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5 Supply Chain Tips For Smooth E-commerce Delivery in 2023

Sashank Ravindranath — Thu, 08 Dec 2022 11:51:07 +0000

Customer centricity has quickly become the name of the game for e-commerce companies as they look for ways to find competitive advantages in a crowded marketplace. From AI customer service bots to interactive product tours, businesses are meeting customer needs in increasingly sophisticated ways.

But the real key to success lies in successful supply chain management — and this requires much more than just a warehouse and good inventory planning. To deliver the seamless, high-quality delivery experience customers expect in 2023, e-commerce companies need to go beyond the basics if they are to continue to thrive.

Overcoming the Fragility of Global Supply Chains

It’s safe to say Covid-19 well and truly proved just how fragile global supply chains can be. And with a recession looking like a foregone conclusion in the coming year, it seems as though many companies are about to head out of the frying pan and into the fire.

With this in mind, here are five supply chain tips to ensure your e-commerce supply chain and delivery systems are up to the challenge.

Supply Chain Tips For Smooth E-commerce Delivery

1. Increase Supply Chain Visibility

Knowing where your goods are at all times is essential if you want to avoid unplanned disruptions. After all, how can you expect to keep customers informed of delays if you don’t even know where the goods are?

When you consider the sheer variety of carriers, subcontractors, and suppliers involved in most supply chains today, it’s easy to see why visibility is such an important issue. However, only 6% of companies report having full visibility into their supply chain, leading to a whole host of inefficiencies and missed performance objectives.

Fortunately, there are a handful of simple solutions that companies can implement to achieve the visibility they need. For example, investing in a smart tracking system can help to keep your supply chain in check and go a long way to improving real-time tracking and inventory management.

This is especially effective when combined with automated supply chain analytics and AI-enabled insights, which can help companies better identify areas of inefficiency, as well as where additional investments may be needed.

2. Improve Cash Flow

Supply chains often need to be supported by cash flow, and this can be difficult for small businesses in particular. One way to mitigate this issue is by developing a strong relationship with creditors and lenders who can provide funding when needed.

However, bank loans are not always the best solution since they require collateral and often come with hefty interest rates – not to mention the time it takes to secure the funding.

Fortunately, there are various alternative financing solutions, such as e-commerce-specific funding platforms like 8fig, that offer e-commerce stores access to the funds they need to keep their supply chains running smoothly and deliveries on time in the unpredictable economic climate of 2023.

3. Enhance the Customer Service Experience

Customers expect more from e-commerce businesses these days, and part of this is providing them with an enhanced delivery experience.

One way to do this is to provide customers with real-time updates on their orders, to keep them connected to the process and be kept informed of any delays or changes in delivery status.

Plus, if they encounter any issues with their deliveries, they’ll have an easier time getting in touch with customer service. This is especially beneficial for customers who are making urgent orders or dealing with perishable goods.

In order to do this, you need to ensure that your customer service team is well-equipped with the necessary tools and resources they need to effectively respond to customers. This could mean investing in AI-powered chatbots or advanced ticketing systems.

4. Work on Optimizing Last-mile Delivery

The last-mile delivery is often the most challenging and costly part of the supply chain. Moreover, this is the only element of the supply chain that directly involves the customer, so it’s important that you’re doing everything in your power to optimize it.

One way to do this is by leveraging data-driven insights and predictive analytics to plan routes more efficiently. This will help you reduce the cost of last-mile delivery and maintain your desired level of service.

Alternatively, you could consider using a third-party logistics provider such as Postmates or FedEx Fulfillment. This can often be a more cost-effective solution since these companies will have the necessary infrastructure and resources to manage the delivery process more efficiently.

Overall, you need to understand what your customers want and develop a strategy to ensure that last-mile deliveries are as streamlined, cost-effective, and hassle-free as possible. This could mean offering deliveries to self-service lockers, same-day delivery options, or even allowing customers to pick up orders at a local store.

5. Increase Warehouse Space

Okay, you may be wondering who on earth would want to invest in more warehouse space during a recession. But here’s the thing – as sales begin to dwindle and customers start pinching pennies, it’s likely that the price for warehousing space will begin to decrease.

This allows you to take advantage of lower monthly costs and expand your warehouse space. In turn, this allows you to store more inventory and take greater control and responsibility for the supply chain.

Furthermore, increasing the warehouse space can help you create a more efficient order fulfillment process, reduce shipping costs, and provide customers with faster delivery times.

In other words, while everyone else is playing defense and waiting for the recession to be over, you can play offense and take advantage of the situation and get your ducks in a row for when the economy starts to improve.

The Importance of Flexibility

Not everyone will be in a position to snatch up more warehouse space during the recession. But regardless of your current situation, it’s important to remain flexible and agile so you can quickly adapt to any changes or challenges that may arise.

If you are willing to think outside the box, there are plenty of opportunities to stay ahead of the competition. Whether it’s utilizing digital platforms for order fulfillment, partnering with local stores for last-mile delivery, or finding ways to optimize existing processes, there are plenty of strategies you can test out.

In conclusion, the strength and health of your supply chain will likely play an increasingly important role in the year to come. If you want to ensure a smooth delivery process and continue providing your customers with the best possible experience, you need to make sure that you’re making the necessary investments and staying flexible in an ever-changing landscape.

Good luck!

This is a guest post by Hazel Raoult

Hazel Raoult is a freelance marketing writer and works with PRmention. She has 6+ years of experience in writing about business, entrepreneurship, marketing, and all things SaaS. Hazel loves to split her time between writing, editing, and hanging out with her family.

The post 5 Supply Chain Tips For Smooth E-commerce Delivery in 2023 appeared first on Lateshipment.com.

The Impact of the Russia-Ukraine War on E-commerce Shipping

Sashank Ravindranath — Fri, 18 Mar 2022 08:15:58 +0000

The global supply chain has had a really wild time for the past couple of years. First came the pandemic, then came port logjams, and now we’re in the midst of the Russia-Ukraine war — adding more troubles to the existing chaos.

While different countries have conflicted with each other in the past, this full-blown Russian invasion of Ukraine is treated differently by the countries of the world, especially the U.S, since they tend to lose a lot more compared to the others.

How? you ask. Here’s how.

How the Russia-Ukraine War Has Impacted E-commerce and the Global Supply Chain

First of all, it is wise to understand that the supply chain has already been rattled since the pandemic. And when prominent countries like Russia and Ukraine are involved in a conflict, it is no surprise that the existing disruptions will continue or even get worse down the line.

We saw how the supply chain crisis that happened last year already caused a mild economic disruption by holding off important holiday season gifts at ports. Now imagine the same but with an essential good like fuel. That’s exactly how worse the situation is right now.

Let’s take a look at the impact in detail.

Inflation

To run the supply chain, you need oil. And one of the major producers of oil and natural gas is, well, Russia. Therefore, the geopolitical conflict has skyrocketed the prices of both in recent weeks.

The effect of this inflation?

Mobility service providers such as Lyft and Uber are adding temporary fuel surcharges to fares for ride-hail and deliveries as fuel prices around the U.S rise.

In the U.S., the average price per gallon was $4.69 on March 14, 2022, according to USA Today.

Oil and gas prices are set to spike further as the Russia-Ukraine crisis escalates, but the impact on energy won’t be the only ramification.

There’s wheat, which Russia and Ukraine together make up nearly 30 percent of global export used in basically everything from Bread, Pasta, and packaged food for people, especially in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. A snowball effect increasing these food prices further increases the risk of social unrest in poorer countries.

The United States imports relatively little directly from Russia, but a commodities crunch caused by a conflict could have knock-on effects that at least temporarily drive up prices for raw materials and finished goods when much of the world, including the United States, is experiencing rapid inflation. – The New York Times.

Shortages

The U.S primarily imports materials such as Xenon, Palladium, Neon, Aluminum, etc. substantially from Russia and Ukraine. Companies dealing in car manufacturing, semiconductors, catalytic converters, etc could all face serious shortages.

Such shortages could lead to

Companies selling their produce at a higher rate to meet their usual ends
Increased shipping and freight costs (flights and cargo from Europe and Asia taking alternate and longer routes to avoid Ukraine and Russia) and
Lower purchases from customers due to the sudden inflation

And ultimately result in economic disruption.

Responses from major companies

Companies were not only forced to deal with the supply chain crisis that resulted from the war, certain companies willingly took the risk of putting a hold on their business activities primarily in Russia and also in countries such as Ukraine and Belarus.

Not just corporations, even nations such as the U.S. and Canada have banned Russian oil and gas imports, and the U.K. is moving in the same direction. The governments behind these decisions believe that the actions can put meaningful pressure on Russia to end the war on Ukraine.

Issues That E-commerce Businesses Are Prone to Face as a Result of the Russia-Ukraine War

The e-commerce impact of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine may not be limited to that region. For one, the conflict is driving inflation rates higher, which could decrease the flow of e-commerce shipments through supply chains due to their cost.

Interos, a U.S.-based supply chain management firm, estimates that more than 300,000 American companies have supply chain dependencies in Russia or Ukraine.

As we mentioned earlier, the Russia-Ukraine war hit an already crippled supply chain from the pandemic. Therefore, consequences are bound, even if you don’t have Tier-1 or Tier-2 suppliers in Russia and Ukraine.

If the war worsens or even comes to an impasse, there definitely will be key issues supply chain leaders and e-commerce businesses will have to deal with. Here are some of them.

1. Prolonged delivery times

The first and foremost issue for e-commerce businesses is their shipments reaching their customers’ doorstep late because of a conflict happening some 5000 miles away.

Due to packages being held off citing the suspension of services in parts of Ukraine and Russia, there has been an increase in delays which, under the prevailing situation, can make it difficult for your business to deal with already panic-stricken customers.

Thanks to the war, the pileups at ports have created bottlenecks in the transport of goods and commodities and threatening fresh economic disruptions for countries and businesses, especially near Ukraine and Russia (or dependent on them). Adding to this disruption is logistics firms suspending services as a sign of taking a stand.

FedEx over the weekend said in a statement on its website that the company is “closely monitoring the situation” and that it has “contingency plans in place, including temporarily suspending services in Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus until further notice.”

“Our focus is on the safety of our people, providing continued service, and minimizing disruption to our customers. UPS continues to closely monitor the situation and will re-establish service as soon as it is practical and safe to do so,” UPS said in a statement after disrupting service.

Similar to FedEx and UPS, The German logistics company Deutsche Post, DHL has said that they are suspending the delivery of goods and documents to Russia and Belarus amid the rising tensions in Ukraine due to the Russian invasion. As per a message on the company’s website, the reception of parcels in both countries has been suspended until further notice.

2. Surging shipping costs

If delays don’t seem to be enough, imagine your worries when you realize that you’ll probably be paying skyrocketing shipping prices for them.

FedEx Express notified customers on Thursday that it will hike its peak surcharge for many international parcels and freight shipments, beginning next week, because of the latest supply chain disruptions caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

This surcharge is unofficially named ‘War surcharge’ by retail pundits due to the news of the fee coming nearly a week after the disruption in Europe, particularly around Ukraine and Russia.

Due to continuous disruptions in the global supply chain, air cargo capacity remains limited. We are incurring incremental costs as we continue to adjust our international networks and operate in this constrained environment. – FedEx

FedEx is increasing the surcharge by 20 to 30 cents per kilogram for most of Asia-Pacific and by a tenth of a euro, or 11 cents, per kilogram on European exports and imports. Increases also apply in the Indian subcontinent, Africa and Latin America, according to their tariff schedule.

But in these tough times, we definitely cannot blame the shipping carriers, who themselves are straining capacity amidst this whole crisis. The fuel cost increase is passed along the supply chain to the carriers and finally ends up hurting your bottom line.

While all of this may seem like a worry, don’t let your hopes down. There are measures that you can take to counter the crisis. Understand what they are and make sure that you are least affected by them.

What Businesses Can Do to Overcome Disruptions and Reduce Risks

Experts have some suggestions for growing businesses such as yours to overcome this disruption:

Encourage customers to start shopping early as weeks to avoid last-minute delays on their orders
Provide a realistic estimated delivery date of delivery even before customers make their purchase so that they become aware of the crisis and refrain from blaming you in case the delivery timeline gets extended
Track your parcels in real-time and gain the ability to take preemptive action before customer impact
Keep your customers in the loop of their orders via tracking information across post-purchase touchpoints to avoid getting blamed for delays that are no fault of yours.

Bottom line

From the experts’ point of view, the past stands for an unprecedented issue, the present stands at the Russia-Ukraine war situation getting worse before it gets better, and the future is the calling out of the existing logistics operations model.

The supply chain and logistics system will not and should not revert to the original model that existed during the pre-pandemic times as the current scenario calls for desperate measures in the form of modernization.

As of now follow the experts’ advice, keep yourself updated on the changes to the supply chain, and hope for the situation to get better or ‘normalize’ if there were such a thing.

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