In 2024, ecommerce success hinges on harnessing technology and strategic partnerships to offer high-quality delivery experiences.
Managing shipping effectively is one of the most important aspects of online shopping. It’s crucial to stay adaptable and check shipping strategies to ensure that you are consistently providing top-tier service and experiences at the most favourable cost for your customers.
Key sections
- Put yourself in your customers’ shoes
- Competitor analysis
- Affordable, ultra-fast, and sustainable shipping
- The Last Mile
- Offer alternative shipping methods
- Automate inventory management
- Offer free returns
- Choose the right partners
Put yourself in the shoes of your customers
When refining or planning a shipping strategy the first step is to consider your customers’ perspective. In fact, the goal for every company is to balance what customers expect with the cost of providing such services. Customers too are always looking for a cost-efficient service when buying online.
Secondly, it’s essential to analyse what your competitors are doing to distinguish yourself.. What are they offering in terms of shipping? Is it same-day shipping, standard free shipping? At what rates? In this way, you can identify gaps and opportunities to differentiate your offerings and appeal to target customers.
For example, if one of your competitors is charging for same-day delivery, you can consider offering free shipping!
2024 is the year of affordable, ultra-fast and sustainable shipping
In 2024, consumers continue to prioritise businesses that offer low-cost or free shipping, but still expect orders to arrive very quickly. They also care a lot about having a high degree of control on delivery, choosing when and how to receive their packages while tracking their packages in transit, to the point of knowing the precise time of delivery. Additionally, shoppers value businesses that offer these services with sustainable practices.
“The last mile”, the crucial mile
“The last mile” is in fact the critical stage of ecommerce delivery because it is the closest interaction customers have with the delivery process and holds the power to determine their loyalty. The key challenge is meeting such high expectations for shipping, which today equals affordable and fast, while adopting eco-friendly practices. Striking these contradictory balances demands strong partnerships, a solid handling of shipping logistics complexity, and top execution. How?
Offer alternative shipping methods
They are fast, eco-friendly and cheaper for businesses. In fact they require fewer resources to complete delivery and are also convenient for customers.
With BOPIS (Buy Online, Pickup In-Store), customers can purchase online and then pick up their order at a store close to them, combining online shopping convenience with the immediacy of in-store purchasing. Collection Points and Locker Pickup solutions allow customers to collect their orders at their own time, thus enjoying greater flexibility while reducing many delivery challenges for retailers.
Automate inventory management and fulfillment
Offering low-cost fast delivery cannot be achieved without automatic inventory management systems. These provide real-time visibility of stock movements across all warehouses and stores, ensuring accurate management of stock levels, synchronisation, efficient order processing which all lead to faster fulfillment processes and reduced costs. Businesses that implement automation gain a competitive advantage in meeting customer expectations.
Offer free returns
Making customers pay for returns can drive them away. While shifting reverse logistics costs to customers may initially seem more convenient, it will definitely impact sales. Unless shoppers are 100% sure about their online order they won’t buy from you if they have to pay for returns. And who can be 100% sure when buying online? Offering free returns can indeed become a strategic advantage! Leveraging ecommerce automation for inventory management, fulfillment, and return processing is central to encourage repeat business without sacrificing profitability.
Choose the right partners
Generally speaking, the dynamic nature of ecommerce business demands flexibility, speed, as well as convenience, and good strategies hinge on choosing the right partners to make sure these elements are consistently met. In fact, strategic collaborations allow you to significantly enhance efficiency, expand reach, and provide an exceptional customer experience thanks to extensive logistics networks. Let’s see why.
Utilising a network of fulfillment warehouses
Having access to a network of fulfillment warehouses means your inventory is strategically stored, automatically handled, packed, and shipped from multiple locations. But remember shipping from a single location restricts your offerings and can inflate costs. For example, imagine if you ship from Milan only. When a customer places an order from Spain or Poland, costs are higher and waiting times for orders to arrive are longer. This can make your products less competitive and appealing in these markets due to the added shipping expenses that either you have to absorb or pass on to the customers. On the contrary, having access to multiple warehouses allows you to locate stock strategically. In fact, imagine collaborating with a partner that has warehouses in both Spain and Poland. This means stock can be placed strategically closer to customers, significantly lowering costs and reducing delivery times. You will definitely exceed customer expectations without impacting your bottom line!
eLogy’s advanced fulfillment solutions tailored for tomorrow’s marketplace
- Tech-driven solutions: eLogy enhances ecommerce operations through an advanced platform that automates logistics operations, offering real-time tracking of inventory and shipments, thus enhancing transparency for customers
- Rapid eco-friendly delivery: with strategically located warehouses and partnerships with international carriers, eLogy ensures quick delivery by optimizing carrier selection and delivery routes. This approach helps businesses to meet the expectations of modern consumers
- Comprehensive fulfillment services: let us take care of all phases of the order fulfillment process from managing incoming orders, shipping, and handling returns across all our warehouses.
- Real-time dashboard and analytics: get access to real-time insights to monitor performance and make informed decisions to gain a competitive advantage.
- Global reach: eLogy’s services are available internationally for businesses to expand their online presence anywhere without limits
Conclusions
2024 presents a series of challenges and opportunities for ecommerce businesses. The path to success lies in harnessing technology and forming strategic partnerships to provide superior fulfillment for competitive differentiation. These are the two elements that allow businesses to provide low-cost, fast, and sustainable shipping options to meet the high expectations of modern consumers.
