Trending Now

Building a Resilient Supply Chain with Advanced Predictive…

New Articles

Not Just the Warehouse: How Smart Inventory Management Improves Your Ecommerce Overall

help
Archives, Global Trade Daily, Warehousing

Not Just the Warehouse: How Smart Inventory Management Improves Your Ecommerce Overall

Leave a comment

Once you start using Smart Inventory Management (SIM) in your ecommerce, you’ll notice lots of benefits mostly surrounding inventory control and workflows. But it can improve some other aspects of your business as well, like marketing, margins, and accounting.

It’s all about data, and this moves far beyond the limitations of preventing out-of-stocks by reordering goods faster. While there are software opportunities, such as using SIM to integrate your warehouse and ecommerce platform to allow customers to see what’s available and shipping times 24/7, we’re looking at bigger business processes that can have an impact on company culture, leadership, and communication.

These are some of the biggest bangs for your buck because they help you keep the business healthy.

Saving money from inexperienced purchasing decisions

One benefit of SIM technology is that you will have up-to-date access to current inventory information. This will prevent the purchase of unnecessary amounts of additional inventory. You will save money by only making purchases you will need.

You are also able to save money by being smarter about how inventory is stored. Locating goods at the proper places within your warehouses or strategically around the country in partner fulfillment locations can save you significantly on the time it takes to ship an order and the cost a shipment takes to reach your average customer.

In the warehouse, SIM helps you move inventory to shelves that reduce walking and movement, making your team faster at getting orders out the door. For partners, SIM can help you track the data you need to get a better understanding of where your customers live and how they shop. So, you’ll be able to select warehouse or fulfillment partners located near to them and provide these locations with the right mix of goods so that they can continually fulfill orders without any risk of running out of stock.

Financial Reporting

Accurately knowing your inventory, storage costs, and more data make it easier for your ecommerce store to understand its overall health. You get a complete snapshot at the expense of goods over their lifetime in your care, especially if you link up SIM with your marketing data.

You get a 360-degree view on each item, including sourcing and production, shipment to your warehouse, storage, delivery to customers, and any returns. You may be surprised to learn what the total margins on your goods are, helping you understand what to promote and sell as well as what products it might be time to phase out of your offers.

Plus, it is in these reports that many companies first acknowledge and get a complete picture of their dead-stock: what never gets sold and just slowly eats away at your overall income.

Give leadership and your accountants the ability to understand the costs of your business entirely and discover what you can best manage and change to maintain a healthy ecommerce offering.

Developing New Sales Opportunities

One reason we really like SIM tools is that they make it easier to track your overall sales and look for patterns. Plus, you can test upsell and cross-sell efforts more easily with all this new data.

Combining your products, through efforts like kitting, allows you to leverage your products for the best return both in the immediate and the long-term. You can sell multiple items together, reduce inventory levels (and related storage costs), and even get rid of things that are sitting on shelves for too long.

Customers like it because it’s convenient for them when the products work together. If you add the right set of products, kits can make your offers more useful, less costly, or start a need to reorder from you. This is common in most industries, and one of the best examples are razors that come packaged with a series of disposable heads. The customer gets the handle and heads together and then has to go back to you to get the next set.

Returns and More

Another area to consider for your smart inventory management system heads back to the warehouse but touches on many of the other elements we’ve discussed: returned goods.

Returns present a significant problem for most ecommerce businesses. You have to figure out how to approve and process the customer’s request, handle the items themselves as they come back to you, potentially repackage and resell these, and eat much of the sale cost even if you’re charging a restocking fee.

Customers returning goods tend to be unhappy and want you to automate as much of this process as possible, and they expect an email from you to include things like a shipping label.

SIM tools can integrate with your order system to generate the information the customer needs automatically. Giving your own shipping labels within an SMI also helps you out by updating your team with package tracking data, so they know what to expect and when. You’re able to manage customer expectations and prep your warehouse, minimizing the disruption.

The same system can also record information from customers about the nature of a return, giving you a feedback loop into product development and sales, helping you adjust based on price, materials, or other information.

We’re seeing a rise SIMs on their own as well as integrated with tools like ERPs because being smarter about your inventory cuts down on costs, keeps your warehouses efficient, and makes it easier to manage your business. It’s time for every ecommerce store to start considering a smarter tech stack that includes inventory controls.

Improve Customer Service

It all comes down to customer service, one of the core differentiators in the world of ecommerce. With so many drop-shipping companies, Amazon sellers, small shops, and global partners, it can be challenging to stand out on product selection alone.

So, one way companies are building a competitive advantage is by developing best-in-class customer service. Inventory management is a core part of this even though it doesn’t seem like it. Inventory management allows you to keep filling orders and even get ahead of spikes in orders that are new or seasonal by giving you smarter business analytics.

When you’re ready to ship immediately, instead of having to wait for a new restock, customers are happier. They also like it when your returns policy and other policies are clear and easy to understand. Greater knowledge of your inventory makes it easier to control those types of concerns, allowing you to simplify any steps your customers have to take.

Run a smoother business and have happier customers just by developing better control of your inventory.

Jake Rheude is the Director of Marketing for Red Stag Fulfillment, an ecommerce fulfillment warehouse that was born out of ecommerce. He has years of experience in ecommerce and business development. In his free time, Jake enjoys reading about business and sharing his own experience with others.

global logistics
Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily

Smart Logistics: Catalysts Changing the Logistics Sector

Leave a comment

The logistics industry is watching closely as United States and China negotiate to resolve their trade war amidst the threat of higher tariffs starting March 1. At stake is $635 billion in annual trade – China exports $505 billion and imports $130 billion with the US[i]. These negotiations have repercussions for the global economy well beyond the US and China. Many industries engage vast trade networks that span myriad countries leaving few markets or nations exempt from these talks. For the US alone, which imports $2.3 trillion and exports $1.5 trillion annually[ii], its entire trade regime is now in play.

Countries are not alone in broiling trade disputes. This month XPO issued a profit warning citing the expected loss of $600M[iii], or 3.5%, of revenue from an unnamed customer. Amazon, widely believed to be XPO’s unidentified customer, is expanding its own logistics capacity. The expansion of e-commerce has been a boon for the logistics industry and bane for traditional retailers. Now as Amazon develops its own distribution capability, logistics providers and retailers alike are threatened. 

Global Logistics – an Industry in Transition

Ecommerce has been a key growth driver for the global logistics industry, which is expected to grow 7.5% annually from $8.1 trillion in 2015 to $15.5 trillion in 2023[iv]. The logistics of delivering directly to consumers is far more intensive than distributing in bulk to big box retailers. Long haul full truckload remains the largest market segment in logistics with a 70% share, yet less than truckload, parcel and intermodal – which together comprise 15% share of the logistics market – are fastest growing. 

The politics of logistics extends beyond trade disputes. US freight employs over three million truck drivers. As the graph below indicates, trucking is the largest employer in 29 of 50 states across the US. The American Trucking Association estimates a need for an additional 900,000 truckers[v] over the next ten years to keep up with demand. The industry already faces a shortage of over 50,000 drivers[vi]amidst the need to replace an aging workforce: 57% of US truckers are over 45 years old and 37% are over 55[vii]. Given the backlash over Amazon’s recent pullback of a second headquarters in New York City for 25,000 jobs[viii], one might imagine the political stakes involved with four million truck drivers across the US in the coming decade. 

Logistics – a Magnet for Venture Capital Investment

Venture capital has poured into the logistics sector in recent years. In 2018, global venture investment in logistics reached nearly $14 billion, more than the three previous years combined. Funding for supply chain, logistics and shipping businesses continues to grow in 2019. In February alone, investors have committed over $5 billion to the logistics sector. Major financings include a $1 billion investment in Flexport for intermodal logistics, $940 million in Nuro for its self-driving delivery vans, $700 million in Rivian for electric delivery vehicles, $400 million in DoorDash for local food delivery, and $300 million in Hong Kong-based Lalamove for last mile delivery. 

Five catalysts are driving innovation and investment in the logistics sector:

Ecommerce: Online retail continues to cannibalize physical retail. Ecommerce in the US reached 9.8% of total US retail in 2018, nearly triple the share of retail ten years earlier[ix]. Ecommerce is growing even faster in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Traditional retailers are embracing omnichannel marketing as ecommerce extends to more retailing categories. The physical landscape will change dramatically in the decade as ecommerce players build more warehousing capacity replacing stores due to overcapacity in the traditional retail sector.

Crowdsourcing: Much as Uber, Lyft and Didi among others have disrupted the taxi industry through crowdsourced drivers, the gig economy is infiltrating the logistics sector enabling new services. Consumers are the biggest beneficiary through the rise of the concierge economy. Crowdsourcing has lowered delivery costs making home deliveries available for a broader range of items. Food delivery has received most funding with the rise of Uber Eats globally, Doordash and Postmates in the US, Just Eat and Deliveroo in Europe, Swiggy in India, and Meituan in China.  

Intelligent Automation: The securities brokerage industry has gone digital in the past two decades. The logistics brokerage industry still runs on phone calls and fax machines with limited price transparency and inefficiencies borne by limited supply chain visibility. Digital brokerage is now coming to the logistics sector through the confluence of sensors, cloud and intelligent automation. ELD and camera technology now monitor drivers reducing wait times, reducing accident risk, and helping to adjudicate cases when accidents occur. Venture backed companies that have raised $100 million or more in the US alone include Convoy, Flexport, Nauto, Next Trucking and Transfix, amongst others.

Electric Vehicles: The prospect of replacing diesel trucks is as welcome as replacing gas vehicles in the consumer sector. Tesla is now tackling the challenges of transporting large trucking payloads. Others are as well including the recently funded Rivian Automotive and Thor Trucks.

Autonomous Technology: End-to-end autonomous trucking may still be decades away yet the use of autonomous technology in logistics is already live in the warehouse with pilots underway for first and last mile as well as interstate long-haul deliveries. Autonomous delivery startups announced over $1.5 billion in February alone, including Endeavor Robotics, Ike and Nuro in the US and AutoAI, Mogu Zhixing and TuSimple in China. 

Logistics is a vast sector ripe for innovation across the supply chain.  Entrepreneurs and investors have flocked to logistics seeking to disrupt an industry representing over 5% of the US economy. While investment in logistics has increased substantially, funding has focused on major sectors. We believe many opportunities remain for further innovation across the supply chain as new technologies such as robotics, autonomous vehicles and machine learning develop for the logistics sector.    

[i] Stifel analyst report

[ii] Stifel analyst report

[iii] https://www.thestreet.com/investing/xpo-plummets-on-earnings-miss-and-warning-about-2019-14868169

[iv] https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-logistics-market-to-reach-us155-trillion-by-2023-research-report-published-by-transparency-market-research-597595561.html. 

[v] May 2018 Techcrunch article

[vi] May 2018 Techcrunch article

[vii] Stifel analyst report

[viii] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/14/opinion/amazon-new-york.html

[ix] https://ycharts.com/indicators/ecommerce_sales_as_percent_retail_sales


Archives, Global Trade Daily, Special Reports

Understanding Fulfillment By Amazon in Canada

Leave a comment

The ubiquity of Amazon.com and its various international marketplaces is undeniable.

The online retail giant now represents half of all e-commerce in the United States. Last year, Amazon’s product sales amounted to just shy of US$142 billion. But what’s often missed in discussions about the growth trajectory of Amazon is the contribution of third-party sellers to Amazon’s overall sales figures.

In 2018, third-party sellers generated US$42.75 billion, representing 52% of paid units in Q4. That’s almost double the percentage of 2007 when third-party sellers represented only 26% of paid units.

The reason for the sharp upward trajectory in the participation of third-party vendors is simple – Amazon provides unparalleled access to a massive marketplace of consumers. Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA), which is the process through which third-party vendors reach consumers, has seen particularly acute growth amongst smaller vendors looking to leverage Amazon’s reach and exposure.

More recently, U.S. businesses have been looking beyond America’s borders, with hopes of taking advantage of Amazon’s international marketplaces, which offer attractive growth potential for those willing to take the plunge into global commerce.

Perhaps one of the most sought-after Amazon marketplaces is Canada’s Amazon.ca. America’s northern neighbor offers a range of opportunities and benefits for third-party sellers looking to enhance their sales potential. There is, of course, geographic proximity, but Canada also boasts one of the highest e-commerce adoption rates globally. In fact, by 2020 e-commerce sales in Canada are expected to reach C$55.78 billion. By 2021, there will be an estimated 23.7 million e-commerce users in Canada, representing two-thirds of Canada’s total population.

Canadians’ attraction to e-commerce is clearly evident in 2018 Amazon Prime sales, which more than doubled in volume from the previous year, demonstrating a growing appetite for the e-commerce giant’s member-based, expedited delivery service.

Still, many U.S.-based third-party Amazon sellers tend to shy away from international markets, fearing the complexity of going global will be overwhelming and/or eat into their profitability.

While it’s true that selling into Canada through Amazon does come with additional layers of complexity, most international-trade considerations can be easily overcome with careful planning and attention.

Tax Implications

U.S. businesses shipping into Amazon’s Canadian fulfillment centers to sell to Canadian consumers are considered Non-Resident Importers (NRIs). By virtue of holding inventory in Canada (through Amazon) a third-party Amazon vendor and Canadian NRI must register and file federal taxes with the Canada Revenue Agency, but does not have to file taxes to the province in which Amazon’s fulfillment center is located.

Customs Documentation

These businesses will also have to ensure they obtain the necessary permits, as well as complete and provide the required customs documentation. Canada’s customs agency carefully scrutinizes products coming into Canada to ensure compliance with regulatory standards and trade agreements, but also for duties or tariffs that may need to be paid.

Customs documentation that is incomplete can result in the import being refused into the Commerce of Canada, leading to delays at the border and, in turn, delays in arrival at Amazon’s fulfillment centre.

Most U.S. businesses use a Canadian customs broker to facilitate the customs transaction with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and to ensure the documentation is complete and sent to the CBSA in advance for seamless clearance at the border.

Customs Classification

As part of the customs process, products will also need to be properly classified. Canada uses different classification codes than the U.S. and ensuring the right codes are being applied to products being sent to Canada is critical to avoid potential customs infractions. Misclassified goods could lead to expensive and time-consuming audits. Should those audits reveal chronic misclassification, businesses may be required to pay retroactive duties, taxes and interest, and possibly significant penalties.

Labelling Requirements

Canada is an officially bilingual nation. That means certain products must be labelled in both English and French to comply with Canada’s language laws, while others may not require bilingual labelling. This is true for every province, not just in Quebec. Failing to comply with language laws could result in significant penalties and potential loss of distribution rights.

These requirements may seem daunting at first, but most of them are easily addressed and over time will become a natural and integral part of the business process. For most businesses, understanding the requirements in advance and putting in place the information and processes necessary to fulfill them will usually result in a seamless import process and minimal burden over the long term.

Danny Cipollone is vice president of strategic alliances and e-commerce at Livingston International, a customs broker and trade services firm specializing in freight forwarding, global trade management and trade consulting.

Archives, Commentary, Global Trade Daily

Why Businesses Must Grasp Millennial Thinking Or Face Economic Calamity

Leave a comment

When it comes to shopping and buying, the Millennial generation appears to play by its own rules.

And businesses that fail to understand the Millennial mindset are destined to fall behind their competition – and perhaps plummet into irrelevancy, says Gui Costin (www.guicostin.com), an entrepreneur, consultant and author of Millennials Are Not Aliens.

“Millennials are changing how we buy, how we sell, how we vacation, how we invest, and just about everything else,” Costin says. “If you’re running a business, you have to pay attention to how they think and act.”

Millennials are the generation born roughly from 1981 to 1995, meaning that the older millennials aren’t that far from 40. There are about 80 million Millennials, or nearly one-third of the adult population in the U.S. – and that’s a lot of buying power.

Millennials grew up under very different circumstances than Baby Boomers and Generation X, though, and the way in which they came of age greatly influenced them.

One example is their relationship with technology.

“All of us, regardless of which generation we belong to, have been impacted by technology,” Costin says. “But the generation most affected by the digital, connected world are the Millennials. You could think of it this way: If technology were a geyser, Baby Boomers and Generation Xers have been sprayed by its impact, but Millennials got drenched.”

And their natural use of technology transformed the way they act as consumers, Costin says.

“Bargaining is a part of their process,” he says. “Because they are facile with technology, they rely heavily on their cell phones to price shop and hunt the best deals.”

Costin says there’s plenty that businesses need to understand about Millennials, but here are just a few other facts about their consumer habits worth paying attention to:

They let everyone know about their buying experiences. It is not uncommon for Millennials to candidly share details about their buying experiences, good or bad, on their public social media platforms. “This can translate to bad news for businesses that underperform or, conversely, great news for those that exceed expectations,” Costin says.

Big purchases can happen virtually. For many older people, it’s difficult to even conceive the idea of buying a car, for example, without ever physically seeing or touching it first. “Millennials do it all the time,” Costin says. “In fact, they are the very first of all the generations to make a large purchase without first performing an on-site inspection.”

Brand loyalty means something. No matter how fickle many people believe Millennials to be, they are extremely brand loyal, Costin says. In fact, 60 percent of Millennials say they almost always stick to brands they currently purchase.

Information is essential. Millennials scour the internet to learn about a brand or product before making a purchase. They check websites, blogs, or peer reviews that they trust.

Instant gratification is paramount. Because they have grown up in a digital age, Millennials are used to speed and immediate gratification. “They value prompt feedback and communication and do not like wasting time,” Costin says. “Think emails, text messages, and online messaging.”

“The environment you grow up in determines what you become accustomed to,” Costin says. “Gen Xers and Baby Boomers need to realize that how they grew up is affecting the way they are selling and marketing their organizations. But you cannot sell and market to Millennials the same way you were sold and marketed to.

“The good news is, many companies are listening. They are actively replacing dated, manual processes with more efficient, cutting-edge tools to promote the convenience and speed Millennials crave.”

About Gui Costin

Gui Costin (www.guicostin.com), author of Millennials Are Not Aliens, is an entrepreneur, and founder of Dakota, a company that sells and markets institutional investment strategies. Dakota is also the creator of two software products: Draft, a database that contains a highly curated group of qualified institutional investors; and Stage, a content platform built for institutional due diligence analysts where they can learn an in-depth amount about a variety of investment strategies without having to initially talk to someone. Dakota’s mission is to level the playing field for boutique investment managers so they can compete with bigger, more well-resourced investment firms. 

Jettainer ECS
Acquisitions, Archives, Global Trade Daily

Descartes Announces Acquisition of CORE Transport Technologies for Air Cargo Support

Leave a comment

Descartes Systems Group announced this week its acquisition of New-Zealand headquartered company CORE Transport Technologies for an up-front consideration of $21 million in addition to potential performance-based consideration. CORE’s customers – which include commercial airlines and ground handlers, utilize the company’s network to successfully track international mail, parcel and cargo shipments as well as US domestic mail and parcel shipments.

“As US domestic and international ecommerce continues to grow, more demands are being placed on carriers and their partners to deliver efficiently and report events in real-time,” said Ken Wood, EVP of Product Management at Descartes. “The CORE acquisition complements our recent investment in Velocity Mail, helping us to better serve the logistics service provider community working with postal authorities around the world. CORE’s solutions also extend beyond mail and parcel shipment tracking, with air cargo tracking solutions that we can add to our Global Logistics Network.”

CORE boasts ten years of providing global connections with trading partners and government postal authorities for its customers. By integrating automation and utilizing data analytics, CORE supports operational efficiencies and streamlined operations to support customers.

“We continue to look for opportunities to add customers, solutions and content to our Global Logistics Network to help our customers manage the lifecycle of shipments,” said Edward J. Ryan, Descartes’ CEO. “By combining with CORE, we’re strengthening our position in the growing domestic and global ecommerce market. We’re also adding new solutions to our Descartes Global Air Messaging Gateway that we believe will present a compelling opportunity for our global air cargo community to enhance real-time tracking and visibility of air shipments.”

Source: Descartes

Archives, Executive Education, Global Trade Daily

IRCE @ RetailX: Ecommerce and Beyond

Leave a comment

The International Retailer Conference and Exhibition features a staggering 130 sessions on a range of topics and trends in ecommerce and more, created by the editorial team at Internet Retailer Magazine.

Taking place at McCormick Place South in Chicago, retailers will gather at the event known as the “one stop shop” for e-retailers and all their
ecommerce needs.

Keynote and guest speakers from leading retail and ecommerce company’s such as Walmart, Groupon, Unilever, Amazon Business, Express and Airbnb will address marketing optimization solutions, product launches, retail innovations, and more.

From June 25-28, more than 130 in-depth educational sessions paired with 600 vendors will showcase all the latest trends, curated content, and unmatched presentations to meet and exceed all retailer’s needs.

To review the full conference agenda and registration, visit: irce.com

Archives, Global Trade Daily, Special Reports

Supply Chain Professionals: Boxzooka International Ecommerce & Fulfillment

Leave a comment

Located on the east coast, Boxzooka Fulfillment and Global Ecommerce provider takes managing client requests to the next level through a one-of-a-kind tailored approach offering back office operations for online retailers, order fulfilment for both direct consumer and direct B2B wholesale order fulfilment, while providing automated, customized solutions. Through this approach, Boxzooka not only creates and maintains competitive advantage as a leader in managing the flow of goods, the company boasts an impressive volume of loyal clients who don’t have to seek outside sources to get their needs met. By taking the extra step out of the process, Boxzooka provides an all-in-one solution. The company isn’t afraid of investing more into their customer needs, as they look at the long-term impact it has on their customer base. In other words, customers always come first.

“We’ve accomplished building and maintaining a business with near 100 percent client satisfaction rate,” Founder Brendan Heegan said. “Most warehouse 3PL operations have an 80/20 rule where 80 percent of the revenue is coming from 20 percent of the clients – those are the ones that get the VIP treatment, if you will, and the other 80 percent of their clients get scattered support where some days are good, and some days are bad. They get a lot of client complaints and we don’t have that because everybody’s getting an equal amount of support and attention, just what they need and more. We don’t lose clients.”

Boasting their very own technology, the integrated game-changing capabilities built into their platforms provide customers with an unmatched global reach, eliminating the need for assistance from an outside source or 3PL. The company’s custom technology platform serves as a major differentiator among competitors and as a significant driver behind their robust customer base and retention strategy.

“We own our own technology and we developed everything in-house. Our systems are comprised of a warehouse management system that handles inventory management movements, receiving and shipping out orders. We’ve also built-in a transportation management system (TMS) – companies might use ShipStation or Stamps.com, but we have all that built in to our warehouse management system so there’s no need for a secondary system in order to perform that function,” Heegan explained. “The platform also enables retailers to open the doors to the global market with the turnkey solution that we provide. “

Beyond automation, Boxzooka fosters an environment where employees aren’t limited to one silo. By fully integrating the ins and outs of operational processes, the company fully utilizes the talents and abilities of each employee.

“We cross train everybody, all the time, on every function so that all of our people can do anything at our warehouse. They’re constantly being thrown at different things. That probably decreases our efficiency and increases internal costs a little bit, but we look at it through the perspective that if we lose a team member, then that function doesn’t break and it allows us to shift labor around, making us operationally very competitive. We have a great service because everyone can do everything in our warehouse.”