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Product Branding: Small Tips that Bring Huge Success

product branding
Archives, Global Trade Daily, Special Reports

Product Branding: Small Tips that Bring Huge Success

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What makes a good product? Quality, design, usefulness, and the proper market are all contributing factors. But there’s one more thing that relates to products of any size and scale – product branding. It’s the best strategy to attract the right people and encourage them to come back.

But do it wrong, and you’ll confuse even the people who came specifically for your products. 

Let us help you do it right with this brief yet very informative guide.

What Is Product Branding and How Is It Different from Corporate Branding?

Product branding is a combination of actions that brand a specific product. Basically, you analyze the item, look for unique specifications, and market them, creating a separate identity for the product. 

The combination can be very extensive, with months of research and tons of effort invested. Or it can be a lucky combination of package color, catchy name, and motto.

Don’t confuse it with corporate branding, though. Branding products or services means separating them from the whole picture, and evolving and adjusting them to the market.

For example, when you want to brand logistics and/or your supply chain, you’ll be emphasizing the promises made and kept, and encouraging customer and partner loyalty. This means delivering quickly and always on time, fast responses, etc.

Remember how quickly Nike’s shoes get to the shelves of most stores? That’s because of the company’s supply chain that delivers a great customer experience and supports the corporate brand associated with the speed, strength, and ease of the ‘Just Do It’ motto.

To achieve such results, your supply chain and marketing teams have to stay in touch and create a message that will sell a particular aspect of the business. A change in logistics branding can also garner more loyalty even from current unsatisfied customers.

Intel’s ‘Just Say Yes’ campaign has helped it pacify frustrated clients dissatisfied with the quality and speed of the company’s services. The campaign introduced a new standard of customer care and the company improved the speed of request processing.

A supply chain is crucial in product branding because it establishes trust and customer loyalty. And this doesn’t just mean giving people what they need quickly. It means doing so in a way that will make them want to come back and trust you.

Why Is Branding a Product Worth the Effort and Investment?

Especially if you include supply chain and logistics into the product branding strategy, it’s definitely worth the investment of finances and effort.

We have 4 reasons why:

Your product becomes recognizable.

By hearing a phrase, seeing brand colors, or through another association, people will immediately think about your product. Remember the Nike product branding examples. When we hear ‘Just Do It’, we think of Nike and its straightforward strategies like delivering at light speed.

You distinguish the product from competitors.

Once your product becomes recognizable it will stand out, like the brand H&M, which is marketed as a representative of affordable fashion but without the burden of cheap, exploitative labor. Their supply chain transparency definitely stands out.

You establish an emotional connection with customers.

Promoting the speedy and ethical qualities of your supply chain will cause emotional responses from potential and current customers.

It separates the parent company from product failures.

Having a certain product branded farther from the company’s design allows for experiments. Ideally, even a failed one won’t really taint your reputation because the association won’t be too strong.

Now, to the top recommendations on branding a product!

Tips to Focus on While Developing Product Branding 

So, we’ve established the importance of product branding. We’ve found out that a ‘product’ isn’t just an item but can also be a service, such as logistics or supply chain. Finally, we know that not every branding is successful.

But how to make it work well for your company?

We have compiled some of the most effective recommendations for your product and service branding:

Deep research of the audience.

One of the most important things is finding out who your target is, what they want, how they will use the product, and what their values are. By knowing key characteristics of the target audience and their needs, you can start building a strategy to meet their needs and brand your products accordingly.

Why is this important? 89% of shoppers tend to trust brands that share their values.

If we’re talking about branding services like supply chain and logistics, you’ll also need to learn about the location and demographics of the audience. User behavior will let you know where and how they look for the services you provide.

Identifying competitors.

There are multiple ways you can identify and analyze competitors. First of all, remember that every business that wants to stay afloat nowadays works on its online presence. If your competitors are online, you can track them by simply searching for products and services similar to yours.

To find your competitors online, you can search for targeted keywords and see who is on top of Google. Alternatively, you can use an SEO platform like SE Ranking for a competitor search. There, you can enter your website to see who your main organic and paid competitors are and how well they perform. This will help you see what approaches they use and, possibly, what they are missing in their strategies.

Also, pay attention to the advertising aspect. How are their press reports built? What do customers say about their companies and products? Also, don’t pass over business directories, informational websites, questionnaires, etc.

The key to this step is further analysis using the data you get about your competitors. Find out what kinds of products your competitors release, who they target and what marketing channels they use, what their brand values are, how they distribute, etc.
To summarize the data, you can use the SWOT strategy. It’s easy and to the point.

Include product personality and its brand identity.

You have to know exactly where you and the product or service in question stand. What’s your goal? What gaps do you want to fill with the product? What do you have for customers that others don’t?

First of all, people see the picture, and 5-7 impressions can make people remember and even build trust in your product and brand. So be prepared with a great, stylish logo, high quality packaging, taglines, and the name of the product. If we’re talking about supply chain and logistics, it’s the clothes your drivers wear and the condition of their vehicles.

As you finish preparing the picture, it’s time to get deeper. Tell the history of your product or service, dive into its values, the glorious mission, uniqueness, etc. By going gradually, you’ll create a funnel that people will exit already wanting that product or service.

Embrace consistency.

Even if you do all of the above, if you’re not consistent, people won’t trust the brand. One mistake is fine, you can do damage control, but you’re going to waste a lot of money and effort if you don’t have the same message spread across platforms. The design of images and the quality of products and services also need to be uniform.

We’ve already answered the question of whether the investment is justified. But let’s add that sticking to your product brand consistently has a huge impact on its success.

That’s why creating a system and following it is so important.

Don’t forget about your staff.

Your staff has a large influence on how your company and products are perceived. We already talked about driver clothing and vehicles, but what about their tone and values?

Your teams should share the values of the brand and highlight this the best way they can. The job of the company is to remind the staff of the mission, the usefulness of the product, and the goal of the company. It’s essential to keep everyone motivated to not only do their job well but take those values and communicate with them.

The best-case scenario is having a team that shares your corporate philosophy and supports the importance of the product you’re trying to brand.

An excellent example is how your people deliver the product, what they say, what tone they have, and how it correlates with the image of your company.

Summary

Product branding is a powerful tool that can bring your business to a new level. It allows you to experiment without risking the company’s reputation. It provides an opportunity to give personality to each of your products and gain a target audience for them that is separate from that of your business.

It helps enhance what you create and give it life. But you have to do it right. Include every element of design and history into one system, be consistent with your message, and, of course, create high-quality products and services so that people who are drawn to the brand actually have something to love.

demand planning
Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily, Warehousing

Demand Planning: What It Is and Why It’s Important

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Demand planning has evolved to be an integral function of business over the past decade. It addresses the major concerning issue of matching the demand while avoiding wastage. In this article, we will try to cover everything important related to demand planning and why has become so important for business. Before we delve into the details of demand planning, let us understand the concept of demand planning vividly.

Demand Planning: Definition and Concept

As the name suggests, demand planning refers to planning the stock against the forecasted consumer demand. It is a cross-functional process that enables businesses to always have the necessary stock of products while minimizing excess inventory and avoiding supply chain disruptions. It is a continuous process that forms an important function of a business. The constant improvement in technology has made this business function possible. However, its accuracy is still not dependable.

Demand Planning Vs. Demand Forecasting

Often the two are used interchangeably but they differ in their scope and function. Demand forecasting is only a part of the supply chain demand planning process. Demand forecasts are usually done for a specific period of time that varies for different organizations. The demand forecasting process lays the groundwork for the crucial process of demand planning.

Demand Planning: Process

Demand planning is done through close observation of sales, seasonality data, historical sales, and consumer trends. This assessment enables the business to meet customer demand in an efficient manner. In order to achieve accurate results, businesses use statistical forecasting. In statistical forecasting, statisticians use historical data to generate supply chain forecasts using various advanced statistical algorithms. Data-backed forecasts in demand planning help to avoid stock-outs or overstocks while ensuring customer satisfaction.

Each business has different demands and hence demand different algorithm. In order to select the best algorithm for a business, the statisticians have to try different algorithms to see which forecast is more accurate by reviewing each model’s accuracy and bias measures. With the help of statistical forecasting, demand planners can easily identify outliers and exclusions that are based upon user-defined parameters that include standard deviation or the interquartile range.

Demand Planning: Significance

The most important function of demand planning is to strike the right balance between customer demand and stock inventory. This is imperative for delivering customer satisfaction and thereby filling the sales funnel of the business. Although the function of demand planning is very crucial, it is very difficult to achieve accurate results. The complexity associated with demand planning is due to the fact that it requires coordination across the entire organization.

Excess inventory not only blocks the working capital of the business but also adds inventory carrying costs that could otherwise be utilized towards buying fresh stocks or developing the technologies used in the business. On the other hand, a shortage of stock supply can lead to backorders, hasty buying of costly raw materials, and most importantly a bad image of the organization. Shortage of stock is one of the most prominent causes of customer dissatisfaction that can adversely affect the goodwill of the organization.

Demand Planning: Procedure and Best Practices

Demand planning is as complex as it is important for the business. It is a multi-level process that involves speculation and good analytical skills. To make you understand things better, we have broken down the entire process into simple steps.

1. Defining and Collecting Relevant Data

The first and most important step is understanding the data that would be relevant in forecasting the demand. The data is subjective to the nature of business and the scope of its operations. For this, the planners discuss the data with the internal sales and marketing team about the timing of price changes, marketing campaigns, and promotions that could affect demand.

2. Utilizing External Data

Now that your internal database is ready, the next step is to collect the relevant external data. The external data could include metrics regarding the recent performance and delivery timelines of suppliers and distributors and the latest purchasing habits of your key customers. Other factors include the economic conditions that can have a bearing on the demand and sales of your product.

3. Analyze Demand Forecast

After collecting and analysing the internal and external data, professionals decide upon the most appropriate forecasting model that is relevant to your business. After a model is decided, the next step is to determine how much inventory is needed to fulfill the forecasted demand.

4. Measure Results

The final step is to measure the results against the forecasted demand. This step is very important to ensure that you are able to plan the future forecast accurately. For measuring the results, demand planning professionals identify the Key Performance Indicators(KPI) that help you determine the efficiency of your planning.

Your Takeaway

Now that you know the importance and other nuances of demand planning, it is just about time that you invest in a good team that can ensure a smooth flow of supply.

ach
Archives, Banking, Global Trade Daily

Here are the Top Tips for Preventing ACH Credit Fraud

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Forced to work from home during COVID-19, accounts payable departments have accelerated plans to move away from paper checks and pay more of their suppliers by ACH. That, in turn, accelerated another trend: fraud. Through social engineering, fraud attacks on ACH credits are most commonly known as Business Email Compromises or BECs.

According to the 2020 AFP Payments and Fraud Control Survey Report, for the first time, in 2019, BEC schemes were the most common type of fraud attack experienced, with 75 percent of organizations experiencing an attack and 54 percent of those reporting financial losses. ACH credits—outgoing payments from buyer to supplier—were targeted in 37 percent of BEC schemes.

The problem has only gotten worse in 2020. In the September edition of their Fraud in the Wake of COVID-19 Benchmarking Report, the ACFE reports that 90 percent of respondents have seen an increase in cyber fraud frequency from July through August. This included BECs.

Three-quarters of respondents said that preventing and detecting fraud has become more difficult in the current environment, and more than 90 percent expect attacks to increase. Organizations are under siege, and nearly one-third have received no guidance from banking partners about mitigating ACH credit risks.

What can organizations do?

Defeating BECs requires a multi-pronged approach. Ongoing anti-fraud training is important because these emails are getting more convincing every day. Fraudsters have become experts in user data and A/B testing, which reduces elements that alert their victims of illegitimate changes to their accounts. Strong internal controls are also important and network security, which prevents parties from gaining access to internal systems.

Here are four ways to reduce your ACH credit fraud risk.

1. Handle with Care

Thwarting ACH credit fraud is all about handling supplier banking data securely, which accounts payable must have on hand to transmit their payment file to the bank. This data is often stored in the ERP system, or sometimes on an Excel spreadsheet, where AP staff has been recorded during supplier onboarding. Sometimes it’s stored when a supplier updates their information. Fraudulent change requests are one of the most frequent avenues of attack.

Let’s say you’ve got a new person in accounts payable who isn’t fully trained yet. This person gets an email from a supplier, asking to update their bank account information.

Your new hire, eager to please, fulfills the request, inputting a new routing number and bank account, unaware that a million-dollar payment to that supplier is going out the next day. Nobody realizes what’s happened until two weeks later when the real supplier calls, asking for payment.

By then, it’s too late to reel ACH payments back in. You can call the FBI and the bank. They may try to help you, but if the thieves are sophisticated enough, they’ve already moved the money to offshore accounts, and it’s completely gone.

2. Secure Information

You should never use an unsecured email for banking information updates, although a surprising number of companies still do. It’s too easy for a hacker to intercept one of those emails and use the information within it for their own means. If they get contact or bank account information, they can pose as legitimate suppliers and circumvent internal controls. Some businesses even keep information in spreadsheets or their ERPs, but systems like those aren’t designed to store data securely.

Some companies allow suppliers to update their own information in supplier portals. That might work, provided that companies manage secure portal access and verify all updates. However, if suppliers can log in and update information, it’s likely that hackers can access the same information with very little resistance.

The most sophisticated approach that I’ve seen so far includes a trained procurement team, who verifies and validates all changes that come through.

There are a couple of drawbacks to this approach. It’s a big IT investment with plenty of labor asks. Even then, it’s still prone to internal fraud. At the end of the day, even the best systems will still have their risks. The goal is to minimize them.

3. Look at Fees

Companies often try to shift the risk and time burden to others, with some success. For example, they may choose to pay their suppliers by card., which puts the risk on credit card networks. In cases of card fraud, it’s more likely that payments can be canceled or refunded.

Virtual cards offer even more security because they provide unique numbers, which can only be used by a specified supplier for a specified amount. The big drawback is that not all suppliers accept cards—there are fees to consider.

An organization I’m familiar with pays many of its suppliers with PayPal. Their supplier­­­­—most of them small businesses—are located around the world. AP doesn’t have the time or staff to verify payment information, validate bank accounts, and deal with ongoing updates. As the intermediary, PayPal handles all that and guarantees that the funds go to the right place. But, here again, suppliers pay a hefty fee—in the neighborhood of three percent.

4. Shift the Risk

There really is no perfect system in place, which is why we’re seeing ACH credit fraud rise in tandem with the rise in ACH payments. But there is a perfect way to shift the risk to companies that are built to withstand the verification and validation burdens. Today’s payment automation providers manage supplier information, so individual companies no longer have to spend valuable time on it. It’s similar to handing the reins to IT and procurement departments to lock down the database and institute controls. The difference is that working with a provider removes the time investment and liability.

Think of payment automation providers as a means to outsource risk. Their sole focus is to ensure secure, on-time payments to your suppliers without causing costly overhead. They have perfected the systems and processes for hundreds of thousands of AP departments across the United States, and in ways that businesses would be hard-pressed to replicate.

Businesses used to worry about check fraud above all else. While they still have to pay attention to that aspect, it’s become a low-tech form of fraud that’s easy to understand and plan for. As companies shift to electronic payment means, they’re increasingly experiencing sophisticated cyberattacks, which target much larger sums and are harder to defend against. With such attacks growing, businesses may find that outsourcing professionals is the best defense.

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Jeremiah Bennett is the Director of Information Security for Corpay, a FLEETCOR Company which helps companies of all sizes simplify how they pay suppliers, facilitate treasury payments, and reduce risk.

WMS supply chain
Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily, Warehousing

How SOLOCHAIN WMS Can Enable Your Growth Strategy

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Successful growth strategies require technology-enabled innovation. Manufacturers can look at various technologies to automate operations, improve efficiencies, and scale more efficiently throughout the entire supply chain. A WMS is one technology that can help manufacturers transform their warehouse or plant operations to scale for growth. 

A good WMS will provide real-time inventory visibility and create new efficiencies within inbound, warehousing, manufacturing, and outbound processes. SOLOCHAIN WMS combines warehouse management and manufacturing execution system capabilities to deliver a cloud-based, flexible platform with features and capabilities to enable efficiencies and support operational excellence.

Inbound Processes – Improve Receiving, Inspecting, and Put-Away of Inventory

The goal of a WMS is to reduce the number of steps in a process and the touches or movements of inventory. During inbound processes, SOLOCHAIN WMS optimizes inventory receiving.

-SOLOCHAIN WMS enables cross-docking by receiving, creating the picks, and staging the inventory to ship out within a cross-dock zone without putting the inventory into overstock or pick locations within the warehouse. Cross-docking can help move products more quickly based on sales orders and reduce overall handling and movement of inventory.

-Put-away logic in SOLOCHAIN WMS can help workers put inventory in the best or right location when it enters the warehouse. This is important for frozen, refrigerated, and other goods to ensure it is in the proper place. Likewise, put-away logic can bring additional efficiencies if it makes sense from a logistics standpoint to allow forward pick locations to be topped up during the receiving process while still respecting FIFO/FEFO rotation. Put-away logic will help optimize the picking process and improve inventory turnover.

Warehouse Processes – Improve Inventory Control, Accuracy, and Movement of Inventory

SOLOCHAIN WMS can improve inventory control and accuracy within warehouse processes and make inventory movement more efficient and productive.

-Cycle counting within SOLOCHAIN WMS allows for inventory control and accuracy. Inaccurate inventory is one significant way businesses lose revenue. A strong cycle counting process gives a warehouse an ongoing measurement of inventory accuracy while reducing stock shrinkage and shutdowns and the ability to identify out-of-sync inventory or mistakes more quickly.

-Warehouse movements are managed in SOLOCHAIN WMS. These can include put-away moves, replenishments, pre-emptive replenishments, manual moves, and picking. To improve operational efficiency within the warehouse, task interleaving can reduce deadheading and maximize travel time. For example, a forklift operator will complete the next closest task based on their location in the warehouse – it could be a pick, a cycle count, a replenishment, etc.

Manufacturing Execution Functionality – Support Kitting, Multi-Stage Manufacturing, and Recall Reporting

Unlike many WMS, SOLOCHAIN WMS has MES functionality built into the platform to give businesses real-time visibility and traceability throughout the supply chain.

-Kitting or multi-stage manufacturing processes can be managed with SOLOCHAIN WMS to produce finished products. The warehouse becomes connected with the production floor to ensure a consistent material flow.

-Traceability and recall reporting is made possible by SOLOCHAIN WMS. Throughout assembling or producing a finished product, detailed information about each material used is tracked, including lot numbers. As a result, manufacturers can trace forwards and backward. For example, if there was an issue with a single ingredient, the manufacturer can trace all finished products where it was used. Alternatively, if there was an issue with a finished product, the manufacturer can also identify all raw materials used to produce the good. Real-time traceability allows for recall reporting in instances where there are product issues. This functionality is ideal for industries with traceability regulations such as food, cosmetics, and nutraceuticals.

Outbound Processes – Manage Order Types, Fulfill Efficiently, and Meet Customer Compliance Requirements

As customer buying behaviors have shifted significantly, businesses strive to enable new channels to support customer needs, such as eCommerce and omnichannel experiences. How efficiently outbound logistic processes operate is critical to success. Outbound processes managed within SOLOCHAIN WMS are flexible and highly configurable.

-Multiple order types are managed within SOLOCHAIN WMS, and the solution looks to optimize the picking process for the specific order type. A warehouse can fulfill orders for direct eCommerce, omnichannel, and traditional wholesale more efficiently as WMS will direct the pick from the most efficient location. For example, if a large pallet quantity is in the order, the WMS may suggest picking the oldest pallets from bulk overstock rather than from forward pick locations. Likewise, customer compliance requirements can be generated through SOLOCHAIN WMS.

-From a shipping perspective, SOLOCHAIN WMS can be integrated with a TMS system. If the WMS is integrated with the TMS system, the platform can further optimize the picking process. For example, SOLOCHAIN WMS can wait for enough case quantities to create a picklist that will pull a full pallet shipped out by UPS. The UPS shipping labels are printed and applied in sequence during the pick creation as the worker picks the product. With a whole pallet of product, the worker can move and load it onto the UPS trailer versus taking it to a packing station.

The core capabilities of SOLOCHAIN WMS optimize processes – inbound, outbound, manufacturing, warehousing – and accurately capture data and use it to enable new efficiencies. To learn more about the features and capabilities of SOLOCHAIN WMS, download the Gartner Magic Quadrant for WMS Report today.

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About Generix Group

As omni-channel driven demands become the norm, with resulting customer satisfaction harder to achieve, supply chain professionals need to leverage advanced WMS technology to keep their operations nimble, efficient, and scaling – especially in these volatile times.

Given Generix Group’s completeness of vision and ability to execute, as recognized once again by the Gartner analyst community, their SOLOCHAIN WMS is well positioned to help companies needing a modern, flexible and agile solution that can easily adapt to their changing needs. We invite you to contact us to learn more.

This article originally appeared here. Republished with permission, 

digital experience
Archives, Commentary, Global Trade Daily

How to Enhance the Customer’s Digital Experience from Search to Sale

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Many companies were engaging in digital transformation before COVID-19 hit, doing so to meet changing customer expectations and business needs. But leaders saw the pace of their digital journey accelerate dramatically during the pandemic in order to keep up with the evolving customer experience.

One report shows that over half of consumers believe online experiences will be more important than in-person ones. With an increasing amount of shopping, buying and selling being done online, companies have to learn how to connect with customers in the digital realm and give them an experience that will make them want to come back, says Christena Garduno (www.mediaculture.com), chief executive officer of Media Culture.

“The customer experience has been revolutionized and improved through digital technology,” Garduno says. “It presents a tremendous marketing opportunity. Now the reality is that the customer experience has gone mostly digital, and it’s become imperative for companies to focus on the entire experience, which is the totality of the path a consumer takes while seeking, purchasing, and using a product or service.

“It’s every step and every touchpoint in the journey from interest to acquisition. Many companies need to rethink the different types of interactions that consumers have with them. When digital is done well across the board, it can allow your business to build its brand and long-lasting relationships with customers.”

Garduno offers tips for companies to enhance the customer experience through digital means:

-Be prepared with the right information. “Your customers are always ‘on’ in the digital world, so it’s essential to deliver the right information to address their needs,” Garduno says. “This is a big task; one person can’t deal with so many scenarios. But being upgraded digitally gives a company the technology to have a centralized knowledge platform where information can be quickly accessed.”

-Go beyond data and interact with customers. Using analytics helps you understand where users go once they land on your website or open your app. But getting customers’ opinions is crucial. “Talk to those who have been through your digital experience,” Garduno says. “Take data from surveys, emails, and social media to gather more info. Plot out a digital customer journey to highlight the touchpoints and make sure each interaction works.”

-Be consistent across all platforms. “You want your customers to experience unity across all the digital channels they use when interacting with your brand,” Garduno says. “Data needs to be consistent and interactions similar across all platforms. You need to know your brand and make sure you have it positioned so that everything online supports it.”

-Optimize for mobile. With consumers living through their phones, Garduno says it makes a lot of sense to make sure that your website, app or other materials found online are optimized for mobile. “Pay attention to page load time and ease of navigation,” she says. “People want speed and convenience.”

“It’s essential to create the best customer experience strategy for positive digital interactions with your brand,” Garduno says. “Brands that don’t adopt digital solutions will suffer. The pandemic expedited this transition to an exciting time for forward-thinking companies.”

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Christena Garduno (www.mediaculture.com) is chief executive officer of Media Culture, a multichannel brand response media agency that drives growth for global clients with innovative and performance-driven media campaigns. She is a member of Forbes Agency Council.  

amazon
Archives, Global Trade Daily, Special Reports

Washington Cannot Let Amazon Water-Down Consumer Protection Legislation

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The holiday season is a reminder that with more Americans than ever heading online to do their shopping, lawmakers must continue taking action to prevent consumers from falling prey to internet scammers. That’s why it was welcome news when Amazon recently reversed course on its longstanding opposition to bipartisan consumer protection legislation in Congress that would require third-party online marketplaces to verify independent sellers, with the goal of reducing counterfeits and stolen goods from these platforms.

But while Amazon’s public change of heart seemingly paves the way for the eventual passage of the bill, known as the INFORM Consumers Act, lawmakers must ensure that the retail giant and other tech companies do not work behind the scenes to water down the legislation and render it toothless. Counterfeits pose great harm to consumers and small third-party sellers, and Congress must pass strong, comprehensive enforcement mechanisms to adequately protect both groups.

Amazon’s decision to endorse INFORM was certainly a surprise. Just this summer, Amazon launched an aggressive lobbying campaign to kill a more robust version of the legislation. But while Amazon ostensibly supports the current bill, it has reportedly unleased its lobbyists in the Beltway to weaken it. While lawmakers such as Sen. Dick Durbin, one of the bill’s co-sponsors, say they refuse to let this happen, they should remain on high alert.

This is because we’ve seen Amazon’s playbook for publicly supporting legislation while simultaneously working to weaken it behind the scenes. For instance, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos won praise earlier this year when he embraced President Biden’s plan to raise the corporate tax rate. But behind the scenes, the company enlisted an army of lobbyists to maintain the research and development tax credit, which has been estimated to save the company hundreds of millions of dollars a year. As I’ve said before, Bezos’s support for a corporate tax hike is meaningless if the company can continue to engage in egregious tax avoidance schemes.

And it’s not just Amazon; other Big Tech companies have resorted to similar “two-faced” tactics to weaken legislation. In April, an investigation by The Markup uncovered how some of the country’s most powerful technology companies, including Facebook and Google, advocated for mostly toothless privacy protection legislation in statehouses across the country — all with the intention of preempting state lawmakers from taking stronger action in the future.

Now with the prospect of a comprehensive consumer protection measure being signed into law, Congress must resist Amazon’s arm twisting. Counterfeits are far too serious of a threat, and watered-down legislation will fall short of creating the bold transparency measures that are desperately needed. Online counterfeiters have been known to peddle toys and children’s products, putting those most vulnerable in grave danger. These products fail to go through robust safety testing, meaning there is potential for serious health consequences.

But what many may not realize is the impact that counterfeits have on third-party sellers. As someone who works with Amazon sellers every day, I know exactly how legitimate businesses suffer when criminals sell fakes at below the market value. Small businesses are doing everything they can to fight these criminals — even if it means spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to do so.

Many of those selling fakes from the comfort of their own homes and hurting American businesses are overseas. According to the Department of Homeland Security, a staggering 85 percent of contraband items seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection came from Hong Kong and China. Nonetheless, Amazon’s marketplace has become a hub for China-based sellers.

Amazon has no problem touting all of the measures it has taken to clean up its third-party marketplace. But, as I have explained, it’s a common tactic of Amazon’s PR department to just share the numerator — and not the denominator. Thus, the $700 million it invests to fight fraud is pennies in the bucket when you consider that Amazon’s worldwide gross merchandise volume is estimated to be $490 billion.

It is critical that Congress advances the INFORM Consumers Act as it stands today. While I welcome Amazon’s endorsement of the common-sense measure — along with the other third-party marketplaces that recognize the benefits it would bring to e-commerce shopping — I can only hope it is sincere. Working behind the scenes to weaken this bill will be devastating to the millions of shoppers and sellers who have come to depend on Amazon’s third-party marketplace.

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Jason Boyce is the author of “The Amazon Jungle” and founder of Amazon managed services agency, Avenue7Media. Previously, Boyce was an 18-year Top-200 Amazon seller.

shipping
Archives, Global Logistics, Global Shippers 101, Global Trade Daily

How to Avoid 2021 Holiday Shipping Delays

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The question of how to avoid the 2021 holiday shipping delays is hot right now. Both logistics companies and their clients want to get an answer — how can we make this work?

People got used to the fact that they can order anything they want online, and it’ll be on their doorstep in a day or two. They got fond of convenience, so the demand kept growing. However, during the last two years, we’ve seen a shift in the logistics challenges facing the industry. The waits are longer than before, and we can’t expect that they’ll get shorter during the holiday season.

Luckily, things are going fine for now. People are getting their packages, but the real rush is yet to start. So, let’s see how customers can help the retailers, and then we’ll talk about how to prepare for shipping out.

How to Get Your Packages In Time

It’s only natural that you want to surprise your friends and family during the holiday season. If some of them live abroad, you might want to send them a package to unwrap on Christmas morning and share your love that way. However, you’re not the only one thinking this way.

As we’re getting closer to the end of the year, more and more people are sending parcels. Shipping companies are busy, and you need to account for that. Let’s go over a few things you want to keep in mind if you didn’t do your Christmas shopping just yet.

First off, expect delays. We know it sounds contrary to what we’re trying to achieve, but you want to stay realistic.

Secondly, plan ahead. Of course, if there’s a chance that there will be a jam near the end of the month, send or request your packages early. If you can, there’s nothing wrong with doing it right away. You’re better off if they arrive at their destination early than late.

Finally, be prepared to pay the premium. Planning so much in advance is often tricky, especially if you have a lot on your mind. Thus, if you see that you’re already behind, pay the premium to ensure your parcel will arrive when it should.

What Can Businesses Do?

Both retailers and eCommerce companies want to boost their sales, and the end of the year is the best time to do it. If you want to bring your sales up and keep your customers happy, you’ll want to learn how to avoid the 2021 holiday shipping delays. Here’s what you need to do.

Prepare Your Inventory and Packing Supplies

Go over your books and your inventory, and think once again about what is likely to sell a lot at this time. Predict the number of orders you’ll get and make sure you have enough stock to go around.

On top of that, you mustn’t forget about the packing supplies either. No matter how many orders you get, they won’t be of much use if you can’t send the items people want to buy. And according to Murphy’s law, you’ll run out of them in the worst possible moment.

Don’t let this happen to you, and get yourself a bit more packing supplies than you think you’ll need. These aren’t that expensive – so you can afford them, and even if you end up with some leftovers, you’ll use them later.

Set Up Delivery and Return Strategies

If you want to be carefree this holiday season, you must sort out and fine-tune your shipping system. Get in touch with a reliable company and see if you can get a deal. They’ll be more than busy for sure, but if you have a few big shipments to send out, you might even get some kind of discount.

You also want to sort out your return strategy. Some people won’t like what they get, and they’ll want to return it. If you want to improve your eCommerce business and retain customers, your job is to go out of your way and make that possible.

Why Do Holiday Shipping Delays Happen?

If you did everything we talked about, you did everything you could. It’s not like you can take each package and take it where it needs to go by yourself. You’ll have to rely on transport companies to do it for you, and they’re under a lot of stress at the moment. Here are some of the factors that you can’t influence and that can make your shipment run late.

Bad weather. The weather can be unpredictable in the winter, and the shipping company can’t do anything about it. A significant snowfall certainly can push delivery dates a bit further.

A high number of shipments. As we mentioned, more and more people are ordering things online, and the higher the number of shipments is, the higher chances for delays are.

Traffic jams. They’re unpredictable and happen in a split second. So, even if delivery companies know about the existing jams, they can’t predict where the next one will happen.

And that’s all you need to know about how to avoid the 2021 holiday shipping delays. Be honest with your customers, encourage them to order early, and do your shopping as soon as possible.

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Tobi Hook is an experienced transport specialist and a freelance writer. At the moment, he’s working with City Movers on improving their processes and spreading the word about their company. He loves to spend his free time reading sci-fi novels and building model rockets with his son. 

supply chain
Archives, Global Logistics, Warehousing

Information Systems: The Foundation to Supply Chain Automation and Digitization

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At Generix Group, we know that information systems are the foundation to a supply chain’s automation and digitization. However, many companies still lack them, either because they see their implementation as a complicated challenge, or because they are unaware of service companies that can help them, or because they believe the costs of such services are prohibitive.  

For that reason, we wanted to interview Ignacio García, Sales Director at Generix Group Spain. Thanks to his extensive experience in these matters, Mr. Garcia is in a great position to help and guide companies select the technology solutions best adapted to their requirements and available capital

Why is it so important for companies to invest in good software? And why should they see it as a source of savings?

A supply chain is made of various segments, from transportation to warehouses to relationships with suppliers, etc. All these segments are like a company’s organs. For the entire body to move efficiently, the health of each organ is key – and this is becoming increasingly true. The markets’ evolution, both in the consumer market, with the rise of eCommerce, and the industrial market, where the pressures on manufacturing activities are felt more and more, increases the need for better logistics capabilities every day. Today, it is simply impossible to meet these demands without the right tools. It’s not just a question of savings, which these solutions will indeed achieve, but a question of survival in the medium term. Management solutions (WMS, TMS, VMI, EDI, etc.) not only lead to significant productivity improvements and savings, but they are also essential to a company’s ability to respond to market demands.

What solutions do you recommend for real time control and visibility in the transport and warehousing segments: inventory management applications, breakdown, or downtime alarms…?

Achieving visibility over your supply chain can be compared to building a house: you must first lay solid foundations on which to build. In this case, it’s all about having the right management tools from which to extract information from your supply chain. That’s the first step on the way to optimizing an operation’s processes. The pillars of supply chain visibility are a specialized WMS in all warehouses, a transport management system (TMS), and an order management system fully integrated with the customers’ and suppliers’ platforms through EDI or purchasing portals.
Once these pillars are in place, you can build. Platforms such as Generix collect all the information and make it easily available to every agent in the chain, from suppliers to end customers. That enables companies and their management to view the status of their orders from suppliers, monitor an order’s progress through the warehouse, and remain informed of transport status with all the relevant information: status, dates, quantities, etc. The operational benefits are obvious, especially where service levels and quality are concerned.

How do you assess the current market situation? How well implemented are these technologies in supply chains, to what levels?

We’re now used to seeing that kind of interface in the consumer goods industry, where companies can easily consult their status order. More and more, we’re also seeing it in more industrial sectors. There’s a variety of very interesting examples that range from the purchase and delivery planning of reinforced concrete, where concrete mixers can be traced from beginning to end, to industrial manufacturing sectors: automotive, heavy equipment, aeronautics, etc.

In the direct-to-consumer sector, we can safely say that these solutions are widely implemented. However, these typically focus on the final part of the logistics flow, which means that there is still a lot of room to improve visibility with suppliers, transporters, etc. Lately, that’s where we’ve been seeing the most interest from the market.

One last note on this topic: the pandemic and the resulting problems and tensions we’ve seen in maritime transport have highlighted the importance of resilience and visibility for supply chains. In the coming years, this will bring a shift in focus where these technologies – together with strategies for the diversification of suppliers, the elaboration of contingency plans, etc. – will be seen as a necessary tool to gain the flexibility and security needed in the face of such events.

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What projects are you currently working on?

The projects we’re seeing the most these days are platforms that combine transport tracking, integration with carriers, stock visibility (inhouse or at suppliers), procurement, and the likes. And that, in a variety of industries and in different segments of the supply chain. There’s far too many to list, so let me try to give you a sample of the most noteworthy – as most of them are consumer transport visibility projects, I’ll concentrate on other examples that I think are particularly interesting.

Manitou is a good example. They are a global manufacturer of forklifts and they’ve recently launched a visibility platform for their entire supply chain. It encompasses suppliers and manufacturing facilities around the globe and provides visibility to its entire sales network and customers over available stocks as well as on the delivery dates of new equipment.

Another very interesting project is the platform that was implemented by a leading water management company. They had two main objectives. First, they wanted to facilitate the work and planning of its infrastructure maintenance teams. Second, they wanted to enable their teams to respond more efficiently to urgent breakdowns. Thanks to their new platform, they now have global visibility over their stock of parts, both in their different warehouses and at their suppliers of construction material, which enables them to rapidly relocate their inventory in the event of urgent breakdowns. It also facilitates procurement processes, which drastically reduces its global stock. Thanks to better stock management, that company is enjoying significant savings and has drastically improved work execution, which leads to far better response times and efficient incident resolution.

Generix Group North America provides a series of solutions within our Supply Chain Hub product suite to create efficiencies across an entire supply chain. Our solutions are in use around the world and our experience is second-to-none. We invite you to contact us to learn more.

This article originally appeared here. Republished with permission. 

micro fulfillment
Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily, Warehousing

LET’S GET SMALL: WHY MICRO FULFILLMENT IS SO BIG RIGHT NOW

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It’s almost hard to believe that two years have passed since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and its merciless impacts on the supply chain, consumer behavior and how the world conducts business as usual. There is really nothing “usual” about conducting business nowadays, particularly for fulfillment operations in a myriad of sectors now saturating the e-commerce market. 

The fact of the matter is that e-commerce is no longer just thought of for a holiday list or bargain deal that cannot be found in traditional brick-and-mortar shops. E-commerce is becoming more of a first option for some and a permanent solution for others. Grocers, retailers, department stores and beyond are feeling the full effect of the e-commerce trend and despite the pandemic, it could very well be here to stay. 

So, how does this change the way fulfillment providers conduct operations? According to KPI Solutions’ Brittain Ladd, micro fulfillment is the key to capturing lost dollars and keeping up with demand.

“About 20% of all sales today are direct-to-consumer,” Ladd shares. “Prior to the pandemic, only about 3% of grocery sales were online. And only about 6% of all retail sales were online prior to the pandemic, so we’ve seen a massive shift. Grocery retailers and retailers of general merchandise had to change their business models to keep up with direct-to-consumer demand.”

Ladd serves as the chief supply chain and marketing officer with Kuecker Pulse Integration (KPI) in addition to his position as a Forbes Councils member. KPI Solutions is the result of an integrated partnership between Kuecker Logistics Group Inc., PULSE Integration and QC Software. Known best for bringing system integration and robotics automation to a variety of sectors, KPI Solutions approaches fulfillment operations uniquely by implementing and innovating their own software to meet demand.

“KPI Solutions has partnerships with leading robotics companies, and we can install basically any system that exists,” Ladd says. “We work with some of the largest global companies to help them automate their fulfillment and sharpen their strategy to identify more cost effective and innovative ways to meet customer demand. Consumers want more speed, especially now, and a lot of analysts are confused because they fail to realize that the goal isn’t to just deliver groceries in 10 to 15 minutes, it’s to deliver apparel, shoes, electronics and other products as well.”

So, where does micro fulfillment fit? And more importantly, how can it support fulfillment operations now and in the future? Let’s start by understanding how companies–such as grocers—a re struggling beyond the surge in e-commerce. Ladd shares that contrary to the widely held belief, grocers are suffering significantly with e-commerce, as they not only spend more to fulfill these orders, but they must keep up with the labor involved in third-party services, which further complicates the process.

Keep in mind, grocery retailers are now faced with a new wave of demand and speed. Ladd shares that companies in Europe that have entered the U.S. market, such as Buyk and Jokr, are now offering “rapid grocery delivery” in as little as 10 minutes.

“On average, grocery retailers lose anywhere from $7 to $15 on every online order they fulfill,” Ladd says. “And in some cases, they can lose as much as $25 on every online order they fulfill. Most retailers barely break even on any of their curbside pickup orders, except for the product since it’s a little higher value. 

“Imagine being a retailer who is now forced into a model where they’re having to change everything they do to meet the changing demands of consumers, but everything the consumer wants them to do the retailer loses money on. That’s the challenge.”

That’s also where micro fulfillment centers and technology can not only capture these costs but turnaround the way e-commerce fulfillment is streamlined. 

Geek+, Berkshire Grey, AutoStore, and Addverb Technologies are a few of the companies that are innovating fulfillment operations through automated robotic systems. These fully automated systems reduce the chances for human errors with mobility and capability of reaching inside inventory bins quite literally to fulfill orders. Ladd shares that most of these automated solutions cost around $1.2 million to $1.5 million with a return on investment realized within 18 to 24 months, paying for themselves while re-inventing fulfillment.

“The best way I can describe it is like holding a Rubik’s cube in front of you,” Ladd says. “Each of the cubes has some type of inventory inside and sitting on top of the Rubik’s cube are robots that go back and forth and side to side reaching down and picking up these cubes and moving them from one side to another, pulling out inventory. That’s exactly what they do as a robotic picking and fulfillment system.”

Embracing technology is what comes full circle for retailers attempting to overcome the e-commerce surge. And options such as these not only fully automate fulfillment processes but keep human involvement to a minimum. Retailers are catching on and the U.S. market is now starting to see what the European market has already adopted. In fact, Ladd shared that three European companies have recently entered New York City, and they are bringing exploding growth with them.

What makes these systems even more enticing (beyond the fact that they are fully automated) is the ability to operate after-hours–or in the dark when stores are closed. Micro fulfillment centers are intelligent enough to automate the fulfillment process, but small enough that grocery retailers can install them inside their stores–completing all of the fulfillment tasks and mileage usually completed by employees. 

“These systems are quite easy for retailers to embrace and adopt,” Ladd says. “Companies including Kroger, H-E-B, Albertson’s, Instacart and DoorDash are among the more recognized brands that are exploring these innovative options and either installing these systems or exploring how to use these systems. Make no mistake, the future of retail is robotics. Retailers that don’t embrace robotics will never be able to survive long term.”

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Brittain Ladd, chief supply chain and marketing officer with KPI Solutions, is recognized as a leading expert in business strategy, supply chain management, logistics and last-mile delivery. He was one of the first individuals to research, design and recommend that retailers install micro-fulfillment centers in their stores and chains.

e-Commerce: Last mile delivery india profit 8fig amazon logistics
Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily, Warehousing

7 Little Things to Improve an eCommerce Business

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An eCommerce business is more dependent upon the goodwill of its clientele than brick-and-mortar stores. It is very simple really. In an average real-world store, once a customer walks in they are more likely to purchase something. After all, they have made the effort of reaching the store and checking the products. Few people walk out of a physical store empty-handed. However, the same does not apply to an eCommerce outlet since they can simply close the link and go to another site.

Here is what you can do to make sure that this doesn’t happen frequently.

1. Downtime is off time

One of the best things about an eCommerce site is that it’s always available,  24/7. Now that more and more people are logging on to the net to buy products, you can take advantage of it by selling your wares even when you are fast asleep. However, that won’t happen if unfortunately, your site crashes repeatedly. If the site is offline, it is likely that your target audience won’t wait and simply move on to another site.

2. Slow sites don’t get many customers

The average attention span of an online buyer is around 3-4 seconds. If the site doesn’t open fast enough, it is likely your customers will simply move on in search of other options. And why not? After all, there are millions of other online eCommerce outlets out there. If you want your customer to stay with you, make sure your site is as fast as possible.

3. Make sure the CTA is always accessible

Why should your customers come to you instead of your competitors? It is because of your CTA. This is basically the ‘call to action’ that attracts people into the web marketing tunnel. If this call to action is not available or accessible, you will lose out on a lot of customers. Your shopping cart should also be easy to see so that the customer knows how to buy the product.

4. Get rid of slow-selling products

In every store, there are products that sell fast and those that don’t. Concentrate on the former and eliminate the latter entirely from your store. They will stop your cash flows and over the course of time, bring down your business. Of course, you don’t have to throw them away. You can offer them at a real sale (as opposed to one where retailers inflate prices and then cut them down to give an impression that they are on sale). Once the customers see that you are offering a brief opportunity to add real value to their lives, they will buy your slow-moving products and help you clean your shelves. This way, you will also be able to get your cash flows moving.

5. Make sure your site is mobile-friendly

The number of people shopping with their smartphones has increased dramatically in recent months, and there is no sign that the trend will be slowing down anytime soon. In fact, 79% of smartphone users have made an online purchase using this mode within the last six months! This means a site that is not mobile-friendly will lose all of that vast potential market. It is absolutely imperative that your site should be mobile-friendly so it can be easy to see even on a small screen. Apart from that, you should also work on your SEO (search engine optimization) techniques so your site will show up on organic searches on the search engines.

6. Add a live chat option

Live chats will help to gently nudge your customers towards the purchase decision by answering all of their questions. It is a great way to boost your conversion rates and keep your target market happy. Even if they don’t buy the product, the speed and excellence of your response will make them come again. At the very least, they will bookmark your site.

7. Consider using residential proxies

Using residential proxies for market research will give you great insight into the buying habits of your target audience. At the same time, they will allow you to remain incognito.

If you are really interested in increasing your sales and improving your eCommerce business, you must make sure there is no downtime or latency on your site. You should also use residential proxies to help you with your market research with regard to your target audience.