With the way online shopping has exploded, more and more businesses are struggling to maintain the effectiveness of their order fulfilment strategies. Many customers would rather purchase subpar quality products from Amazon because they know they’ll arrive in two days rather than purchasing from a smaller retailer with higher quality products. The issue is, mastering order fulfilment usually comes at a crazy cost, one that many businesses are unable to afford. However, this post will detail the ways in which your business can improve its order fulfilment strategies at a much lower rate.
It’s important to understand that every organization is going to handle their order fulfillment differently. However, in recent years, the last mile delivery phase of these processes has become increasingly important. In this phase, products purchased by customers are transported from their holding fulfillment centers to the final point of sale. This is where your less established organizations are truly challenged. Without a well-polished last mile delivery strategy, the online sales of these businesses will be negatively affected.
Prior to the advancements made in the way customers can track their purchases, the concept of last mile delivery didn’t exist. Many online shoppers decades ago would order something and not receive such robust tracking information as online shoppers now. In most instances, the product an online customer would order would arrive as quickly as a company could get it out to them, and at the time, this didn’t bother online shoppers. Now, as Amazon continues to dominate the space, the shipping expectations of online shoppers have been set around Amazon’s prime delivery service; with some customers expecting delivery within an hour.
Not only can shipping pose an issue to these smaller businesses today, but so can order volume. As the pandemic began, more and more shoppers felt exclusively comfortable with shopping from their homes. Meaning these businesses were to be responsible for shipping more products on average than what they’d be used to. Keeping up with this shipping can be difficult, but not impossible. One of the most effective methods for maintaining a stable last mile delivery is through inventory management systems and warehouse space spanning throughout the states. With these facilities and the right system, more and more delivery options become available for your customers. Providing rigid tracking for these orders becomes increasingly easier as well as a result of these systems.
If your business has begun seeing a stark disconnect between customers or a sudden decrease in online sales, it might be time to reconsider some of the order fulfilment strategies put in place. Acquiring a competitive disadvantage in your niche is sure to limit the amount of success your business can have. In order to make the proper adjustments, it might be worth considering how a third-party business can help simplify the internal processes of your business. For more information on the types of services these business offer, be sure to check out the infographic featured alongside this post. Courtesy of WAREHOWZ.