Popular logistics trends for e-commerce

This article is most interesting for representatives of the e-commerce sphere as it deals with the latest innovations in such narrowly specialized things as: delivery the day to day, points for issuing orders and postamats, etc.

Warehouse as a showroom and points of issue orders.

Warehouses may become retail showrooms in the future. The concept of the merger of the store and warehouse is not new. IKEA, for example, successfully uses this model for a very economical supply chain. Warehouses can also be used as a place to receive online orders. Research reports on this issue show that Amazon can launch an order delivery service within an hour.
')


Imagine a warehouse that offers the opportunity to pick up an order through a drive, like a makavto service at McDonalds. At the moment, such a pilot project has been launched by Walmart as a free service to its customers (especially for older people, people with disabilities, as well as parents with small children). They can place their pre-orders online at any time from two hours to three weeks before they are received, and then drive up to the warehouse and pick them up; and the Walmart employee brings them straight to the car. In addition to providing customers with convenience, this service motivates customers to use the Walmart digital platform, and thus the company collects valuable information from customers on their requests and buying habits ...

Increase speed, flexibility and convenience in delivery at its last stage

The final stage of delivery is important for everyone. For the client, this is the very moment when he first holds his new purchase in his hands. For the company, this is the most expensive link in the entire delivery process. So it is not surprising to find innovations in the last stage of the delivery of traditional and omnichannel logistics. Below we look at these innovations.

Effective use by stores of the service of collecting and delivering online orders to an offline store

Traditional offline stores remain one of the most important components of global sales experience, but their role is changing in the omnichannel business model. Shops become complete centers acting as a pick-up point for online orders (buying on the Internet, and then picking up an order at a store) and doing local deliveries in the city (shipping from the store). Most likely, more and more new enterprises will accept this model in order to get the maximum benefit from their traditional investments.
Buying online and then picking up an order at a store has many advantages. With this operation, both the client and the company save money. And when collecting online orders on site, the client often makes additional purchases. Walmart started using this strategy about six years ago, allowing customers to purchase products on the site, and pick up - in any offline store convenient for the buyer to your taste. After the introduction of this service, the seller expanded their added centers for the return of online orders and additional collection points for orders to increase online sales and meet customer expectations. This strategy has been successful - 50% of online orders at Walmart are currently being taken to offline stores, resulting in significant savings in inventory and transportation.
Several first-time sellers using this strategy offer programs for shipping from the store. By increasing sales of online orders, Nordstrom saw an annual turnover growth from 4.8 to 5.41. Retailers benefit from the possibility of increasing margins. One of the largest department stores reported a significant increase in sales growth, increasing the margin by $ 200 million.

Models for delivery to any place and any time

Consumers want to be able to deliver their order at any time and to any destination. We can no longer tolerate the restriction on the opening hours of stores. Modern buyers have an increasing number of service options, many of which are tied to new technologies.
Automated closing cabinets for receiving an order (the so-called postamats) simplify the process of picking up a parcel and provide an opportunity for the buyer to do it 24/7. For example, DHL invented a special automated postal station in Germany. This handy solution is now available at more than 2,000 locations across the country. In the future, trading companies in Germany could use this network of postamats to receive orders for turning them into a vending machine. Also, this network can be used to return orders by customers.
This innovative concept with postamats has reached a more personalized level, and now every customer can have such a box at home. Located next to the home of the buyer, postamat is convenient for delivery and collection of parcels.

One of the latest innovations is the delivery of parcels in the trunk of a car. Using a mobile application, the agent receives the exact location of the car along with the access code to the customer’s trunk CarDrops.sg already offers this service in Singapore, DHL, Amazon, as well as Audi and Volvo have launched pilot projects for the delivery of orders to the trunk of a car in Germany and Sweden, respectively. In addition, individual orders (in particular, heavy goods) can be delivered directly to the client’s house or garage. This requires the installation of the Internet of Things application, which gives access to opening locks and doors.

Uber-style “on demand” delivery uses the existing movement of cars and taxis to deliver packages. Orders are delivered by drivers either within the next hour after the order, or at a time chosen by the customer. Pilot projects providing this type of service were recently launched in Hong Kong and Singapore, as well as companies such as EasyVan (Lalamove in Bangkok) and GoGoVan offer services upon request delivery via a smartphone app as well. MyTaxi offers delivery of German retailers (for example, Media Markt).

Companies like Amazon, Google, and DHL are testing the use of unmanned aerial vehicles. In the future, unmanned aerial vehicles will be able to be used both in the first and in the last stage of package delivery. Drone speed can help achieve new levels of service for urgent deliveries.

Dynamic developing service of the last mile of logistics

Consumers are not interested in tight delivery times. Customers can easily change their mind about delivery times and delivery locations using one personalized online platform. On the Internet or using a mobile application, they can create and change their delivery preferences.
Consumers also require flexibility in communication outside the Internet and mobile applications. They require the same logistical access and interaction through WhatsApp, Vchat, and other unstructured channels. For logistics providers and retailers, the challenge is to create and maintain a single quality of customer service and provide uninterrupted and modernized communications. The fact that the transaction price for these channels is significantly lower than traditional customer service channels provides an additional incentive for the introduction of such platforms.

The need to increase speed: delivery on the day of the order and early logistics

Delivery times are reduced. Many companies - Shutl (eBay), Amazon, Google Express and DHL - now offer delivery on the day of the order and even delivery within an hour after the order in several cities. Companies also need to balance customer requirements for speed with the cost of performing the service. Rather than installing their own delivery centers, many companies save money by using Postmates, Deliv, Uber, and other service providers to deliver orders on demand.

Faced with the need to receive goods on the day of the order, companies are required to go beyond the traditional approach to optimizing the route. Just as retailers offer real-time promotional discounts to sell on stocks, online companies can encourage customers to choose the most profitable delivery services by providing free extras, reduced fees, and other special offers.

Predictive analytics allows companies to look into future demand structures and find products that are geographically closer to the customer in order to allow quick and cost-effective delivery. Looking at a step forward, there is even an opportunity to ship the goods to the buyer before his order, based on his previous orders, search queries, wish lists, basket contents. This approach is called proactive logistics.

Single copies

Increasing consumer demand for personalization can lead to mass production of goods of individual design, taking into account the characteristics of the individual, which in turn can lead to the production of a decentralized volume of a batch of single copies. This requires the supply chain to quickly adapt to changes in time and place of production, as well as opens up new opportunities for the possibility of delaying the services of logistics providers.

Key moments of development and consequences

In contrast to the general practice of taking production abroad, in countries such as China, the tendency of “single copies” suggests that companies will create micro-production sites closer to the desired place of goods request (for example, near or within megalopolises). Responding to the need for product personalization and ever-faster delivery, these highly automated “speedy” factories will use advanced robotics, automation and 3D printing technology to quickly produce customized goods. Manufacturers will be able to immediately respond to changing trends in certain locations and deliver goods in a shorter time. Pioneers are already testing this theory. Logistics providers must develop flexible and digital processes, review warehouse operations, and use new concepts of flexible delivery.

• The new warehouse with services adapted to the manufacture of individual orders will respond to the future need for high speed delivery. Warehouses will combine production with logistics, offering extended deferred services upon customer request. With the help of 3D printing and other mobile automation technologies, logistics providers will be able to undertake the final assembly and / or individualization of the product. They can also use their global networks to tailor existing products for individual orders and supply closer to the point of demand.

• Delivery of single and exclusive goods caused by an increase in the number of one-time orders and short delivery routes, as the production of goods is becoming increasingly decentralized. These concepts can reduce time, make more efficient the delivery of the “last mile”, provide additional loading points, reduce the load / overhead costs, provide larger volumes of services, more frequent deliveries and individualized services. With the advent of new processes in the supply chain, logistics providers will be able to offer customers, at an additional cost, almost instant delivery - a distinction that will require close cooperation with partners and the flexibility of employees.

Main features

• Offering advanced storage facilities and services (eg, 3D printing)
• Achievement of individualization of products and services for the end user
• Ensuring customer loyalty through closer and closer relationships buyer-seller

Main problems

• The financial benefit of producing single, personalized copies of goods has not yet been confirmed.
• Difficulty in planning and implementing logistics processes in a rapidly changing environment
• Increased supply chain and labor flexibility are likely to increase the cost of delivery

Sincerely yours, Yambox full-line operator
(we are engaged in logistics for e-commerce)

---