More Companies Choose To Outsource – Here’s Why You Should Too

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More Companies Choose To Outsource – Here’s Why You Should Too

October 5th, 2021 Rumzz Bajwa Leave a comment

When it comes to outsourcing, businesses take different approaches based on their goals. Some focus on increasing efficiency, some on lowering the cost of their products or services. whatever the reason may be, outsourcing is becoming more popular than ever due to its many benefits. In this post, you will learn what outsourcing is and why many businesses outsource certain operations, especially on the logistics side of operations.

What Is Outsourcing?

In business, outsourcing is the practice of contracting an external company or organization to provide a product or service that the firm itself would otherwise produce. It has been associated with job moves overseas in recent years, though this is not always the case. Outsourcing can be done in other companies within the same country and isn’t always for fiscal reasons. For example, one of the most famous forms of outsourcing can be seen with Amazon’s Fulfillment by Amazon program. In essence, online retailers will outsource their logistical needs to Amazon to focus on their core business rather than handling packaging, deliveries, and refunds. This is just one form of outsourcing.

Many businesses are finding that they need to use sophisticated technology to scale their business to new heights. However, this is often easier said than done. For instance, if a company is looking for a fully equipped remote IT support service, they might outsource this to a company that understands this topic deeply instead of setting up new technical departments and hiring a raft of new staff. In this instance, choosing a company experienced in this sector makes financial sense and makes practical sense in that they want it done by a business that understands the task. In light of the above, what are some of the biggest benefits of outsourcing certain aspects of a company?

Businesses Can Focus On Your Core Business

One of the primary reasons many businesses outsource is to focus on the things that make them money. By looking at the earlier example of Amazon, you can see the benefits an online retailer has when outsourcing their logistical needs to another company (especially one as far-reaching as Amazon). Logistical operations are hugely complex, time-consuming, and costly if incorrectly handled. Therefore, this leaves only two options for most businesses:

1. Hire and train new staff

2. Outsource

Although hiring new staff may be cost-effective for large multinationals, many SMEs simply cannot afford to invest the time and money in such a task.

Technology Is Accessible Without The Investment

Operations like supply chain management and logistics often require significant investments in specialist technologies to facilitate smooth and accurate operations. Similar to why you choose not to hire and train new staff, many SMEs do not have the resources to invest in the technology needed to perform these complex tasks. Furthermore, logistics is often only a certain percentage of business operations, so directing resources in technology that you will only use a certain amount of the time is unfeasible. Outsourcing this part of your business to a business devoted to it entails paying a fair amount for them to manage this part of your business and invest in the technology required for successful completion.

It Can Improve Customer Satisfaction

Continuing the e-commerce example, it is clear that outsourcing the delivery of goods facilitates a higher level of customer satisfaction. For example, no matter how much you strive to make customers happy, it is inevitable that some items will be faulty (especially if you have a high revenue). In these cases, it is good practice to simply ask your customer to return the product and provide them with a replacement or a refund. Even though this sounds straightforward, it is fundamentally a loss-making activity you’d rather avoid and instead focus on the profitable side of the business. If said e-commerce business had outsourced this task to a logistics company, they would be responsible for returns and replacements, thus allowing the business to focus on its core activities while maintaining a happy customer base.

Reduced Liabilities

While this point is aimed explicitly at the logistical side of things, it also applies to other industries. By not having to deliver products, a company will immediately cut out the myriad of liabilities that comes with transposition, from accidents to lost packages, etc. However, this also holds for other industries. For example, a company might need a bespoke piece of software to perform specific tasks. By outsourcing to another company, they don’t have to worry about an intellectual property infringement as this will be covered by the outsourced software provider.

Outsourcing can be a massive benefit to businesses. Businesses can save money by outsourcing manufacturing, marketing, logistics, and even accounting. It allows companies to focus on their core competencies and plow all of their efforts into the profitable parts of their business.

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Top 5 Payment Providers for Retail Businesses

October 4th, 2021 Richard Nguyen Leave a comment

Payment providers are critical in assisting organizations to thrive as technology, new payment choices, and markets continue to evolve. Making your website capable of making online purchases, on the other hand, is more difficult than you might think. Connecting your website to a payment processor frequently necessitates significant technical knowledge. Fortunately, third-party payment service solutions provide this functionality without complication to process transactions and improve the shopping experience for your customers.

There are various types of payment service providers in the market. They differ in terms of features, capabilities, and pricing. How can you know which one is right for you?

How to select a payment provider for your retail business

Choosing a payment gateway for your retail business can be more difficult than you think. When assessing payment providers for your website, you can consider a point of sale software connected with secure payment terminals or look for the following crucial features:

Fees: Different pricing schemes might have varying effects on your business. You should be careful of providers that charge for set-up, monthly fees, and variable volume levels. Transaction Processing: You should keep track of how long it takes you to receive paid following the transaction.

Integration: Before choosing a provider, you may ensure that the payment solution interfaces with your website or any of your other applications.

Customers: You should take into account your consumer base’s preferences. Using a supplier that your customers already use for their payments can ensure a faster and less complicated checkout for the vast majority of your customers. Do you have a large number of eBay customers? They are probably familiar with PayPal, for example.

PCI Compliance: You should ensure that your provider adheres to PCI DSS requirements to ensure safe transactions for both your customers and yourself.

Let’s take a look at some of the best payment providers accessible for your retail business!

Paypal

PayPal is often considered the “godfather” of all payment gateways. It becomes a dominant presence in the industry with over 375 million active registered accounts in over 200 countries.

During the checkout process, PayPal Express Checkout asks customers to leave your site and log in with their PayPal account or establish a new one. Your website will have a PayPal button.

Customers leave your site to check out and connect to their PayPal account, or they pay by credit card without needing to sign up for an account when using PayPal standard. PayPal Pro enables you to host and modify the whole checkout process, without requiring the customer to leave your site. It also takes credit cards over the phone, fax, and mail.

Stripe

Stripe is one of the most well-known eCommerce payment gateway services. It was founded in 2010 and today controls between 10% and 20% of the market (second only to PayPal). Having trouble figuring out how to connect a payment gateway to Shopify for example? Not to worry! Stripe’s integration with Shopify is simple.

Furthermore, Stripe operates in over 40 countries and accepts over 135 currencies, allowing your consumers to pay in their currency while you get payments in yours. Stripe Checkout is ideal if you do not want to create payment forms from scratch. It is a payment form that can be embedded into a desktop, tablet, and mobile device. Customers do not leave your site to finish the transaction because they store their payment information with Stripe. Stripe is quickly becoming a household name in the business, and for good reason.

Square

One of Square’s biggest features is how simple it is to set up. Users can install the program for free on any iOS or Android device and accept payments using a free plugin mobile credit card reader provided by Square. Merchants may accept credit card payments with only a smartphone or tablet, making it ideal for food carts, farmer’s markets, craft stalls, and other mobile merchants.

Braintree

Braintree is a payment gateway that combines flexibility, security, and customization. It was purchased by PayPal in 2013 when the online payment giant realized the potential of its competitor. Braintree accepts international payments in over 130 currencies in over 45 countries and regions worldwide.

Wepay

WePay is a bit of an enigma in the digital payment provider market, but it is still beneficial for enough small eCommerce business owners that we placed it on this list. The uncertainty stems from WePay’s failure to make its pricing plan transparent. If you are interested, you must contact them directly for a quote.

Having said that, Wepay has a plethora of appealing features. There are no cancellation costs, for example. That’s correct. Unlike most other payment gateways, you will not be fined if you choose to stop using WePay’s services

Conclusion

Choosing a payment gateway provider will be one of the first milestones in your trip through the world of retail businesses. With this information cutting down the list of payment solution alternatives, you’ll be ready to conduct additional studies and choose the ideal solution for you.

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Richard has been an enthusiastic writer in the retail industry for more than 3 years. He mainly writes about how POS solutions help retailers improve their business efficiency and maximize profit. With long-year experience, Richard never stops updating his industry knowledge so that he can spread it to the world and help people realize the true potentials of having a digitalized POS system in this modern age.

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LEAVE IT TO TECHNOLOGY TO MEET MODERN CHALLENGES: PART I

September 30th, 2021 Matt Coker Leave a comment

To be honest, incorporating more technology into business as usual for logistics, supply chain and manufacturing entities pre-dates the first confirmed COVID-19 case in the U.S. in January 2020. But it did take the global pandemic to propel many in those industries to move unrealized digital transformation initiatives to their front burners.

In light of Industry 4.0, which places a high value on robotics, clean technology, renewable energy and transforming traditional factories into smart ones using the Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud computing, InfinityQS International announced the findings of its 2021 Customer Satisfaction Survey on June 1.

The report from the Fairfax, Virginia-based authority on data-driven enterprise quality revealed that more than half of manufacturers now have their sights set on digital transformation to address concerns brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Behold:

-52 percent of respondents reported they are currently exploring or already adopting digital transformation initiatives to enhance operational performance.

-24 percent cited advanced analytics as their top technology priority.

“The pandemic exposed significant and often widespread operational weaknesses within incumbent manufacturing environments,” said Jason Chester, director of Global Channel Programs at InfinityQS. “It brought into sharp relief where legacy systems and outdated processes exacerbated the problems that manufacturers faced, alongside new challenges such as the rapid shift to remote work and supply chain disruption.”

Digital transformation is the key to addressing these new challenges, according to Chester. “Data, for example, is a great way for manufacturers to increase visibility into their operations as it can provide important insights into each stage of the production process. These insights can then be leveraged to make more informed and tactical decisions to secure long-term resilience and growth.”

In addition to advanced analytics, the other most popular technologies on the priority list for respondents included the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and cloud computing. InfinityQS notes that either technology supports anytime, anywhere access to real-time data for proactive decision-making, enabling manufacturers to maximize performance, respond to fluctuations in demand, ensure flexible operations and even build resilience for future “black-swan” events—all while maintaining high levels of product quality and safety.

“For manufacturers to stay ahead of competition and remain at the top of their industry, they need to constantly adapt to their environment by making tactical digital investments,” Chester says. “It is great to see the majority are rebounding from the pandemic and embracing digital transformation to increase their agility and maintain competitive edge. Companies that do so are better equipped to improve their operations at a faster speed and even anticipate changes before they occur.”

A clue that an impactful industry change was on the way happened during the March 2020 MODEX show in Atlanta, where attendees were warned they may have been exposed to someone with COVID-19. Folks can be forgiven if they were too preoccupied with personal health to consider the findings in the annual Materials Handling Industry (MHI) Report that was released during MODEX. According to the report (which you can read more about in our Industry Expertise column):

-67 percent of survey respondents said they believed robotics had the power to disrupt their industry and offer a competitive advantage for their organization.

-39 percent of surveyed companies said they’d adopted robotics and automation.

-73 percent of those surveyed said they plan to add more robotics or start implementing robotics in the next five years.

For a look ahead of the curve, Global Trade identified industry players who confronted a recent challenge with the help of technological partners. Our case studies are arranged by the categories Global Trade covers on the regular, from 3PLs and e-commerce to intermodal and air cargo logistics. Read on for part one.

3PL

Company: KSP Fulfillment of Fridley, Minnesota

Challenge: Rapid growth putting pressure on order fulfillment

Problem Solver: Softeon of Reston, Virginia

Solution: Cloud-based warehouse management system (WMS)

Founded in 2012 and headquartered near Minneapolis, KSP offers a broad mix of 3PL services to multiple industries, including medical, health & beauty, education, agriculture and pet care. The Verified Veteran Owned Business has realized rapid growth, with revenues jumping 296% in 2020. That is, of course, the goal, but …

Why is there always a “but?”

The mountain of increased orders drove the need for additional space, and KSP is set to complete construction on a new 182,000-square-foot facility in November. However, the KSP brass also realized they needed more than additional real estate.

“The company determined it needed a new WMS with the ability to scale, more advanced features and a better platform for continuous improvement,” explains Dennis Nicholson, vice president, Business Development at Softeon. “KSP selected Softeon as its WMS provider to help power execution of their aggressive strategy, making their decision to move to Softeon in less than two months.”

KSP was ready to move even sooner, to hear CEO Rob Walters tell it. “It was obvious in the early stages of our WMS vetting process that Softeon was going to be the right fit for our short and long-term business goals,” he says. “It was incredibly important that we chose the right strategic partners to ultimately support our customers’ needs. Softeon offers a unique combination of rich WMS functionality, robust support for 3PLs and a collaborative partnership that matches well with our culture.”

It’s not just smaller company cultures that Softeon meshes with, having also provided a WMS solution to Germany’s DB Schenker, which is, of course, one of the world’s largest providers of freight forwarding and logistics services

AIR CARGO LOGISTICS

Company: American Airlines Cargo of Fort Worth, Texas

Challenge: Expanding temperature-controlled shipments across the entire mainline fleet

Problem Solvers: CSafe Global of Dayton, Ohio, and CargoSense of Reston, Virginia

Solution: State-of-the-art packaging and temperature sensors

One lesson American Airlines Cargo learned from the pandemic was that operating one of the largest cargo networks in the world made one no more prepared to handle the huge demand for distributing temperature-critical vaccines, pharmaceuticals and other life science products than Uncle Eddie’s Crop Duster Inc.

Though the new normal is getting more normal currently (knock on Formica), the demand for temperature-controlled cargo solutions is not going away. That even newer normal propelled American to enter into a number of tests and trials in partnership with CSafe Global and CargoSense. The result: All of American’s aircraft offered ideal environments for passive temperature-sensitive shipments thanks to CSafe’s industry-leading packaging and CargoSense’s Temperature Loggers.

The even more amazing result: American’s ExpediteTC solution, which was founded in 2009 to provide active and passive shipping solutions as well as a global network of temperature-controlled facilities, can now nearly double its capacity. The airline has now extended its cold-chain solution network to 30 new stations, including in-demand cities such as Memphis, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.

“When it comes to cold chain shipments, reliability is crucial for our customers,” explains Roger Samways, vice president, Commercial for American Airlines Cargo. “By expanding our offering of temperature-critical shipping on all mainline flights, we are able to provide our customers with access to more than 180 markets, marking the largest cold-chain network in our history.”

During the trials, sensors monitored internal package temperatures while aircraft operated in various climates. Results proved that temperatures of each package stayed constant, despite changing conditions during transit, according to the partnership.

“We are excited the pharmaceutical industry can now leverage American’s full fleet at a time that is critical for all of us,” says CargoSense CEO Rich Kilmer.

Added Tom Weir, CSafe Global’s chief operating officer: “It was a privilege to work with American to conduct these trials and leverage our innovative thermal shipping solution technologies to ensure even more temperature-critical shipments can travel effectively. Many sensitive, often life-saving goods travel the world thanks to effective cold-chain networks, and we are proud to play a part in that alongside American Airlines.”

BANKING/FINANCE

Company: Old Dominion Freight Line of Thomasville, North Carolina

Challenge: Streamline payments to improve satisfaction among 10,500+ drivers

Problem Solver: Relay Payments of Atlanta, Georgia

Solution: Instant electronic payments

Motor carrier and industry leader Old Dominion provides regional, inter-regional, and national services that include expedited transportation through an expansive network of service centers throughout the continental U.S. as well less-than-truckload (LTL), container drayage, truckload brokerage and supply-chain consulting across North America.

However, Old Dominion lived up to the . . . ahem . . . “Old” part of its name by, like many of its peers, relying on cash and checks to conduct business. With manual payment processes creating a sub-optimal experience for customers, OD turned to Relay Payments, which recently received a $43 million infusion from venture capitalists who share the fintech company’s vision of building an electronic payment network in the transportation, logistics and supply-chain industries.

“We strive to deliver best-in-class customer service and are always looking at ways technology can improve our offerings,” explained Todd Polen, vice president, Pricing Services, at Old Dominion. “Working with Relay Payments has allowed us to remove tedious and manual steps throughout the payment process and modernize the way we do business with our customers.”

Relay’s partnership with OD’s accounting, pricing and operations teams is paying dividends, thanks to the development of unique application leveraging data integrations and custom payment workflows for each department’s specific needs. “We have entrusted Relay to process millions of dollars in volume annually,” Polen notes, “and we’ve already been able to realize millions in savings through data integration, digitalization of receipts and simplified reimbursements. On top of it all, our customers are happier than ever which is the most important to us.”

“Our goal was to design an end-to-end solution which eliminated the use of paper-based payments and introduced operational efficiencies and increased revenue for the organization,” says Relay co-founder and President Spencer Barkoff. “We’re excited to continue working together to change the industry and keep America’s supply chain running during a period of immense challenge.”

E-COMMERCE

Company: Hermes Fulfillment of Hamburg, Germany

Challenge: Incorporate state-of-the-art technology to legacy warehouse management systems

Problem Solver: ProGlove of Munich, Germany, and Chicago, Illinois, and Ivanti Wavelink of Salt Lake City, Utah

Solution: Wearable barcode scanners and backend digital systems

Hermes Fulfilment handles the entire shipping process—including customer orders, warehousing and returns—for parent company the Otto Group’s retail companies. Besides multiple locations in Germany, Hermes has logistics, e-commerce and distribution facilities across all of Europe.

After identifying the need to upgrade technologically, Hermes officials sought an “out-of-the-box” solution: 150 of ProGlove’s wearable MARK Display barcode scanners that are married with Ivanti Wavelink’s Velocity backend/warehouse management systems.

This combo platter allows for easy integration of Telnet and browser-based applications to communicate and deliver crucial information to and from workers’ rugged mobile computers and wearable devices.

“ProGlove’s MARK Display is a giant leap forward in barcode scanning,” says Simon Storey, Ivanti’s Global VP of Strategic Alliances. “Their devices come with a unique form factor that is tailored to meet the needs of warehouse shop floor workers superbly.”

His company’s Velocity platform helps improve accuracy and efficiency without modifying or replacing legacy backend systems, all the while maintaining and improving worker productivity. This helps reduce picking errors, decrease downtime and increase productivity without frontline workers needing additional training as they continue to work with the tools with which they are familiar.

“The cost, risk and time associated with writing new mobile applications to keep up with modern mobile operating systems just isn’t feasible,” Storey explains. “We make it easy for their customers to deploy next-generation mobility, minimizing the risks and dependence on IT resources.”

“Ivanti’s Velocity set of solutions is a mission critical engine to boost the digitization of the shop floor,” remarks Charlie Grieco, ProGlove’s chief revenue officer. “While many organizations recognize the need for more flexibility and adaptability, they cannot just shake off the legacy systems they have in place. Ivanti resolves this issue so that businesses can change gears and accelerate to warp speed in no time.”

Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily, Warehousing

Fight the Labor Shortage with Upskilling and Reskilling

September 27th, 2021 Ann Yates, Sales Executive, Generix Group Leave a comment

Warehouse and logistics employees were getting harder to find pre-pandemic, and the COVID-19 outbreak has increased that level of difficulty. Companies across all industries are having a difficult time finding, recruiting and retaining workers in an industry known for requiring long hours on your feet, some heavy lifting and high overall employee turnover.

“Competition for warehouse workers was already stiff before the pandemic. Stores were adding jobs at their warehouses and logistics networks as more customers ordered online,” CNN reports. When the global pandemic drove up ecommerce sales, it added more pressure on retailers to staff up at warehouses.

“Now, retailers are scrambling to add extra warehouse staff as they ramp up for the peak holiday season amid a record number of unfilled jobs,” CNN adds. Citing Korn Ferry statistics, the news outlet says 52% of retailers are facing “significant challenges” hiring warehouse employees right now, and that 33% of the companies surveyed are having an equally hard time staffing their stores.

Of course, at the opposite end of any major disruption lies new opportunities. In this case, companies have a chance to reverse the tide of the labor shortage through upskilling and reskilling. Are you up to the challenge? Read on to find out.

What are Upskilling and Reskilling?

The speed at which jobs are changing—sometimes due to automation and other times due to new business models—means that employees must constantly learn new skills in order to stay relevant and satisfied with their jobs. In many cases, traditional career paths or educational models aren’t enough to satisfy the rapidly evolving demands of the modern workplace. This is where upskilling and reskilling come in.

Upskilling is learning additional skills or enhancing existing abilities, often with the goal of advancement. A retail store clerk or office manager would upskill when transitioning to a management or corporate role, for example. Reskilling, on the other hand, is learning a new set of skills or training for a new role, often with the goal of transitioning to a new job or different industry. A truck driver who wants to become a computer programmer would need to reskill.

Updated Knowledge and Skillsets

Highlighting the value that upskilling and reskilling provide companies and their associates, Ohio News Time says more companies are investing in both because they help employees “perform better with the updated knowledge about their field and the latest developments in their industries.”

“Upskilling creates a positive impact on both organization and staff that can be witnessed through better performance and an increasing number of goals being achieved,” the publication points out. Upskilling and reskilling also help companies promote productivity and bring out the best in their associates; build more self-reliant, confident workforces; and help workers navigate through uncertainty.

“Uncertainty is a crucial reason for companies to invest in upskilling their employees,” Ohio News Time points out. “This includes all the technological advancements, new projects, and reorganizations.”

How Technology Supports Upskilling and Reskilling

With technology transforming every field and advancing the functionalities within those fields, employees are learning how to leverage new advancements at work. The warehouse or distribution center (DC) is a perfect backdrop for seeing the value of upskilling and reskilling in action. Highly automated warehouses are much more attractive and require a more advanced skillset from the new generation of warehouse/supply chain employees.

For example, Cameron’s Coffee is a coffee roasting, packaging, and distribution company that receives its coffee beans from South America, stores them in Minnesota and ships them to hundreds of stores across the country. The company originally had a paper-only warehouse where individuals had to manually check and encode items.

Ready for a change, Cameron’s Coffee decided to update its warehouse and use a combination of the SOLOCHAIN WMS and MES that directly tied into its ERP. With the addition of the software coupled with iPads and handheld devices, the warehouse’s efficiency skyrocketed, sales increased by 50%, ecommerce grew by 200%, and the company was able to expand the size of its warehouse by 25%.

Equipped with their new software and iPads, the company’s employees were not only more efficient, but they were also happier in their jobs. The new technology increased their independence and reduced the amount of time required to complete tasks.

Time to Replace those Aging Systems

When you replace aging, manual warehouse systems with a modern WMS, you’ll not only get efficiency and productivity gains, but you’ll also experience an overall boost in employee morale. This is because the more you reduce the mental and physical strain on your employees the happier they will be.

Utilizing technologies that younger staff is comfortable with (e.g., iPads and touchscreen devices) helps them be more productive and safe at work. Implementing voice command technology in the DC, for instance, helps reduce mental strain and drives an increase in productivity.

5 Ways to Kick Off Your Upskilling Program

Over the next few years, upskilling and reskilling may become more important than ever before. According to the World Economic Forum’s most recent The Future of Jobs report, about 40% of employees’ core skills will change within the next five years. This means that 50% of all employees will have to upskill or reskill.

To companies that want to start their own in-house programs, AG5 suggests these five starting points:

1. Establish training programs for your current workforce.

2. Set up a mentorship scheme in which experienced veterans transfer still-needed skills to the younger generation.

3. Focus on creating versatile and multidisciplinary staff. Job rotation is a prime example of how to achieve this.

4. Add new tasks to existing job profiles so that staff have to learn new skills.

5. Hire specialists to fill gaps for which your current workforce has yet to be retrained.

With no end in sight to the current labor shortage, and with ecommerce once again expected to grow in the double digits in 2021, the time to start assessing your workforce and implementing upskilling/reskilling programs is now. Rather than waiting for your competitors to get a leg up on you, why not make some moves in this direction today?

Solutions exist today that can ensure any warehouse or distribution center operates at peak efficiency, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. From Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) and Transportation Management Systems (TMS) to Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) and more, software platforms can deliver a wide range of benefits that ultimately flow to the warehouse operator’s bottom line.

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.

Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily, Warehousing

Key Considerations for an E-Commerce Fulfillment Model

September 21st, 2021 Sam Nichols Leave a comment

More and more people today are choosing to do their shopping online. The first quarter 2021 e-commerce estimate increased 39% from the first quarter of 2020. Whether it is ordering groceries ahead of time for pickup, tapping an ad on Instagram and buying those sunglasses that caught your eye or a monthly subscription for razors that shows up like clockwork, all of these products begin somewhere. In turn, each of these “somewheres” reach their consumers through their own unique fulfillment model.

By 2023, retail e-commerce sales are expected to account for $740 billion in revenue, up approximately 58% from 2017, according to a Statista market study. If you are a consumer, this may not fully interest you. You might say, “So what? I click a button and the things I want arrive when I need them to.” However, if you are someone in the infancy of starting a business, or if you have an established business that you would like to expand via online sales, creating and maintaining an efficient fulfillment model can be a challenge you grapple with every day.

No two fulfillment models are the same, nor should they be. What works for one retailer may not be effective for another. However, regardless of industry, product or business size, many of the considerations involved in designing an operation are similar. This article will explore what those considerations are, why they are important and how any business can transform their customer engagement through a fulfillment model that evaluates options for insourcing or outsourcing operations, considers strategic investments in supply chain technology and leverages supply chain best practices.

INSOURCING VS. OUTSOURCING FULFILLMENT OPERATIONS

Prior to the emergence of widespread retail e-commerce, fulfillment was a relatively straightforward process. Companies manufactured or procured their products, which were then warehoused in a location with viable transportation routes to their points of sale before eventually being shipped wholesale and stocked at brick-and-mortar retail stores for consumers to purchase. So, what changed? In this simplified example, the biggest shift is that now instead of retailers or company-owned stores accounting for the largest share of orders to the warehouse for fulfillment, this volume is coming from the individual consumer. That said, what has enabled this shift to occur? Well, the answer to that question is multi-faceted. Again, keeping things in a simplified view, this change has largely been driven by an overall decrease in shipping-related costs and expanding technological capabilities that increase the speed of the fulfillment process.

The shipping industry has drastically changed in the last 20 years, with outsourced and third-party logistics (3PL) providers significantly contributing to this reduced-cost trend. According to an Acumen report, the global third-party logistics market is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 7.5% from 2021 to 2028 and is expected to reach a market value of around US$ 1,800 billion by 2028.

Shippers continue to report a reduction in logistics costs by utilizing these outsourced services. What is their secret? Primarily, two factors—scale and technology. Scale, in this sense, means that a wide variety of products from various retailers can be stored and shipped from the same location. This increases truck capacity utilization from the 3PL facility (middlemen) to the shipping hubs that handle last-mile delivery to the consumer. The more a truckload can be fully utilized, the lower the shipping cost per individual item.

This principle applies to every retail operation. If you have an emerging business and want to reduce the cost of reaching your customers, partnering with a 3PL service may be a great option. This would allow a company to take advantage of the 3PL’s scale and technology, for a fee, and to tap into a wider consumer market for less than it would cost to internalize their logistics. Similarly, 3PL partners can be advantageous from a time-to-value perspective. By providing a pathway to quickly spin-up and initiate customer engagement via e-commerce distribution, a 3PL partner can provide scale and reach faster than internalizing. However, this time and cost equation changes as sales volume increases. If a company continually achieves a high sales volume, and can afford to implement a lengthier planning horizon, moving to an internalized operating model may be the better option.

This is where understanding and applying the technology utilized by logistics industry leaders, along with adhering to best practices for warehousing and distribution, become critical to a business’s success. On the other hand, if a company does not meet the sales threshold where partnering with a 3PL is advantageous, options certainly exist to improve fulfillment speed, reduce costs and grow an operation by adopting these technologies and best practices on a smaller scale, all while keeping retail operations independent.

TECHNOLOGY

For any operation that desires growth, investing in and improving the technology used to conduct business is a great place to start. This is especially true in a world where anyone who is a maker, creator or inventor can turn ideas into profits by simply creating a website marketplace using common services such as Shopify or Squarespace. Entry into the e-commerce space has never been easier. It is, however, difficult to know what to do next when the sales orders start piling up.

Is too much success a bad thing? Of course not. However, as a retailer, the obligation to customers is to provide them with the products they purchase in a timely manner while reducing defects and incurred costs as much as possible. It sounds simple but gaining brand popularity and maintaining it are two different things. The former is largely based on marketing or innovation while the latter is predominantly due to a high level of organization and business efficiency.

Systems

Let us revisit our scenario mentioned at the end of the “Insourcing vs. Outsourcing” section. In this example, consider a retailer that has introduced an innovative product or brand to the e-commerce market, and sales are taking off. The success is there, but what do you do next to improve organization and efficiency? First and foremost, getting a grasp on inventory and understanding the product movement within the “four walls” of your operation will prove critical to the long-term success of the business. This is where a warehouse management system (WMS) can help. In years past, the acronym WMS has been synonymous with large-scale, highly sophisticated and automated operations. Today, however, this landscape has changed significantly. Gone are the days of high start-up costs and expensive on-site equipment with an army of consulting resources to get a basic WMS up and running. Those kinds of deployments are now predominantly reserved for the most sophisticated large-network fulfillment businesses where subject matter expert resources can provide their highest value.

So why adopt a WMS? A warehouse management system should be thought of, to use a computing analogy, as the “operating system” for your fulfillment business. It can funnel in orders that you receive from your e-commerce web portal and manage workflow—from directed put-away of product to batch picking orders—with the goal of timely fulfillment to consumers. It can track inventory from receipt to storage and replenishment to sale. Furthermore, it will function as the nucleus of your operation where additional systems and technologies can be built out to continue enhancing operational capabilities. These additional systems may eventually include a transportation management system (TMS) for optimized truck-load planning and parcel shipping, a labor-management system (LMS) for improving workforce engagement and order management or distributed order management system (OMS/DOM) for managing various order streams coming from multiple points of sale.

The WMS can even serve as the basis for attaching automation components such as a warehouse controls system (WCS) or warehouse execution system (WES) for use with conveyor, robotics, sorters or storage and retrieval systems. According to a study by APQC, organizations utilizing a WMS spend roughly $3.63 less per $1,000 in revenue across the entire logistics process than those not using a WMS. This may not appear to be much, but as revenue increases, these savings do as well. Likewise, the efficiency gained by implementing a WMS can result in significantly higher-order accuracy rates and reduce the overall number of expedited orders shipped, further lowering overall shipping costs for a seller.

Low-Cost Options

The core function of a WMS is to better manage the flow of goods within an operation by increasing organization, with the thought being that a high level of organization leads to increased efficiency. This is something any operation, big or small, can take advantage of. Vendors today are providing system options for all sizes of fulfillment businesses. On the smaller side, vendors such as Systems Logic’s “Wireless Warehouse in a Box” and Ship Hero’s suite of products provide excellent cloud-hosted and subscription software options for a quick, easy and affordable deployment.

Additionally, these products incorporate direct one-click integrations to many common sales channels for immediate organizational benefits while also providing a foundation for future technological enhancements that may be desired. According to the company FAQs for both vendors, typical setup time for a system of this type is roughly one week but can depend on several factors. These variables can include the size of the product catalog that needs to be loaded in, the number of sales channel APIs you would like to connect and the extent to which you would like to custom configure certain aspects of the product. Notably, purchasing a WMS and utilizing it for fulfillment within one to two weeks should appeal to any seller that views organization and efficiency as primary drivers for the future success of their business.

Mid-Tier Options

On the mid-level side—keeping the cloud-deployed and subscription basis requirements—many players have forayed into this market providing a wide array of capabilities and advantages. Some vendors in this space have begun to incorporate controls systems, labor and order management modules, KPI dashboards and reporting, as well as additional configuration options. Other capabilities of these products include multi-site and multi-tenant deployments, lite-kitting and build-to-order needs, and space-cube and pick-path optimization functions.

Strong vendors in this space include Deposco, Intellitrack, Path Guide, Ship Edge and SKUVault. Further investigating these options may appeal to businesses that are already utilizing a low complexity system but recognize additional capabilities are needed to sustain and expand upon their success. Uplifting systems in this space will likely require coordination with vendor resources as well as possibly employing contract labor that specializes in WMS installations and configuration. Once live, however, these systems give any mid-sized fulfillment operation significant capabilities that they can continue to develop and utilize for years to come.

Top-Tier Options

If you are familiar with the current WMS landscape, then the vendors servicing the top end of the market should not come as a surprise. These offerings service the most technologically complex distribution operations and provide a level of capability that other systems simply cannot match. They are also on the cutting edge of supply chain innovation, often incorporating native control systems, advanced order streaming (opposed to traditional waving) functions, sophisticated put-away and allocation configuration options, as well as enhanced labor and capacity planning tools. Some vendors are even revolutionizing the way their systems are sold and maintained by converting their products to what is known as a “version-less” architecture. This, in simple terms, means that once you purchase a subscription to the product, you will not have to purchase its successor version in the future. It also means that updates and software patches, along with product upgrades, can be pushed out to the customer with minimal intervention or disruption to day-to-day processes at a lower overall cost.

When considering systems of this scale, products offered by Blue Yonder, Infor, Manhattan Associates, Körber-HighJump and SAP come to mind. Other vendors that fall just short of the very top tier include Avectous, Click Reply, Made4Net, Microlistics and Softeon, among others. It is worth noting that these systems will require significant capital investment to purchase, deploy and maintain over their life cycles. The previously mentioned version-less example is a way in which vendors are attempting to address some of these long-term cost concerns. However, the price of adoption is still quite high. That said, if a business requires intelligent and automated decision-making from its systems, along with high visibility and control over distribution operations, these are the best solutions available.

Extended Systems and Other Options

WMS solutions receive significant attention due to the organizational and process capabilities these systems present, but a key feature for sellers may be left out of the vendor-provided solution. This feature is called parcel shipping. Parcel shipping is defined as shipping small and light boxed items, usually weighing less than 100 pounds, that can be moved without equipment assistance. The process of parcel shipping involves packaging the sold items, weighing and measuring the shipping container with its contents inside and addressing the box to the end customer with a printed shipping label. Parcel shipping capabilities can be introduced to the fulfillment process as standalone systems, part of a TMS or within a WMS solution. Many options are available in this technology space so it is pertinent to research the various types of parcel shipping solutions that will best fit your current business’ size and complexity while allowing for future growth and development.

BEST PRACTICES

While incorporating supply chain technologies and automation into a fulfillment model can drive widespread efficiency gains and reduce operating costs, these tools must be utilized effectively to achieve the desired benefits. The parameters that define the successful use of these tools are known to industry specialists as supply chain and warehousing best practices. Now, it should also be stated that these best practices can and should be incorporated to all distribution models regardless of size and complexity. Any distribution operation can reap widespread benefits by implementing these methods to improve organization and streamline processes.

Slotting

The concept of effective slotting can be a major driver of efficiency gains for any size business. Slotting, as a warehousing strategy, is the idea that goods should be stored in areas of an operation that ultimately reduces the overall travel time needed for laborers to complete outgoing orders. A “slot,” so to speak, is where an item lives within the building. This is the primary place you store an item or product to be readily accessible for boxing and shipping. For instance, if workers are consistently traveling back and forth across a building to obtain the most ordered items a business sells, this becomes inefficient. Instead, consider grouping the highest sales volume items together in the most easily accessible zone of an operation to reduce the amount of travel time required to collect and fill orders. It should also be mentioned that these high-volume items will likely change over time and as such, slotting strategies should change as well.

The number of high-volume products grouped together may expand or contract and may also be swapped out with other products as sales figures and forecasts change. It also does not have to stop there. Many businesses organize their entire operations such that the least commonly purchased items are at the farthest end of their building with the most purchased items located closest to pack-out and shipping. Again, the whole idea is to reduce the amount of time and effort it takes to get products out the door and into the hands of customers. This can also be further supplemented with automation such as conveyors, goods-to-person systems and even AI-assisted software algorithms included in some high-end WMS solutions. However, technology and automation are not a requirement to implement this strategy and reap immediate benefits.

Storage Mediums

A question many businesses periodically ask themselves is, “What size building is needed to store and effectively distribute product?” In some cases, the question should instead be framed as, “Is the available space we have being used effectively?” Evaluating and refining the way in which products are stored can be equally as important as determining where they are located and will likewise be a key component of defining how much space a business requires. Like slotting, which functions as a strategy to reduce travel times, determining which storage mediums to use is all about reducing the amount of wasted space, or “air,” that exists in a product location. For instance, if a section of full-size pallet racking is being used to store quarter- or half-size pallets, this space is not being properly utilized. There could be anywhere from 50-75% of unoccupied space in each of these locations. In this example, if these products are consistently stored in pallets of this size, consider reducing the location opening height of the racking bays. Depending on the product weights, it may be possible to add one or two more overall levels of storage to this area and consolidate products without requiring additional square footage.

This is a straightforward example, but now consider how much space is potentially being wasted when you examine a full-size warehouse. What other consolidation opportunities exist? If a business is carrying a large amount, think multiple pallets of certain products at a time, there could be an opportunity to implement a double-deep pallet storage system. This would lead to an increase in the volume that can be stored at one location while minimizing the overall square footage required to do so. Likewise, strategies exist for handling smaller quantities and sizes of products.

Decked shelving systems can provide a way to mix cases of products in smaller locations, further minimizing the amount of wasted space. These mediums can also be quite sturdy, with the ability to stack high, allowing for large volumes of various products to be in one centralized area. Just be sure to keep track of where everything is placed. These strategies can be further expanded upon by incorporating technologies such as automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS), pallet shuttle systems for very high-density full-pallet storage, as well as both horizontal and vertical carousel systems for small item storage and high throughput rates. Last, but certainly not least, do not underestimate the potential of building a mezzanine. The overall takeaway from this best practice should be before building out, consider what can be accomplished by building up, and strive to effectively use the space available before acquiring more.

Product Handling

When thinking about overall operating efficiency, the goal is to move product from storage to the customer as fast and accurately as possible. A factor that can directly affect this, within the four walls of a fulfillment operation, is the amount of product handling required to complete a sale. Like reducing travel times within the building, minimizing the number of steps required to go from storage to the customer can greatly increase the number of sales that can be completed in a given timeframe. One way to do this is to look for opportunities where processing steps may be redundant. When filling orders, instead of placing items in an intermediary bin to take to a packing area, where they must be transferred from the bin to an outbound shipping carton, consider placing the ordered items directly into the shipping box to eliminate this double-handling.

Expanding upon this idea, another strategy is to fill multiple orders at a time. Think about using a cart or other simple equipment to collect the ordered products from storage directly into their shipping containers and then taking this batch of orders to a pack-out or shipping area. By adopting this strategy of “batching,” further improvements can be made such as grouping similar orders together and minimizing the overall travel distance required. Or alternatively, if volume is high enough, it becomes possible to collect all of the items needed for a group of orders and then sort the products to the right shipping containers at a downstream area, enabling operators to process more volume in a shorter period of time. This is an area that most WMS systems excel in, especially higher-tier systems where more automated decision-making tools are included.

New products and sellers are emerging in the retail market daily. Those enterprises that experience success will continually look for new ways of expanding customer engagement. Whether that means outsourcing operations or taking steps to internally build a robust fulfillment model, the decision to pursue either avenue will be unique to each individual business. Developing an internal distribution operation may seem like a daunting task, especially as success mounts and orders begin to accrue. However, abundant success should not be thought of as a bad thing, but rather a challenge to innovate. The tools required to capitalize on this success and grow towards the future have never been more accessible, though it can be confusing knowing just where to start. Hopefully, the information presented here helps to provide clarity on these topics and outlines a roadmap for improving operations regardless of a business’s size or complexity.

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Sam Nichols is a Project Consultant for Tompkins Solutions. Tompkins Solutions, a subsidiary of Tompkins International, is a global supply chain services firm dedicated to helping clients achieve supply chain excellence and profitable growth. Founded in 1975, Tompkins has integrated its decades of experience in strategy, commerce, logistics and technology to provide unique supply chain consulting and material handling integration solutions. By combining best-in-breed services and technologies, Tompkins delivers a true end-to-end supply chain solution, enabling clients to improve the customer experience and ensure long-term success. Tompkins is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina and has offices throughout North America. For more information, please visit www.tompkinsinc.com.

Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily, Special Reports

How to Make Your Logistics More Sustainable with Green Delivery Packaging

September 8th, 2021 Simon Pleas Leave a comment

As the online retail industry continues to boom, delivery packaging is becoming an ever more important sustainability concern. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a significant increase in online orders, and with technology constantly developing and improving, this is going to continue to increase.

In an article written by Kayla Jenkins entitled “How has E-Commerce Adapted During the COVID-19 Outbreak?” we see that there has been a 32.4 percent increase in e-commerce sales in 2020 and e-commerce shops as a whole achieved sales in the value of over $270 billion. That is a lot of boxes and packing being used; which will lead to a lot of waste and packaging materials that take hundreds of years to biodegrade.

A lot of companies are guilty of not being sustainable when it comes to packaging. Boxes are unnecessarily being used to ship slightly smaller boxes; styrofoam peanuts are being thrown into boxes and can take up to 500 years to biodegrade. In the United States, about 165 billion packages each year are shipped with cardboard which roughly equates to over one billion trees. In a study carried out by Statista, it states that 77 percent of people who order online prefer packaging that fits the actual size of the product to reduce their impact on the environment.

Over at 2Flow, they have put together an infographic entitled “How to Make Your Logistics More Sustainable with Green Delivery Packaging.” The infographic outlines the environmental impact of packaging; the opportunities that come with having a more green approach; the business benefits of going green; the goals of sustainable delivery packaging; how to go about making your product delivery packaging more green; and what the business experts have to say on the topic by showing suitable case study examples.

Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily, Uncategorized, Warehousing

Shopping Cart Abandonment: A Challenge for E-Commerce

September 3rd, 2021 David Jacobs, Industry Insight & Outreach Manager, Generix Group Leave a comment

Unfulfilled shopping carts are rampant in the retail industry and represent a significant source of additional revenues. Too many sales are left pending due to the lack of a smooth process and relevant options presented in real-time to the consumer. To “tighten the weave” of these abandoned sales, retailers need to manage unique and omnichannel baskets. Here is an analysis of best practices.

According to Baymard Institute, 55-75% of initiated shopping carts are abandoned. Despite these statistical findings, shopping cart abandonment is not fatal to retailers. Retailers like Cultura and FNAC have been demonstrating this for several years with a dynamic, 360° approach to their customers’ selections. Their strength? Ensure an overall view of the product selection and associate additional offers and advantages in real-time, regardless of the customer channel (at home, on the move, in-store).

Distributors: Aim for the Top!

“This ‘seamless’ connection between physical and digital channels is the first prerequisite for better basket completion” explains Philippe Petit, product marketing manager at Generix. “The second element relies on the retailer’s ability to analyze, in real-time, the nature and value of products, and to trigger personalized offers in correlation, which improve customer satisfaction and the retailer’s margin.”

According to a study by AB Tasty, a personalized e-commerce customer experience can increase the revenue generated by 15%.

To turn this promise into reality requires a software suite capable of transforming “static” shopping carts into dynamic allies for retailers. “Omnichannel Sales ensures this mission by integrating ‘sales gas pedals’ that offer customers discounts, additional products, advantages or loyalty points depending on the products they select,” says Philippe Petit.

Golden Rules

1. A high-performance shopping cart is unique, omnichannel, and seamless

2. It is managed in a personalized, contextual, and real-time manner

3. It is a customer relationship and satisfaction tool

4. It improves sales, margin, and loyalty

The customer in search of omnichannel fluidity

Consumer journeys are made up of constant back and forth between several spaces (physical and digital), several terminals and several moments (information searches, price comparisons, analysis of comments, delivery conditions, etc.). In networks that combine in-store and online sales, too many baskets turn into a trap, due to a lack of management that is in line with this “mosaic” of expectations and behaviors.

There is also the case of franchised stores, which do not always have the same management systems as branches, resulting in a discontinuity in customer relations. In marketplaces, the rate of completion of baskets varies greatly depending on the costs and delivery conditions of each supplier.

The unified basket, a factor of recurrence, recognition, and valuing of customers

“The absence of a unified shopping cart, managed in real-time, penalizes the brands. Between two distributors that are apparently equivalent, customers always choose the one that offers them the most simplicity and recognition,” continues Philippe Petit. To reverse this trend, Generix Omnichannel Sales aggregates data into a single basket, thus freeing retailers from the problems of re-entering or merging files.

The solution integrates the entire spectrum of information including the basket (items, value), the customer journey (physical and digital), the transaction, promotions, loyalty, and history (recency, frequency, value). This makes consumers feel known, recognized and rewarded for their loyalty. “This is a strong element of differentiation, with a purchase act that is supported from start to finish, regardless of the channels and paths,” emphasizes Philippe Petit.

The statuses can be configured (pending, abandoned, or canceled). The customer, the sales advisor, and the after-sales service can find, in real-time, the shopping cart created via an e-commerce site, a wish list prepared on the phone, an order placed on a salesperson’s tablet.

The retailer can create and instantly distribute discount codes sent by SMS, encouraging consumers to go to the store or online. Omnichannel Sales even offers web services for VAT processing and legal collection of shopping carts generated via a salesperson’s tablet or an in-store kiosk.

According to a study by OpinionWay and iloveretail 48% of French shoppers use their store while in a store.

Clear and efficient returns management: An important decision factor for e-customers

Returns are the third most important decision factor for e-customers, after price and delivery terms. The clearer the brand is on the conditions of return (deadlines, logistics), the more it encourages customer trust and commit to purchasing.
“Generix uses the complete information of the registered baskets in the case of a partial or complete return of a purchase”, underlines Philippe Petit. Whether it was generated in-store and/or online, the single basket kept in Omnichannel Sales facilitates the management of returns, with the same level of information whatever the origin of the order (mobile, web, store, call center, etc.).

Generix hopes to eventually offer an analysis of the reasons for basket abandonment, whether it’s due to a product line’s pricing policy, an over cost between the product’s value and its delivery cost, or a lack of clarity on the return conditions. The result is a significant reduction in the number of unfulfilled shopping carts in consumer e-commerce.

As omnichannel-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.

Archives, Commentary, Global Trade Daily

Boosting Checkout Conversion Rates: Tips for Businesses Chasing E-Commerce Success

August 31st, 2021 Claire Gates Leave a comment

A customer clicking “pay” means the sale is pretty much a done deal, right? Not so fast. What if that final step isn’t actually a leap towards revenue? What if that transaction stumbles at a final hurdle? In this increasingly global landscape, the lack of payment method options is causing exactly that misstep for e-commerce players.

The general theory is that e-tailers expect checkout conversion rates greater than 80% once a consumer has selected the product or service, entered all their personal details, remained on the site, and then try and pay. In reality, nearly 50% of online shoppers say they will abandon a purchase at checkout if their preferred option is not available. This means that the actual conversion – and therefore revenue rate – is far less than 80%.

Amid a pandemic-induced shift to online transactions, consumers now have a stronger sense of what they want in terms of ease-of-use, customer experience, communications, site aesthetics, fulfillment, and everything in between. Consumers expect their e-commerce experience to have been tailored specifically for them.

Accessibility to locally preferred payment methods (LPMs) forms is just one component of this, albeit an important one. E-tailers, as well as payment companies servicing e-tailers, need to ensure that all aspects impacting the customer experience are optimized if they are to truly capitalize on the global e-commerce opportunity in front of them.

The conversion rate conundrum

While it is clear that the user experience is having a direct impact on cart abandonment, it seems that this isn’t translating into action. According to statistics, the global average cart abandonment rates are between 60% and 80%. In fact, companies looking to sell to consumers from different regions across the globe can miss out on 77% of their potential business if they don’t accept LPMs, as more than three-quarters of all global e-commerce purchases are made using them.

At first glance, this is obviously a concerning rate of abandonment. But in the context of the wider e-commerce landscape, it’s potentially disastrous. When COVID-19 hit, e-commerce in the US alone experienced 10 years’ worth of growth in just three months. In Europe e-commerce revenues saw an increase of US$71bn year-on-year, leading to predictions that 2021 would see another revenue jump of 30%. That’s not to mention Asia, which now accounts for nearly 60% of the world’s retail sales online.

With 53% of people surveyed by UNCTAD saying that they intend to continue shopping online after the pandemic ends, this initial shift is now a long-term proposition and those initially lost conversions i.e. sales, reflect the possibility of a much longer-term problem – especially if your competitors have reacted quicker to these trends and demands.

How can businesses increase sales in any market?

To begin with, there needs to be an intention to understand and acknowledge the new consumer climate and what they expect in the post-pandemic world. From a global perspective, LPMs form a large component of this demand.

However, it is critical to keep your global offering locally relevant. For example – don’t offer US preferred payment methods to Asian customers or UK preferred payment methods to Indian customers. Ensure that an LPM is relevant for the market and customer base and where relevant, give them a couple of choices. More than that, showcase those accepted payment types. Old payment method logos could lead to mistrust. And on that same issue of ‘trust’, instilling confidence early on by informing customers how they can pay before they actually reach the payment page, will lead to increased conversion and basket sizes.

Additional tips for fostering a better consumer relationship and ensuring improved conversion rates include aligning the language on the payment method page to the language your customer has been shopping in; providing small information bubbles for each payment method option so customers can make a more informed choice; and make sure to show your trading name on the payment method, as customers won’t necessarily be familiar with your legal name.

Plugging in and partnering, not going it alone

These small and simple gestures may seem insignificant, but they can make or break trust with a consumer. However, what is not simple, is the level of digital transformation required to bring these value-add propositions to the table. With ‘transformation’ being the keyword.

Integrating – and then managing – local payment methods are costly, complex, and time-consuming – often taking as long as a year and can cost more than $1 million to integrate a single LPM to existing infrastructure.

Embedding the tips highlighted above requires a quality, multi-faceted infrastructure. Each LPM brings with it unique funds flow, compounded by numerous operational, regulatory, and legal complexities. That is why many brands are leveraging partnerships to expedite their speed to market and reduce costs versus building in-house.

By outsourcing a local payments infrastructure, businesses can integrate LPMs faster, which addresses the customer’s needs more rapidly hence increasing revenue and could also provide a competitive advantage. Partnering with a dedicated provider of LPMs will also enable deeper and more expansive access to consumers in different markets; the option of the provider managing the entire funds flow for each LPM on behalf of the business tapping into it, and additional monitoring and optimization services to get the best conversion rates for each LPM.

Businesses that leverage a local payments infrastructure can rapidly and cost-effectively tap into the global audience that awaits.

By putting this service into your basket, consumers are more likely to pay for what they’ve put in theirs.

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Claire Gates is the Chief Commercial Officer at PPRO

Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily, Special Reports

Get Ready for the Holidays 2021

August 27th, 2021 Mark Kapczynski Leave a comment

In the heat of summer, the holiday shopping season can feel like it’s a long way away. Experienced e-commerce merchants know better. Simply put, capitalizing on the holiday season requires a lot of effort, and a lot of advanced planning. If you want to meet those seasonal quotas, you’ll want to start strategizing right away.

So, what steps can you take right now to position your e-commerce brand for seasonal success?

1) Develop a seasonal sales plan.

First and foremost, you’ll want to create a basic plan. What are your goals for holiday sales? And, what are some specific sales, promotions, or deals that you want to offer your customers in order to help you achieve those goals? Start finalizing sales and specials now.

2) Start developing seasonal graphics.

To help your customers get into the holiday spirit, you may wish to develop some special graphics to use on your homepage and on social media. Developing these graphics may take a little time, so don’t wait until the last minute! Start generating your marketing collateral today.

3) Identify top sellers.

Hopefully, you have some data available to show you which products were your bestsellers during last year’s holiday shopping season (and in the weeks leading up to the holiday shopping season). Since these are items you know to be popular among seasonal shoppers, plan to showcase or highlight them again this year. (You may also wish to spotlight some of these items in your sales and promotional deals.)

4) Consider gift cards.

Do you provide gift cards to your e-commerce store? Creative gift card ideas tend to be popular around the holiday seasons, so if you don’t already offer them, you may wish to consider launching and highlighting them for Christmas shoppers.

5) Plan gift sets and bundles.

One of the best ways for you to upsell is to bundle items that go well together naturally; for example, you might offer an incentive to buy a sweatshirt and a toboggan together, perhaps branding it as a “winter wear” pack.

6) Plan an email marketing campaign.

Email marketing is one of the best ways to drum up interest in seasonal sales. Start drafting a string of emails right now, including some teasers, deal/promo announcements, follow-ups, “last chance to get it before Christmas” emails, and so forth. Abandoned cart emails can also be effective.

7) Start thinking about remarketing.

During the holidays, one of the most effective forms of marketing tends to be remarketing. This will allow you to keep your e-commerce brand top-of-mind among those who visit the site without completing a purchase. You can also use remarketing to reach out to customers who select a product, then abandon their cart. Again, developing a good remarketing plan can take some time, so we’d recommend that you begin the planning process now.

8) Create gift guides.

Another way to upsell during the holiday season is to create gift guides. These may be blog posts, infographics, or special product category pages on your website, where you can put together items that are similar in price, in style. The goal is to make it as easy as possible for your customers to find the perfect gifts for their friends and loved ones.

9) Design posts for Instagram.

You’ll want to leverage the powers of social commerce to hit your holiday sales goals. Start by putting together some Instagram posts that you can use to drive traffic to your e-commerce platform.

10) Make sure your website is ready.

During the stressful holiday shopping season, the last thing you want is for your customers to have a difficult time completing their orders. Be sure your website is optimized to provide a positive user experience. Test and verify that it’s optimized for mobile use, that it loads quickly, that there are no broken links, and that there are clear calls to action throughout your copy.

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Mark Kapczynski is the Chief Marketing Officer of Gooten, a globally distributed company that operates a smart supply chain for brands and retailers that are looking to utilize print-on-demand manufacturing to transform the way they do business.

Archives, Commentary, Global Trade Daily, Special Reports

How to Build an Unforgettable eCommerce Brand That Stands Out In the Crowd

August 23rd, 2021 Sienna Johns Leave a comment

There has never been a more difficult moment to compete in the eCommerce sector. Products may go viral overnight, new brands can infiltrate and take on competitive industries, and the change in allegiances between corporations is a minor problem for buyers.

Online purchasing has simplified the lives of many people. Not only can you get items delivered to your house, but you also have access to a vast array of products. We are no longer restricted to the product variety accessible in our neighborhood stores. As fantastic as it is to have all of these alternatives, it complicates the process of owning an eCommerce shop. Every day, the market becomes more saturated.

Therefore, how can you attract attention to your eCommerce store and make it stand out from the competition?

What is an eCommerce brand?

Your eCommerce brand is more than simply a logo, brand name, and clever tagline; it is also how people perceive and speak about your business and its personality. It is the impression made on individuals by an eCommerce company they have dealt with, directly or indirectly. It is a business’s distinct, one-of-a-kind personality, the first thing that springs to mind when consumers hear your business’s name.

Here are some suggestions.

Complete customer understanding

The first and most critical step toward making your clients fall in love with your brand is understanding and appreciating its origins. That implies you must also understand precisely to whom you are marketing your products.

When determining your audience, exercise extreme caution. A diverse population utilizes many products. However, the majority of them may be narrowed down to a “Primary” or “Secondary” audience, and so on.

While a game can appeal to players of all ages, the brand must determine and focus on its primary demographic. You must make your brand appealing to folks who are most interested in a product like yours.

Use social media and video content to get them through visuals. First, you must determine which closely defined client profile or persona spends the most and purchases the most in the product area you compete with. A broad approach will not communicate to anyone in the audience that it is for them.

Provide leading-edge products – conduct research and sell a superior product!

There is no surer approach to attract customers than to provide the best or most intriguing goods. Conduct research to ensure that your product is distinct from others existing on the market. What are the most popular interests similar to yours? Why are they superior?

Consider positioning your product as an upgrade to theirs; incorporate newer technology or stay current on industry trends. Being on the cutting edge entails being one step ahead of the competition. Therefore, make sure to conduct industry studies, identify trends, and develop an innovative product to differentiate yourself.

Strong personality

Memorable brands always have a personality. You consider them and identify the elements and attributes that make them stand out in customers’ thoughts. From Apple’s sleek, fashionable, and creative design to Coca-Cola’s cheerful personality to Mercedes’ elegant, expensive, and wealthy image, all of these factors contribute significantly to businesses standing out and being remembered by consumers.

Attributing personality features to your brand may occur organically due to how clients perceive your brand, but you may also carve out the traits you desire. Through the design of your website, the graphics and material on it, and your advertising, you can establish a personality that will entice clients and help you stand out.

Customers will recognize you based on your characteristics. Online brand development is a continual process that educates clients about what you have to offer, what you stand for, and how you can help them improve their lives. Customers are satisfied not just with your goods but also with you because brand identity fosters favorable emotions. And that includes product packaging; YES According to studies, most buyers are drawn to the cute packaging, which is much better if custom-produced. Numerous organizations, such as RXD, now offer an infinite number of services for custom brand packaging.

Provide an unforgettable customer service experience

In today’s marketing landscape, experience is undoubtedly the most crucial differentiating feature. Customers from all around are searching for a firm that can deliver a fantastic easy experience – not the lowest pricing or the most creative items.

There are numerous ways to provide an excellent experience on your eCommerce store, from optimizing the checkout process to developing a great website. While the website you construct has an essential impact on how your clients feel about your company, don’t ignore the importance of creating a dedicated, efficient service team.

Conclusion

Developing a long-term eCommerce brand is a skill that will pay off well in the future. This is critical for every eCommerce firm that wishes to differentiate itself from the pack and separate the best from the rest. By maintaining consistent brand identity across all aspects of your business, from your domain name and social media presence to influencers and customer service, your business may develop into a long-lasting brand that many will remember for years to come.

More Companies Choose To Outsource – Here’s Why You Should Too

What Is Outsourcing?

Businesses Can Focus On Your Core Business

Technology Is Accessible Without The Investment

It Can Improve Customer Satisfaction

Reduced Liabilities

How to select a payment provider for your retail business

Paypal

Stripe

Square

Braintree

Wepay

Conclusion

3PL

AIR CARGO LOGISTICS

BANKING/FINANCE

E-COMMERCE

What are Upskilling and Reskilling?

Updated Knowledge and Skillsets

How Technology Supports Upskilling and Reskilling

Time to Replace those Aging Systems

5 Ways to Kick Off Your Upskilling Program

INSOURCING VS. OUTSOURCING FULFILLMENT OPERATIONS

Distributors: Aim for the Top!

Golden Rules

The customer in search of omnichannel fluidity

The unified basket, a factor of recurrence, recognition, and valuing of customers

Clear and efficient returns management: An important decision factor for e-customers

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