A common characteristic in all successful e-commerce businesses is outstanding e-commerce fulfillment. Your company might have the most epic website and the best products globally. However, if your e-commerce fulfillment has issues, your online business will crash and burn.
One thing that will help you succeed with e-commerce is understanding the current e-commerce fulfillment trends. Knowing these trends will prepare you to leverage the expanding online marketplace. Jumping on trends will also help you rapidly meet your customers’ expectations.
Here are seven of the biggest e-commerce fulfillment trends you shouldn’t let slip by.
1. Expanding Supplier Base
During the pandemic, your e-commerce business may have experienced delivery issues. You probably couldn’t get enough suppliers for raw materials.
For this reason, most businesses are expanding their supplier base. They want to have different suppliers who will serve as backups if there are problems with the primary supplier. Having different suppliers for materials or products will make your business more agile.
As companies expand their supplier base, they are considering 3PL for delivery and distribution solutions. If you want to make your business agile, you can trust an experienced 3PL to get your finished products to their destination on time. This way, you won’t keep your customers waiting for days to get their ordered products.
2. International Logistics
As the internet makes the world smaller and smaller, many businesses ship their goods across international borders. Even if you’re a small business owner, it has become necessary to target larger markets in international locations.
As a result, most businesses leverage 3PL to help with e-commerce fulfillment. The 3PLs have the expertise and resources to meet the increasing fulfillment needs of your business.
3. Increased Focus on the Customer Journey
By 2021, 2.14 billion people were buying their products online. As an e-commerce business, you may have noticed this trend from increased online orders since the pandemic hit.
Most online businesses are setting up technical infrastructure to capture the customers’ journey. They are gathering data to track their customers’ experiences on their websites. The idea is to use this data to improve online platforms and make it easier for consumers to purchase goods online.
This is a trend you can quickly jump on. All you’ll need is the infrastructure to collect the data of consumers who visit your website. You can see what products they select and use the data to optimize their ordering process.
You are likely to see more e-commerce integration trends in 2022. A 3PL will integrate your e-commerce platform with its warehouse management systems. As a result, your customers’ orders will be automatically allocated to the relevant facility.
4. Greater Emphasis on Sustainability
As e-commerce grows, businesses are finding ways to minimize the carbon footprint of their e-commerce fulfillment journey. They are finding eco-friendly ways to deliver products to customers in the most environmentally-friendly way.
Choosing a warehouse fulfillment center located closer to the end-destination of your deliveries can reduce your carbon footprint, save money on gas and transportation, as well as shorten your delivery times.
In 2022, you might have to rethink your packaging. For example, you can use recycled paper instead of bubble wrap and plastic packages. In addition to being more environmentally friendly, many of these packaging options can also reduce the weight of each package, to help reduce the weight of your shipping, which can have a positive effect on the costs associated with shipping and transportation.
6. Real-Time Tracking
Most businesses want real-time insight into their warehouse operations in today’s digital world. As a result, most 3PLs are providing companies with more visibility into their inventory levels using 3PL technology tools.
A 3PL, such as Distribution Technology, has a portal that allows you to see your inventory’s status. Once you complete a shipment, the database will reflect your new inventory level in less than 20 minutes. You’ll have near-real-time insight into your stock levels.
Real-time tracking will also help you project future demands. As a result, your business will avoid overstocking or understocking goods in the warehouse.
7. Improving the Last-Mile Delivery
Most logistics companies acknowledge that last-mile delivery is the most inefficient supply chain process. As a result, most businesses are focusing on improving it.
You can embrace some practices to make the last-mile delivery process more effective. One is to leverage warehouses in urban areas. You can choose a diversified 3PL that will offer both warehousing and transportation expertise.
In the long term, you can consider investing in drones and other robotic devices for last-mile delivery. You can also invest in route optimization. Again, if you feel like this is too much, you can trust a 3PL to handle all your e-commerce fulfillment processes.
Revitalize Your E-Commerce Fulfillment by Embracing the Current Trends
The world of e-commerce is changing rapidly, and new trends keep emerging. You’ll need to embrace these trends to stay ahead of your competitors in the online marketplace. We have informed you about seven e-commerce fulfillment trends you need to jump on in 2022.
If you believe that your company needs some help to capitalize on these trends, you can rely on a reliable 3PL like Distribution Technology. We have the expertise to meet the fulfillment needs of your e-commerce business.
Leveraging current trends is just one part of the equation. You also need a reputable company with a long history of success. For over 50 years, Distribution Technology has helped businesses distribute their products globally with exceptional care, accuracy, and efficiency.
We pride ourselves in offering each customer a unique, unparalleled client experience that sets the industry standard in reliability, accuracy, and dependability. Our goal is to develop robust, long-term relationships with each customer to improve and enhance your businesses processes – ensuring success and exceeding expectations every single day.
Our knowledge and experience allow us to recommend a custom plan that helps your company achieve its goals.
Contact us today to learn how we can transform your e-commerce fulfillment processes for the better.