider when it comes to inventory planning is stocking up for other types of events. Naturally, you’ll want to also stock up for promotional marketing efforts. Most would suggest stocking up for promos, discount codes, and other events that you’re hosting. Having a warehouse that can be improved and scaled can help with an increase in demand and effectively managing your inventory.
Encourage Visibility and Transparency
As your business’s logistics operations begin to grow and adapt to the market, it can become even more challenging to keep track of multiple deliveries and shipping operations being done at once. Companies that experience exponential growth should add more capacity towards their logistical operations through a more remote fashion. Having a surge in orders can be tough to manage if your warehouse space is quite limited. That said, you can use warehouses in different areas and even drop shippers as a means of streamlining your business operations.
However, it’s essential to consider that some obstacles are in your daily operations, such as communication and transparency. If this is the case, this can only lead to problems in the long run. If your organization is left in the dark and there’s no free flow of information between teams and entities, this can easily lead to issues wi9th operations and sales.
Another essential aspect of transparency and visibility is also constantly informing and updating the shoppers on their orders. You don’t have to go through this alone since many e-commerce platforms help users provide shipping details to see the status of their shipments and parcels. Many logistic providers can provide the necessary systems and operational frameworks needed to ensure that you won’t have a problem with your inventory.
Partner Up with a Good Shipping Service
One of the most critical services in the e-commerce industry is having a reliable and responsive last-mile and shipping service that can effectively deliver your products and parcels towards the destination while remaining intact and free from damages.
It’s important to remember that many customers and shoppers will judge your company based on how they are delivered to their doorstep. Thus, it’s crucial to have a sustainable strategy that can cut down on delivery time while maximizing your consumers’ experience.
Fortunately, you won’t have to look far in this situation since reliable shipping courier services can promptly deliver parcels, documents, and packages. Remember: first impressions will always last, and having a sustainable courier as a partner can help your organization grow.
Decentralize Your Warehouses
Lastly, an important thing that you’ll need to consider is that there are many customers from different parts of the region that are miles away. One of the crucial trends in the e-commerce industry is that the product should be as close to the customer as possible. That said, logistics is about cutting down on time and resources needed to get the product towards the customer.
Although you might have a central hub for sending out deliveries through a distribution center, many companies incorporate the use of smaller facilities scattered in different parts of the region close to population centers. This is one of the best ways of reducing delivery times and increasing customer satisfaction in the process. In the long-term, this is a good way of retaining customers.
But isn’t it a bit more expensive than usual to be maintaining a multitude of warehouses all at once? Well, not necessarily. By analyzing data, you can draw up plans on where you should have flexible warehouses, especially when specific demographics and cities will have more sales than other cities.
There are various ways to increase your e-commerce startup’s logistical infrastructure. Whether it’s decentralizing your warehouses, having a dependable shipping partner, having a methodical approach for your planning process, or maximizing the visibility in your organization, these strategies can help cut down on resources needed for your daily operations.