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Cosmetics: To Cope with Booming E-commerce, Manufacturers Deploy Warehouse Robots

cosmetics
Archives, Global Trade Daily, International Trade

Cosmetics: To Cope with Booming E-commerce, Manufacturers Deploy Warehouse Robots

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The cosmetics industry in France is a major driver of the economy. Despite the drop-off in exports caused by the pandemic, the sector achieved total revenues of over €15.7 billion in 2020 and leads the world with a 24% share of the global cosmetics market. The exceptional circumstances over the past year have had another effect on the industry – they have amplified consumer trends and pre-existing purchasing practices such as personalization, transparency and the boom in online sales. The net effect has been the total disruption of the product mix occasioned by, for example, the surge in demand for natural, healthy products and a fall in the demand for lipstick.

Against this background, in addition to its usual challenges – time to market, the growing demand for personalization and the management of peaks in activity – the cosmetics industry is being compelled to change and adapt its logistics model. Warehouses are having to automate storage and order picking without losing sight of the particular nature of personal care products – high unit values, tight technical specifications, critical shelf life and low individual despatch unit volumes – in order to be fully effective strategic assets, delivering products increasingly quickly and meeting new consumer expectations.

The benefits of Goods-to-Person robotization in meeting new logistics challenges

As new trends coalesce into a dynamic that demands a response, Goods-to-Person robotization – where robots transport shelf units containing goods to operators – is set to revolutionize logistics in the cosmetics industry.

– Given the change in consumer behavior and habits: In response to new consumption trends, today’s cosmetics industry is setting its sights on omnichannel sales and distribution together with digital technology. Consumers are demanding a simplified buying journey in every channel, from next-day delivery by e-commerce sites to click-and-collect, and a smooth item return process for online purchases. In warehouses, this rapid omnichannel delivery is translating into an exponential increase in retail order picking activity, which is both time- and resource-consuming.

Advantages of Goods-to-Person robotization: Besides reducing storage space by up to 30% using mobile shelf units where many products can be economically stored in small quantities, the Goods-to-Person robotics solution guarantees quicker picking of retail orders. It eliminates unnecessary movement and actions by operators to ensure the careful handling of fragile products. The gain in picking productivity can be as much as 40%.

– In this age of hyper-personalization: The other great challenge facing the cosmetics industry is the advent of hyper-personalized cosmetics where the ingredients and packaging are adapted to match consumers’ individual requirements. To this is added a boom in kits that allow consumers to make their own beauty products. The impact of these developments on warehouses is an increase in the range of products to be stored and picked, the need for short or on-demand production runs complying with the regulations on cosmetics (which are particularly demanding in Europe) and the need for personalized packaging combined with adherence to tight delivery times.

Advantages of Goods-to-Person robotization: Goods-to-Person robotization enables small quantities to be picked rapidly and moved seamlessly to areas where orders are personalized in terms of labeling, preparation and/or packaging.

– Ever-increasing trackability and transparency: Another fundamental trend rapidly becoming established in the cosmetics industry is the demand for natural products and the consumers’ need for transparency, reinforced by the Covid-19 crisis. Consumers now want sustainable products, in phase with their concerns, together with all the necessary information on their ingredients, origin and manufacturing process. Their desire to care both for themselves and the environment looks set to continue as “clean” beauty, eco-friendly packaging, short supply circuits and products made in France gain in popularity. Trackability of products in the warehouse is a key factor in meeting the consumer-driven demand for transparency.

Advantages of Goods-to-Person robotization: Scallog’s Goods-to-Person robotics solution makes it possible to optimize locations according to batches, expiry dates, etc., and to ensure flawless trackability throughout the picking process.

– And therefore security: This demand for trackability is linked to that of security. Cosmetics products are recognized for their high monetary value, which increases the risk of theft. Cosmetics manufacturers must mitigate the risk of products “flying away” from warehouses that run a multitude of processes and are often staffed by a high proportion of temporary staff. Any solution that helps to combat theft and shrinkage improves the manufacturer’s margin.

Advantages of Goods-to-Person robotization: The Goods-to-Person system is based on a fully enclosed and secure storage area in which robots operate, moving shelf units. In addition, when picking orders, operators are guided and monitored in everything they do.

– Many triggers that cause peaks in shopping activity: The cosmetics industry today offers consumers many incentives to shop in order to boost its sales. To the traditional festive season, always a time of high shopping activity, are now added promotional offers, Valentine’s Day, Black Friday, Cyber Monday and similar “special” events that result in booming sales of perfumes and cosmetics over a few days. Warehouses must once again cope with a significant increase in order picking over a short period.

Advantages of Goods-to-Man robotization: Scallog’s Goods-to-Person robotics solution absorbs peaks by smoothing order picking efficiently and cost-effectively. It handles increases in order picking requirements by extending its operating times, only needing limited additional human resources.

A competitive and dynamic sector, the cosmetics industry is having to reinvent itself and its logistics model in response to today’s unusual situation. The main post-Covid-19 challenges, wide-scale sustainability and “naturalness” – natural ingredients with recyclable, zero-waste packaging – all represent sources of growth for the industry. Goods-to-Person robotization can play an important role in maximizing this opportunity as its flexibility, adaptability, productivity and sustainability are guaranteed!

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

A Founder’s Guide to Importing with Canadian Fulfillment

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Since the year 2010 when it overtook the United States, it is no longer news that China has become the world’s leading nation in terms of manufacturing. The United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) released data that estimated China’s contribution to global manufacturing in 2019 at a massive 28.7 percent. This has turned the attention of many ambitious entrepreneurs to the East where the most populous nation on earth presents itself as an irresistible manufacturing market.

On the other hand, the trade war between the US and China – which has seen both parties slap heavy tariffs on each other’s goods has made it economically difficult to import goods directly from China, and by extension frustrating the efforts of American businesses that are trying to explore the Chinese market.

So, how can the American entrepreneurs that want to take advantage of the booming Chinese market beat the harsh economic demands of direct importation from China? The answer is in taking Canada as a smart China-to-US route and leveraging Section 321 and Canadian Fulfillment.

What is Section 321 and how does it work?

Section 321 is one of the most common US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) statutes known by ecommerce businesses. Introduced in 2019, the section authorizes low-value merchandise below the minimum of $800 to be exempted from paying custom duties or taxes.

What does Canadian fulfillment mean?

Canadian fulfillment companies are third-party companies in Canada that receive and provide warehousing and logistic services, as well as handle the shipping processes, checking in imported stock for business organizations, and helping them to deliver orders directly to their customers. Their delivery service makes sure the processing and shipping of orders to the US are carried out on the same day just as would be the case from a store in the States.

How do you take full advantage of Section 321 through Canadian fulfillment?

As mentioned above, Section 321 is a bridge for direct importation from China to the US. It is important to note, however, Section 321 alone, is not enough. There are certain conditions and best practices that could make the process tedious and difficult for business owners to ship their goods through the border. These conditions, if not complied with, may also lead to serious punishments and delays in shipment.

Here is how you as an entrepreneur that has an ecommerce business can take advantage of Canadian fulfillment, maximize the benefits of section 321 and bypass its constraints:

1. Importers are only allowed to claim Section 321 once daily. If you are going to be importing goods that are worth above the $800 value threshold (which is very likely), this means you will not be able to ship your entire goods through the US border all at once. As an entrepreneur, using the services of a Canadian fulfillment company will aid in maintaining business-to-customer and business-to-business delivery operations across the border at an economy-friendly cost, and without having to worry about the import duty and tax.

2. Apart from the daily limit, the logistic effort of receiving very large ecommerce shipments from China, shipping them to the U.S., and the cost of transporting them to your warehouse could be very overwhelming and unnecessary. E-commerce business owners have settled with using the warehousing services of Canadian fulfillment to save cost and prevent stress.

3. An entrepreneur that does not have to worry about the logistic and warehousing aspect of their business would have the opportunity of focusing on other things.

Summarily, leveraging on Section 321 through Canadian fulfillment can help entrepreneurs conveniently maximize their exploits in the Chinese market without feeling the economic heat of the trade war.

trade compliance
Archives, Global Trade Daily, International Trade

If Trade Compliance Was a Soccer Team…

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The Olympics, Gold Cup, Copa América, Euro 2020: most soccer fans will have a team or two to cheer for this summer. For those, as well as for those who prefer trade compliance over soccer (so, basically everybody in global trade), here the definitive Summer of 2021 Global Trade Intelligence starting lineup (in a traditional 4-3-3 system). Pretty sure we’d beat those ERP, CRM, and (despite the overlap) TMS teams at the Software World Cup.

Goalkeeper: Export Compliance. A non-plussed, stabile, robust lock on the door is needed to stop penalties (yes, a global trade pun!) and set the standard for the team. Thoroughly, prepared for set plays (like license determination) and deflections (like transshipped exports). Nothing falls through the cracks; errors can be fatal for a compliance program.

Right Back: Origin. You want reliability in your backs plus, ideally, one that can also make progress forward and save some duties. Origin is both: the solid paperwork to verify your claims and the forward approach to benefit from the preferential rates where possible. A sometimes aggressive yet always reliable origin program can bring significant benefit to the company.

Center Back: Restricted Party Screening (RPS). It’s simple: your center back doesn’t let any opponent slip through and that’s the same for your Restricted Party Screening solution. Nothing gets through or there will be consequences. RPS sets the tone and, with a solid RPS application, everyone feels more secure doing their part.

Center Back: Brokerage. Another solution that stands or falls with reliability. Your brokerage application must be strong, solid, reliable, scalable. It bends but doesn’t burst. It’s steady when needed but can accelerate if there’s a lot to do. With just that, there is a perfect center foundation for some solid compliance work.

Left Back: Import Compliance. Completing the back four of compliance, the left-back may be where you used to stick the weak link, but no more. This includes document, permit, license requirements. Import compliance programs (think OGA/PGA requirements but also VAT registrations, packaging requirements) are gaining momentum. Ecommerce plays a role in all this as well. As for the right-back position, it is nice to have a left-back that can also create opportunities, for example, by anticipating B2C compliance requirement changes (like changes to VAT exemptions or licensing exceptions).

Right Midfield: Objectives and Key Results/Key Performance Indicators (OKRs/KPIs). The barometer is of course in midfield—making sure holes are filled, needs are met, focusing on where there is a little shortfall or supporting where things are moving along. OKR/KPI reviews keep everything balanced and ensure that attention is paid to areas where improvements can be made and that strengths are praised and leveraged.

Center Midfield: Classification. The center of it all. The core challenge according to multiple surveys, classification is the ongoing challenge of getting it right all the time and with ever-changing HS codes (hello 2022 WCO Updates!). Only a number 10, central player can figure it all out (the greats co-function as parts master as well). And, when they do, it’s a joy for the whole team. Without classification, there’s no offense or defense—only loose ends.

Left Midfield: Duty Deferral and Saving Programs. The left midfielder is creative (with that subtle left foot), somewhat looking for that through ball but still solid when it comes to defending completed work. Welcome to duty-saving options. Foreign Trade Zones, processing reliefs, drawbacks: you name it, the left midfielder has them all in the pocket and is ready to launch.

Right Forward: Valuation. Better get it correct (must be able to defend when questions are asked) but not impossible to get really creative with it. Think First Sale, non-transaction value-based valuation, the excitement when working with the transfer pricing teammate. The six valuation methods are like the six ways the right-winger can leave the opponent behind.

Center Forward: Supply Chain Resilience (SC Resilience). Arguably, if it were a 5-3-2 system, SC Resilience would be a wingback—new and fancy but still doesn’t always have a spot. But, in a 4-3-3 system, it’s great to have something fresh and sometimes unpredictable to make a good impression. SC Resilience encompasses all the exciting elements a forward-thinking operation needs: anticipating the market and logistics flow, staying ahead of the competition, and surging towards new goals.

Left Forward: Visibility. The left-wing position is made for volatile players. Sometimes everything works, sometimes nothing. The same way it sometimes feels with supply chain visibility—one day the dashboard is packed with useful information and the next there are huge gaps, but the collaboration with SC Resilience, in particular, helps to build expectations.

On the Bench: Implementations, integrations, audit support (reporting), and disaster recovery plans. What to do with the coach? For being the best trade compliance expert I have met and loads of other reasons, I’ll take Ruud Tusveld as the coach—even though he used to play goalie.

Trade compliance for the win!

inventory
3pls, Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily

OUT WITH THE OLD: ‘JUST-IN-TIME’ IS A THING OF THE PAST IN TODAY’S INVENTORY MANAGEMENT

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The supply chain has been given a new blend of market disruptions in the past year. Beyond the obvious pandemic, digital commerce surges and new expectations for next-day delivery have some inventory managers scrambling to keep up with demand while meeting expectations in performance and operations.

Inevitably, cost management goes hand in hand with achieving competitive consumer satisfaction results, so this adds another layer of stress for the team to maintain. Of course, none of this matters if the product is unavailable, and if the status of goods is unknown for extended periods of time, the lack of visibility alone can quickly diminish any chance of maintaining a competitive edge. 

So, what does it take, then? Tom Martucci, chief technology officer at Consolidated Chassis Management, shares that previously held ideals toward inventory management have shifted.

“Inventory management, which was primarily driven by just-in-time philosophies before COVID, has evolved,” Martucci said. “The realization of disruption and the need for ‘buffer stock’ is no longer seen as a luxury but a necessity, particularly in asset management. The operational degradation, lost sales and recovery costs have proven far more impacting than any savings from keeping stocks ‘tight.’ Most companies will now reconsider these old philosophies, with more consideration given to service continuity.”

So, what can be done to better understand what is needed for that competitive advantage everyone in the industry is aiming to achieve? It starts with appropriate asset management. Martucci shares that assets–primarily their utilization and costs–need to be approached with a different philosophy in mind.

“The lessons over the past year have shown us that we must consider a portion of our assets as ‘buffer stock’,” Martucci explains. “The costs of these assets need to be included with the overall pricing philosophies, where I believe these small increases, clearly explained to the stakeholders, are much more easily accepted than massive disruptions and recovery costs. As always, there needs to be dialogue between seller and buyer to assure there are clear expectations and deliverables.”

Technology fulfills a critical role in supporting proactive inventory management initiatives, especially for those warehouse managers struggling to keep up with unpredictable demand trends. The important thing to remember here is the level of visibility provided by the technology implemented. By successfully gathering critical information and data, managers are not left with risky assumptions and guesses. 

“Technology drives visibility, and visibility is a necessity for efficient inventory management,” Martucci says. “In the same way that you can’t manage what you can’t measure, I believe you can’t manage what you can’t ‘see’ in terms of asset visibility via solid technology. On the cutting edge of this evolution is the adaptation of GPS tracking and telematics of the asset itself. No longer will companies need to rely on and ‘hard reader’ verification of the asset’s location. On-board technology will not only be able to tell us where the equipment is, but also the physical condition of the asset. This will promote more efficient use and a higher degree of safety.”

Consolidated Chassis Management takes asset management and amplifies it. The key part of what makes the company’s solutions competitive is not only the amount of data provided, but also the right kind of data it gathers and manages. What makes CCM a highly competitive chassis pool manager is found at the core of CCM’s mission that embraces an inclusive and extended stakeholder reach while maximizing principles of quality, availability, flexibility, efficiency, sustainability and neutral management.

“Our technology division created our CIT platform with asset management as its core mission,” Martucci says. “The technology was developed to manage the assets within the CCM chassis pools, and we recently introduced it as a fleet management solution for other companies needing an equipment management solution. The underlying design of our technology includes logging and tracking the number of different metrics throughout the various supply chain processes. We consider our systems very data-rich, which provides us the visibility needed to effectively manage the assets.”

Additionally, CCM takes into consideration how the market is evolving and proactively prepares to adapt solutions for optimal customer support and add a level of flexibility for the customer. Adding to their focus on quality, Martucci explains that changes are in the works for advancing data integration capabilities in the near future.

“Although we are currently reliant on EDI and APIs for data sharing, we are preparing our APIs for the emerging evolution of GPS-Telematics which positions us to seamlessly integrate the new data into our applications and data warehouse,” he says. “These tools are highly flexible resources our management teams use in assuring the assets are where they are supposed to be and are maintained at the highest level.”

From traditional asset management philosophies to advanced technology integrations, Martucci makes it clear that going back to the basics of asset management is at the core of any inventory management approach. Without these key functions of a business within the supply chain, there is simply too much room for error if the goal is to remain competitive. 

“This starts with having a clear visibility as to where the assets are and what their condition is,” Martucci says. “Accepting that consistency is the forerunner of efficiency, establishing clear asset management processes and procedures is a key foundational element. Maintaining a clear set of business metrics that drive and support these business processes is a must; as we’ve said, ‘You can’t manage what you can’t measure–or see in this case.” 

If your company made it through the past 12 months, consider what brought it to the other side of the pandemic and this new era of digital commerce. If there are still holes in your organization’s management approach, the time to rebuild the groundwork of your strategy is now. An important takeaway is that traditional philosophies – not antiquated methods, can be what sets your company apart from competitors. 

______________________________________________________________

Tom Martucci is vice president and chief technology officer at Consolidated Chassis Management, where he is responsible for the identification of CCM’s computing needs as well as designing and enhancing CCM’s software suite to meet today’s market needs. He has more than 30 years of experience in the transportation industry, with responsibilities ranging from technical development of applications to developing IT strategies for several large corporations. Prior to joining CCM, he was the chief information officer with Interpool Inc., where he managed separate IT departments for servicing the leasing business and the design and development of Trac’s Poolstat system. Tom attended Iona College, where he received a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, majoring in Management and minoring in Computer Science. He recently attained a certificate in Executive Training for High Performance at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. 

logistics
Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily, International Trade

3 Reasons Why it’s Going to Take Longer to Unravel the Current Global Logistics Mess

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If you’re involved in global shipping or even a consumer who recently purchased furniture or other bulky items, you’re well aware of the sorry state of global logistics. The pandemic and its knock-on effects have created global shipping chaos and driven astronomical shipping costs. While we are all enduring the consequences, the big question now is when will global logistics return to normal? Will it happen after peak season this year? I am less optimistic about a quick turnaround. Here are three data points that highlight why I believe the current situation will drag on longer than anticipated.

Inventories are way down and retailers want to hold more of it in the future.

The pandemic created a unique situation. Manufacturing and distribution capacity declined, but consumer demand didn’t. Retailers have seen their inventories cut as consumers continue buying, but they cannot replenish their stocks. According to the US Census Bureau, the inventory to sales ratio is down more than 25% since the beginning of the pandemic (see Figure 1).

The chart also shows a general decline over 2 decades in the inventory to sales ratio, which is a testament to retailers and their logistics partner continually improving their supply chain performance. That trend is about to change as many retailers are deciding to hold more inventory as a hedge against greater supply chain uncertainty. So, what does that mean? Retailers will be buying more than what they need in the short-term to build their stocks to larger acceptable levels. This will continue to put more pressure on supply chains and logistics operations—not reduce it—even after the peak season ends this year.

Figure 1: Retail Inventory to Sales Ratio

Inflation is up, but still viewed as manageable and history says it can go higher before stunting demand.

The Federal Open Market Committee (the Fed) just released its revised forecast for inflation. The forecast did rise by 1% to 3.4% for the year; however, that is more than manageable and unlikely to suppress consumer demand as longer-term inflation is being forecasted at 2%. In addition, if inflation were to go higher, that wouldn’t necessarily mean that US import volumes would decline and take pressure off the current situation. The last time inflation breached 5%, as it did in May, was in August 2008 when it reached 5.8%. As you can see from the US maritime import chart (see Figure 2), import volumes continued to increase.

Figure 2: US Maritime Import Volume

Source: Descartes Datamyne

The economy continues to reopen and the Fed expects robust job creation through the fall. This is a good news/bad news story. As states continue to relax or eliminate COVID-19 related restrictions, parts of the economy such as restaurants, tourism and other service industries will return to more normal capacity, increasing demand for goods many of them import. The Fed is also predicting robust job growth into the fall. The continued opening up of business will drive job growth and consumer spending as those hit hardest by the pandemic have more cash to spend. Again, more pressure on global supply chains.

The protracted situation means that short-term plans that increase costs but get goods to market may make more sense than waiting for the global shipping situation to get better on its own. However, retailers and other importers should evaluate their supply chains now for the alternate sources and paths their goods take to get to market. This evaluation should take into account the impact that highly concentrated and congested trade lanes have on the risk to fulfilling customer demand. For example, the concentration of manufacturing in countries such as China and the use of ports like LA/Long Beach. We can see today the delays that are happening and it won’t take much to see additional delays at some level with disruptions in the future. Now is the time for importers to engineer the risk out of the supply chain.

e-commerce
Archives, Commentary, Global Trade Daily

How to Improve Your E-Commerce Sales Strategy

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Sales, Sales, Sales, why can I not get any sales? Do you own your own eCommerce business? If you do, I know you have had this question at least once. When it comes to making sales as an established online business, it can be difficult at times. If you are just starting out, the most challenging thing you will ever do is to get people to notice your company. There is a lot of competition out there. You need to figure out how to stand out from the rest.

Do I house my own inventory, drop-ship, or both? What is going to make me the most money with less overhead? What is going to sell the most? What are the best products? Should I have a specialty line, or be an online store like Walmart or Target where they sell everything? When it comes to e-commerce, finding your market and niche is going to be the game-changer for your success. Your first try at finding what is going to work for you, may not work. Don’t get frustrated, just keep working on it. Once you find it, the profit could change your life.

How to Rank

If you Google E-Commerce sites, have you ever wondered how they are ranked and how yours can be on the top of that list? It is all based on what is called SEO. SEO stands for Search engine optimization. SEO is the process of improving the quality and quantity of website traffic to a website or a web page from search engines. It targets unpaid traffic, known as “natural” or “organic” results, rather than direct traffic or paid traffic. Unpaid traffic may originate from different kinds of searches, that include image searches, video searches, academic searches, news searches, and industry-specific vertical search engines.

Search engines scour through billions of pieces of content and evaluate thousands of factors to determine which content is most likely to find what you are searching for. They do all of this by discovering and cataloging all available content on the Internet such as web pages, PDFs, images, and videos known as “crawling and indexing,” and then ordering it by how well it matches the query in a process we refer to as “ranking.” If this seems complicated to you, there is always the option of seeking help from an SEO consultant that will clarify it all and help you rank on the first page of Google.

Why SEO

SEO is important because, while paid advertising, social media, and other online platforms can generate traffic to websites, the majority of online traffic is driven by search engines. Organic search results cover more digital real estate, appear more credible to savvy searchers, and receive way more clicks than paid advertisements.

SEO Experts

Hiring an SEO company can save you a lot of time and money. However, it is important to know how to choose the best company. Choosing the wrong SEO company can actually harm your site more than helping it. That’s why it is important to choose the right one, such as SEO services in New Jersey offered by Tactica. They use a three-step program. Step one is accessed. They access your website’s structure, indexation, content, links, and keywords. Then they conduct a thorough competitive analysis. Then they plan your performance against competitors. Step two designs. They develop a strategy that focuses on first closing the gap between you and your competition. Then they build your money-keyword plan, website optimization plan, and clear goals for off-page optimization. Step three implements. In this last step, they will optimize your website to the fullest, pimp your content and structure, and prepare it for the traffic it deserves. They optimize your link portfolio, build new 100% white hat links to reputable and relevant websites, with jaw-dropping content quality both on and off-page.

Conclusion

If you take this knowledge, find your niche and hire a professional SEO company, you can grow your online e-commerce site to a multi-million dollar company. Whether you have inventory stored in a warehouse or you drop-ship items from around the world, selling the items is the ultimate goal. In order to sell the items, you need to bring people, traffic, to your website. Hire a professional SEO and move your site from being a no-name company to the top of the industry.

startups
Archives, Commentary, Global Trade Daily, Special Reports

4 Ways Startups Can Boost Sales

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As a small business owner, finding ways to increase profit and your audience reach efficiently is key. Entrepreneurs need to understand the sales process and know the ways to manipulate it in their favor. 

Luckily, there are ways that small businesses can generate leads and boost sales on a budget, to grow and achieve business targets. In this article, we look at four ways you can boost sales for your new startup.

Create a detailed content marketing strategy

Developing an engaging content strategy will help you generate leads and also build authority in your industry, whether it’s an informative eBook, regular blog content or user-generated videos or images that can be shared easily. But beyond creating great content, you need to know how and where to distribute that content to ensure it gets seen by a wider audience. 

To get more out of the content you develop, you can find ways to repurpose it for social or email to promote it to new and existing audiences. A blog post, for example, can be turned into graphics for Instagram or made into a video for your YouTube channel.

Having a detailed content marketing strategy that has been designed with distribution in mind will make sure your brand draws the attention of the right customers and directs them back to your business.

Provide convenient payment options

The logistics of accepting card machine payments can be a hurdle for startups, but if you want your business to be a success and increase revenue, you need to provide convenient payment methods for your customers. The payment process for your business needs to be easy to use, so as not to alienate customers, and should also be multifaceted for convenience – you want to capture every sale possible, which requires choice for your audience.

Today, most consumers take it for granted that businesses will offer card payments, whether it’s in-store or online. In fact, the UK is the world’s third most cashless country, so neglecting to offer card payments could negatively impact your bottom line and result in you capturing a smaller percentage of potential sales. Being able to accept card payments is vital in order to avoid risking lost sales. 

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(via Forexbonuses.org).

Cultivate a positive reputation

The internet enables us to be more informed than ever before, and this can be both a blessing and a curse for businesses trying to generate sales. Startups have the opportunity to foster a positive brand image and reputation from day one, which can be put to good use in influencing future customers. 

In prioritizing a great customer experience and encouraging customers to leave feedback and reviews, businesses can cultivate a great reputation that will serve them well in terms of sales and customer loyalty. 

There are various ways that small businesses can make a good impression, from asking customers for feedback and then taking appropriate action to improve where necessary, to asking for testimonials when a customer has a positive experience or when their expectations were exceeded. 

Entrepreneurs should take the time to respond to online reviews too, which demonstrates that the business cares about its customers and their experience with the brand. 

As consumers, we rely on reviews and testimonials to forge our own decisions when it comes to making a purchase or using a new service, so in taking the time to cultivate these types of social proof, you can increase the likelihood of bringing new customers to your business. 

Utilize social media

Social media can’t be ignored, for its ability to build a community to the different avenues it provides, and for businesses to reach a wider audience. For startups, however, the main appeal of social media is how cost-effective it is for such big rewards. So many consumers are spending a lot of their time on these channels, so it can be an enormous boost to sales when it’s used correctly. 

Most social media sites have a wealth of data on their users, which businesses can use to get their messaging in front of the right eyes. And while not everyone uses social media to buy, it can be a highly effective way to promote products and services, especially if you can offer giveaways, discounts or special deals to grab your customers’ attention for more sales. 

For startups, developing a social media marketing strategy early on can be a great way of marketing the business on a budget while still enjoying great results. 

Final thoughts

Startups often need to get creative with their strategies in order to keep budgets low while still enjoying growth as a business. Focusing on finding high-impact yet cost-effective methods to build brand awareness, and consequently, sales should be the aim. 

Startups should use a combination of these tips and then analyze how each impacts sales to determine where efforts should be placed for better results in the future. 

___________________________________________________________________

Harvey Holloway is a digital marketing specialist, with a 1st class honours degree in Digital Media Design. Harvey is now looking to connect with leading publications and share his experience with a wider audience. Connect with Harvey on Twitter: @HarveyTweetsSEO.

social commerce
Archives, Global Trade Daily, Special Reports

Like, Follow, Buy Now: Harnessing the Power of Local Payments in Social Commerce

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A staggering 3.8 billion people use social media, around half the internet users worldwide. With these figures in mind, social media giants are eager to reach digitally connected consumers and monetize their userbases. Gone are the days where social media was simply a place to see what friends were doing and give them a ‘like.’ With the likes of TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram leading the charge, purchasing products online is now as easy as liking a friend’s post. In fact, with over one in three global shoppers having made a purchase on social media in the past year – social media is rapidly becoming the new online marketplace of choice.

However, whilst a good tool for attracting customers, social commerce must work hand in hand with digital payments to truly unlock success. Converting browsers to buyers on social media will rely heavily on a brand’s ability to offer a range of local payment methods at the checkout.

A growing opportunity for merchants

In the US, by the age of 12, most children have access to a social media account, but that’s not to say that this is the only audience social media is appealing to. Senior citizens in the US are the fastest-growing group of Facebook users, with numbers doubling between 2019 and 2021, indicating a lucrative opportunity for merchants appealing to a broad range of demographics.

In fact, Facebook is certainly leading the pack when it comes to social media – with over 2.7 billion monthly active users worldwide. For European regions such as Italy, the pandemic has also contributed to the explosion of social media usage. Time spent on Facebook’s suite of apps rose 70% in March 2020 – indicating the potential for social commerce uptake as people acclimatize to using these platforms to access shopping, entertainment, and communication.

For China, however, a country where the likes of Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter are blocked to consumers, sites such as Tencent, WeChat, and Weibo have been attracting millions of users, making China one of the biggest social media markets in the world. With multiple demographics across the globe now engaged with social media channels and more than comfortable with shopping online, the opportunity for merchants to trade on these platforms is greater than ever before.

Unlocking the power of social commerce

Because of the extensive reach and the power social media holds, brands embracing social commerce can scale rapidly. Everyone can do it, from international companies to individuals selling their goods on Instagram. But, it’s much more than just adding a ‘Buy Now’ button. Whilst social media platforms certainly have the power to unlock online and cross-border growth, the process will not be successful if merchants do not operate with consumer payment preferences in mind.

To enable a seamless transaction through social media channels, merchants and payment service providers (PSPs) need to take a highly customized and localized approach to digital payments. Consumers have become accustomed to choice when it comes to online payments – from buy now, pay later (BNPL) offerings such as Klarna to increasingly popular bank transfer payments such as Pay by Bank App or Trustly. Because of this, expectations around payment preferences have skyrocketed in recent years. So much so that 44% of UK consumers will abandon a purchase if their favourite payment method isn’t available. To ignore this when selling through social channels would be a huge mistake and a missed opportunity for retailers operating on these platforms.

A global strategy with local payments at its core

Whilst digital payments have the power to unlock the true power of social commerce, integrating a diverse portfolio of payment methods is no easy task. Although merchants are becoming increasingly aware of the need for a social strategy with local payments at its core, the cost and complexities associated with such integrations are acting as a major barrier for businesses. In fact, for smaller e-commerce players especially, local payment options may feel completely out of reach.

To overcome this, merchants and payment service providers are increasingly turning to infrastructure providers to meet the demands of global consumers. Partnerships of this kind mean that merchants and PSPs can take advantage of payments technology and on-the-ground local market knowledge.

Speed to market is everything in today’s digital-first retail era and merchants that are able to get up and running with a diverse acceptance of the right local payment methods quickly will be able to take strides ahead of the competition.

Those that neglect to consider the importance of local payments will see themselves fall short ahead of their competitors and lose access to thousands of potential customers.

freight
Archives, Global Shippers 101, Global Trade Daily

Tips For Hiring the Best Shipping Company for Your Business

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In today’s modern world, multinational goods dealing is a well-known and well-liked industry. This is why the products of prominent worldwide brands are available in countries all over the world. Freight forwarders manage the transportation of products. They do not just assist in the transporting of products from one nation to another, but they can also aid with suitable storage if necessary.

Freight forwarding providers, in reality, play a critical role in the seamless operation of supply chains. Overseas freight forwarding solutions are in high demand, and numerous organizations provide them at reasonable prices. To pick the best company here are a few helpful tips.

Reputable

It takes several years to earn a good reputation, yet this can be ruined in an instant. The reputation and relationships of freight forwarders are what make them successful.

Verify if a forwarder is a WCA-approved membership if you’re apprehensive about their reputation and dependability. This logistics relationship network serves as an excellent barometer for determining whether or not a freight forwarder could be relied upon.

If you can’t locate any additional context, simply ask those questions from forwarders. Any credible forwarder should have no problems with this. Unless they are a closely owned corporation, you can also see their accounting information online.

Cargo Insurance

So, you’ve located a forwarder who can provide you fair pricing, third-party logistics solutions, and mutual trust. However, there is one additional aspect to consider, and that is cargo insurance. If you want peace and quiet and reduced risk, cargo insurance is a must. It covers your shipment while being transported by land, sea, and air and protects it from loss or damage.

Cargo tracking

Check with your freight forwarder to see if cargo tracking is available. A company sending products through freight forwarding companies will be concerned about the shipment till it arrives in great condition and on schedule. Shipping companies must provide cargo tracking to customers to keep them informed. You’ll know where your deliveries are at all times with cargo tracking. For the most reliable and precise tracking system you can consider zim tracking.

Pricing

Moving freight throughout the world is, in a nutshell, a complicated procedure. It entails various procedures, all of which might go wrong and trigger problems throughout the distribution chain. If you want to choose the cheapest logistics company provider, you will not get the degree of care you require, and their team will frequently lack industry information and experience on how to rapidly resolve difficulties. Picking the inexpensive freight forwarding provider can end up costing your company more in the long run.

Among the most crucial qualities to ask a freight forwarding business are delivery time as well as pricing. It’s critical that your business guarantees and ensures your items arrive on schedule and in great condition at their destination. Pricing is also important, in addition to fast delivery. Select a firm that provides dependable services at a reasonable cost.

production
Archives, Global Trade Daily, Special Reports

How E-commerce Websites Can Successfully Integrate Video Production In their Digital Marketing Campaigns

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Video is an enjoyable, easy-to-digest, and often, overlooked content creation strategy that converts better than any other type of content.  A landing page containing a video is bound to increase conversion rates by 80%. In addition, videos help search engine rankings and are shown to raise organic search traffic by 175%.

With the tremendous growth of e-commerce sales in the past year, brands are challenged to up their marketing strategy and create new ways to attract potential customers.

Companies that offer products online and haven’t yet started video marketing need to jump on the video production train right away.

E-Commerce State at a Glance

E-commerce rules!  In only the past year, it has generated 4.28 trillion US dollars in revenue. In the U.S only, that accounted for over 604 million US dollars.

Naturally, that drives the increase of digital shoppers as well. It’s estimated that by the end of 2021, there will be 2.14 billion global digital buyers.

It’s safe to say that we are in the era of online shopping. A time when consumers prefer to quickly browse products and services on their mobile devices and place orders that they receive the next day – no hassle, no time wasted.

For e-commerce businesses, the move towards primarily online shopping raises the bar of what counts as a good customer experience.

Simply listing your products on a website doesn’t do much for conversion anymore. There’s a need for more interactive, immersive, and truly helpful product content online. Brands have to figure out how to turn their boring offerings into entertaining story-rich experiences.

One very successful way to do that is through video marketing.

How to use video in your e-commerce marketing

Check out these tips on how you can integrate video production into your e-commerce websites and improve your brand’s bottom-line:

Product Photos Turned Videos

Put yourself in the shoes of your customers. How do you know if a product will match your needs and desires?

You would want to see it in real-life situations. A great way to show your customers how products truly benefit them, is by displaying how they look like or work in practice.

Take the clothing retailer Mother. The fashion brand goes far beyond a simple display of products and visually describes in the tiniest detail how their products look and feel in real-life situations — like walking on a treadmill for example.

Customers get a unique 360-degree view of what the products worn by a real person would look like. Not only that but they show how the clothes move when you wear them.

An awesome example of user experience taken to the next level.

How-to Product Videos

The next step in improving the quality of your e-commerce website is through creating instructional videos that show users how your products work.

These videos educate customers and help them see the value of your product. Plus, “how-to” videos are a great way to help out customer support teams.

People will have clear, visual instructions on how to use the products and will save time and frustration trying to figure it out or wait for help from your support team.

British Airways gives a great example of how you can turn instructional videos into entertaining pieces of content.

Their video features a number of celebrities to draw attention to an often overlooked but quite important aspect of traveling on airplanes.

Celebrities may not be an affordable option for any brand, but their approach can be adapted to deliver a fun and entertaining how-to video for your e-commerce business too.

Behind the Scenes Video: Let Customers be Part of the Action

What will really make your audience connect with your e-commerce business? Well – feeling connected to the mission, challenges and glam of the brand is a great place to start.

Being able to walk through your process and daily tasks, your audience will understand the efforts put into delivering an unforgettable product and experience on their behalf.

It will help show the “human” side of your company – the people that make their experience extraordinary.

For example, take a look at how Glamour Magazine takes their viewers behind the scenes of a photoshoot narrated by their Fashion Director– Natalie Hartley. She guides the audience through how their projects come together, sharing her ideas and approaches in making their photoshoots a true sensation.

The audience is drawn into the process of creating something from a scratch. Showing the efforts required for just a few pages of curated content works miracles with audiences – making them appreciate the brand’s work and increasing consumer loyalty and trust.

To improve engagement with users, try creating video content around photoshoot campaigns and special events important to your brand. Show how your products are made, where do you source your materials from – every detail that is important to your customers and see your brand recognition and loyalty skyrocket.

User-Generated Videos Promoting Sales

If your brand is getting any traction with users, they’re probably expressing opinions and leaving reviews for your products.

Leverage testimonials and encourage customers to create user-generated videos – showing how they use the products, what they like about them, and what they wish to improve with your services.

People like to hear what their peers think of a product or service. They’re more willing to trust existing customers’ opinions, rather than brands claiming to be helpful. The more genuine your user-generated videos are, the more likely they are to positively affect the purchasing decision of potential new customers.

Take GoPro for example. They create unforgettable campaigns with user-generated videos showing how their cameras operate in real life.

They even make it fun by turning the whole process into a competition – enticing participants to generate all sorts of creative ideas – like a downhill bike chase on a roof-top, for example.

People interested in GoPro’s products get to see what actually happens when the camera is on and what they can expect as quality and durability.

You can create similar user-generated videos to help your potential customers get the feeling they already know what to expect from your products and be comfortable with their purchases.

GIF’s & Videos Boosting Email Marketing Conversion

Email marketing is still one of the most effective ways to convert potential eCommerce customers.

It’s a preferred marketing tool that 80% of business professionals trust to help them increase customer retention. In addition,  59% of surveyed customers say emails influence their purchasing decision.

To continue delivering delight, surprise and value to your customer lists and prospects, however, you should consider using animated gifs and videos in your email campaigns.

Statistics show that brands that use gifs see a 6% increase in open rate and a 109% increase in revenue.  Similarly, an initial email with a video gets a click-through rate of 96%

Embedding gifs and videos in your emails will also help you personalize your messaging and deliver value specific to each user.

Here are a few examples of brands using gifs and videos in their email marketing to get you inspired:

Headspace

Netflix

Starbucks

When you create your gifs and video-embedded emails, keep in mind the average attention span of adults is about 8 seconds. For your videos to be short, create anticipation in your video, and direct the reader to a clear CTA.

To Wrap Up

E-commerce is the preferred shopping option of the modern consumer. Dull and uninspiring product lists and low-resolution images, however, are not anyone’s favorite.

To deliver a memorable, and most of all, helpful shopping experience to your customers, you need to stay on top of the latest trends. Video production is not a strategy you can afford to miss. On the contrary, if your online business hasn’t yet started using videos – it’s time.

Video content is the future of e-commerce. It’s visually appealing, interactive, and immersive. It snatches the attention of the digitally overwhelmed and makes them stay to enjoy what you offer.

Don’t waste time. Start producing video content and delight your customers. These 5 content ideas will help you integrate video production into your digital marketing campaigns. Try it and tell us how you did!

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Terry Tateossian, Founding Partner of Socialfix Media is a fourth-generation entrepreneur who is recognized as an Inc. 5000 America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies, Forbes’ Top Women in Business, Fastest Growing Women Presidents by WPO, and 40 Under 40 Business Leaders by NJBIZ. Terry has been featured for outstanding leadership and career accomplishments in numerous industry publications as an engineer, a thought-leader in technology, and an innovator in the field of marketing. But her favorite and toughest earned title is being “Mom” to her 2 children.