The COVID-19 epidemic solidified eCommerce's position as many consumers preferred means of purchasing. It is a significant segment of retail that has been rapidly expanding in recent years.
Although online order numbers are increasing, purchasing options are increasing for consumers.. Because of this, maintaining a competitive advantage is crucial, and customer experience is a big influence on buyer behaviour and eCommerce logistics have an important part to play in overall satisfaction.
Here are some key challenges that can be overcome with the right eCommerce solutions.
Overcome eCommerce Logistics Challenges
Increasing need for delivery efficiency
Today the consumers are in charge. As internet rivalry rises, many firms provide similar items. Retailers must offer competitive prices and cost-effective delivery options at the moment of sale. Using the correct logistics software, merchants can provide costed delivery options based on existing commitments, delivery capacity, and new orders.
Proof of delivery
Predictability becomes increasingly important as the quality of the customer experience during delivery improves. Among other benefits, cutting-edge proof of delivery software guarantees that your drivers will keep to a set of procedures consistently, providing a dependable customer experience every time.
Warehouse & yard management
The requirements for speedy fulfilment will be met in large part by a robust yard and warehouse management system. A well-organised warehouse facilitates swift inventory management and product retrieval and will enable you to pick, pack, and dispatch your products to customers as soon as feasible.
Last mile delivery
eCommerce merchants must boost productivity and save money to meet delivery costs in order to stay competitive. By offering costed delivery options, customers can chose what's convenient for them and retailers can charge accordingly for deliveries. Some individuals will pay for the convenience of having something delivered where and when they want. Reducing costs while improving service will depend upon a company's approach to last-mile deliveries.
Real-time tracking
Real-time tracking is now a must have requirement. Failing to provide it will place you at a competitive disadvantage. Customers want to know when their deliveries will arrive, the more precise the information - the happier the customer. The delivery will be achieved successfully the first time, without the expense of redelivery, and the customer is more likely to purchase again.
Route Planning and Optimisation
An introduction to the Descartes Scheduling and Routing optimisation tools that can create and execute plans, increasing efficiency, providing greater visibility and streamlining communications.
Customer Successes
“Descartes Reservations™ and Route Planner™ solutions were integral to our strategy of offering a more extensive, but unified delivery service. The advanced optimisation capabilities and architecture of the Descartes solutions were critical, bringing new delivery service options to our customers in an economically feasible way. ”
Andrew Gay - Systems Manager
Fulfilment costs reduced £1.8m
Increased delivery productivity 35%
Delivery windows provided at POS
“Overnight our business was transformed. Our planning team and drivers love using Descartes.....Since introducing Descartes, Stop Start’s daily delivery volume has increased 50%. This rate of growth would not have been sustainable without digital planning tools. ”
Andrew Bayne, Managing Director
Daily planning time reduced 75%
Annual distribution costs saving £450k
Delivery capacity Increased 12%
“In the past year since having the Descartes' system our jobs per route has improved by just short of 10%.”
Martin Alldritt - Planning & Optimisation Manager
Jobs per route has increased 9.9%
Average mileage between jobs reduced
Improved Customer Service
“Descartes' Route Planner™ On-demand helps us have more efficient delivery operations by taking into account our assets, business rules, customer requirements and geographic information. Seamless mobile solution integration ensures we can track actual performance against optimized route plans and address new work or delivery exceptions as they happen to better serve our customers.”
Nimmoo Adam, IT Manager
Delivery temperatures recorded
Delivery costs analysed
Proof of delivery collected
“After extensive research, we partnered with Descartes to help transform our distribution management practices because it proved to be a real benchmark in the market. Their tools are very effective. The routing solution has been a resounding success resulting in lower costs and greater customer satisfaction, while the appointment booking capability is in great demand from our customers and their consumers. ”
Nicolas Tellier - Chairman
Operational costs reduced 5%
Customer Net Promoter Score (NPS) Increased
Fleet size 250+
