Coordinating the operations that are needed to get shipping and fulfillment done is a must for ecommerce brands, with over half of them saying that there are logistics in delivery and fulfillment that can pose a challenge to their business. However, these logical issues have definitely impacted the global supply chain, with the logistics still not in synch. Here are the most common logistics issues that have happened recently.
Delays and costs due to Capacity Shortage
- The pandemic has impacted the global supply chain and the impacts are still felt now.
- The price of shipping container volume has skyrocketed due to the capacity shortages, and the cost has quadrupled in just this year alone.
- Not only that, the ports being congested, huge labor shortages, and of course the outbreaks are also making it harder for containers and their shortage too.
- This has caused more demand and of course a boom in the space too.
- The shortages of containers have led to a higher rate for shipping and delivery delays, but you should definitely consider the following if you use them:
- Booking in advance
- Mandatory bookings to get a rate on the space available
- Trucking for some freight.
- Expecting delays
This is partially why the prices are higher, and you may want to factor that in when looking at items
Unforeseen Disruptions
The pandemic also caused a lot of logistics issues to companies, since there have been disruptions that weren’t foreseen that caused people to look for alternatives to this as well. In recent years, the frequency of the storms, natural disasters, even wildfires do impact the supply chains and have caused major damages and losses. This of course can be fixed y increasing the logistics partners network to mitigate the risk. You can look for suppliers and geographies before you put the risk in and look for alternative partnerships.
If you only get sourced inventory from China, this can affect you. If you’re sourcing from California, you may want to make sure that you also do have some other alternatives too.
Customer-Focused Delivery
Free and fast delivery is pretty much expected, and the whole industry is still trying to recalibrate and accommodates the different demands that online shoppers have expected. Same-day delivery from amazon has been something that people have started to expect, but the thing is, most companies can’t match what amazon has for deliveries, and of course, this has forced many to consider the approach that they use. Companies are looking for new ways to fulfill the delivery and speed that’s there.
Micro-fulfillment is one option to allow shippers to utilize a smaller group of warehouses instead of just one giant distribution center to get the customers that they need to. This gives those who aren’t in the urban center’s better delivery access, while also lowering the costs for shippers too. There is also on-demand fulfillment that ecommerce has started to put together. Companies can start to lease small parts of their warehouse space to help customers during peak seasons.
This is good especially if you can’t afford a huge number of different warehouses, and sometimes, sharing is caring. This is all definitely a big problem, but if you know a little bit about each of these different parts of the shipping and fulfillment actions, then you’ll definitely benefit from this. Understanding the trends and changes does help a lot when you look at each of the different parts of shipping, and of course the fulfillment of orders and the like that can benefit people from all walks of life.