Competing against Amazon? You Need A Blue Ocean Strategy!

Amazon is far and away the leader in the E-C0mmerce space.  Their growth continues at an exceptional pace.  And they continue to expand their products, services, and capabilities.  In short they continue to press their advantage and make it difficult for anyone else to compete with them.  You need a Blue Ocean strategy!

But if you are in the E-Commerce space that is your reality.  Amazon is the biggest shark in the room.  So how do you compete in the face of such an overwhelming adversary?

One technique is to consider creating your own Blue Ocean Strategy to create competitive advantage!  If you can define dramatically different space in which to do business you may be able to keep this shark, and others, at bay (at least for a period of time).

Continue reading “Competing against Amazon? You Need A Blue Ocean Strategy!”

The Amazon Effect is the New Walmart Effect!

In 1994, Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos read a statistic that the Internet had been growing at 2300 percent annually. He fashioned that changing tide into a business plan that has been breaking barriers across supply chain and e-commerce that has left an indelible mark with the Amazon effect.

Beginning with booksellers, the e-commerce giant has expedited the closure of many retailers and threatens to redefine the standards of shopping in a digital world. Retailers are forced to lower prices, optimize their systems and processes, and reduce profit margins in favor of competition; meanwhile, Amazon continues its trek toward dominance.

Continue reading “The Amazon Effect is the New Walmart Effect!”

Featuring Our 10 Best Warehouse Order Fulfillment Articles!

Our latest “Featuring” series article covers the topic of Warehouse and Distribution Centre order fulfillment. With the exponential growth of E-Commerce and online shopping the backbone of activity that makes it all happen is order fulfillment.

Every time you place an online order someone somewhere is picking up those items and placing them in a box for delivery to you. Given that hundreds of millions of people are doing the same thing at the same time it is imperative that companies have the most efficient fulfillment process possible, whether they do this work themselves or outsource it.

We have had the opportunity to lead the implementation of some world class fulfillment processes, even surpassing the speed of Amazon. So take some time and check out our very best Warehouse and Distribution Centre fulfillment articles!

Enjoy!

Continue reading “Featuring Our 10 Best Warehouse Order Fulfillment Articles!”

The Omni-channel Approach to Customer Experience!

Unchaining Change Leadership

In the last decade, the growing adoption of ecommerce has been swift–and ruthless. Huge retail market players like Best Buy and Toys R’ Us are shutting down huge chunks of their physical locations due to plummeting revenue and poor customer experience.

Not only is this a result of not embracing ecommerce early in its wave, they are also now competing with ecommerce giants like Amazon and Alibaba who sell the same or competing products online.

Traffic drought in physical stores could be attributed to the rising number of purchases made over the internet for certain customer and product segments. For some, the revenue drop is significant. And yet another part of the challenge big box retailers face as publicly traded companies is that they have to answer to their investors–and with ecommerce delivering superior results, the patience afforded to big box retailers is just not as generous.

So, where does the success of ecommerce lie?

Continue reading “The Omni-channel Approach to Customer Experience!”

Turn your Brick And Mortar Stores into E-Commerce Distribution Hubs!

Retailers with Brick and Mortar stores continue to be under tremendous pressure.  Competition is intense in the fast growing Omnichannel E-Commerce world.  Every week there seems to be news about how one Retailer or another is closing more of their stores when they could be using them as Distribution hubs.

And very few Retailers with Brick And Mortar stores have been able to make a profit in E-Commerce.  Competitors who only sell online without physical stores appear to have an advantage with lower overhead costs.

So how can Brick And Mortar Retailers turn their stores into a competitive advantage plus a source of greater profitability?

Continue reading “Turn your Brick And Mortar Stores into E-Commerce Distribution Hubs!”

Cutting out the Middleman: The Growth of Direct to Consumer!

As supply chains evolve and grow, products are often passed between dozens of hands at factories, shipping vehicles and pallets, distributor warehouses, retail warehouses, shop floors, and delivery fleets. They often travel thousands of miles to go direct to consumer.

And they go through multiple intermediaries, something which has an impact not only on the profit margins, but also on the brand’s ability to connect and communicate with their customer.

With revenue growth remaining a challenge, almost half (48 per cent) of manufacturers are racing to build Direct to Consumer (DTC) channels, with almost all of them (87 per cent) seeing these channels as relevant to their products and consumers.

Continue reading “Cutting out the Middleman: The Growth of Direct to Consumer!”

Last Mile Delivery! What is your Strategy?

Amazon has set the benchmark for Last Mile Delivery.  With massive Distribution Centres within a short distance of every major population centre they are able to offer fast delivery of virtually any product they sell.  The Amazon Prime Now service promises delivery within 1 hour.

Amazon Fresh is their grocery delivery option and with their Whole Foods acquisition they are obviously planning for rapid delivery.  Amazon Go is their Retail store option.  Amazon Key is their in home delivery service.   And the Amazon promise of drone delivery will further cement their leadership in the Last Mile Delivery race.

So how do you compete with that?  What are your options?  And what is your Strategy?

Continue reading “Last Mile Delivery! What is your Strategy?”

What’s the Difference Between Fulfillment and Replenishment?

People who do not work in Supply Chain may hear the terms Fulfillment and Replenishment and consider that they mean the same thing.

Interestingly many people who do work in Supply Chain consider the terms Fulfillment and Replenishment to be synonymous.

I have worked in many different industries and all around the world but the place where I heard these terms used most frequently was in Retail.

Given that there is some ambiguity in the understanding of these terms it makes sense to provide the distinction.

What is the difference between Fulfillment and Replenishment?

Continue reading “What’s the Difference Between Fulfillment and Replenishment?”

3PL Fulfillment Prices! (Infographic)

Growing e-commerce fulfillment demands and costs have collided to bring about an uptick in average 3PL fulfillment prices within the outsourced fulfillment industry, as was evidenced by FulfillmentCompanies.net’s annual poll of 500+ warehouses across the US.

Each year, the online fulfillment match-making service surveys their network of 3PL companies to gauge the industry’s average costs of doing business, as well as what prices they charge users of fulfillment services. 

Below are the survey results at a glance.

Continue reading “3PL Fulfillment Prices! (Infographic)”

Keys to Success in Warehouse Management/Order Fulfillment! (Video)

E-Commerce continues to be the fastest growing sales channel anywhere in the world.  E-Commerce globally has been growing at over 20% per year and will continue to grow at that rate for the next several years.  (Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/288487/forecast-of-global-b2c-e-commerce-growt/  )

With these ever-increasing order volumes and changes in online shopper expectations there is enormous pressure on E-Commerce company Supply Chain distribution and fulfillment operations.

What are the keys for E-Commerce companies to be successful in fulfilling all of these orders and demands from online consumers?

Continue reading “Keys to Success in Warehouse Management/Order Fulfillment! (Video)”

Order Management Improvement Best Practices!

An order management system (OMS) is the system of record for maintaining orders and handling inventory. In the omnichannel supply chain, order management improvement leads to confident inventory management across all channels.

Additionally, the use of data to understand what is happening, what will happen, what should happen, and how to make the best outcome happen through analytics will result in order management improvement.

Order management begins with visibility, and visibility promotes improvement within inventory management. Such improvements naturally lend themselves to higher customer service levels and benefits throughout the supply chain.

Continue reading “Order Management Improvement Best Practices!”

How to Choose the Right E-Commerce Business Model!

The shift from offline retail to online businesses is an unstoppable trend. The E-commerce business model arrived decades ago, and its relevance now booms in the current advancement of technology. 

Now, more and more entrepreneurs are building and starting their e-commerce businesses. For your e-commerce business to have a greater chance of success, you need to think long and hard about what E-Commerce business model you’re going to pursue. 

Continue reading “How to Choose the Right E-Commerce Business Model!”

The Future of E-Commerce! (Infographic)

Thanks to digital technology we can carry out commercial transactions online. We can buy and sell items or services, pay bills, make orders, and so much more as we look to the future of E-Commerce.

Online enterprises are heavily relying on this commodity. This is why we have numerous online businesses nowadays.

The infographic below from Subscriptionly will inform you about the current and future tech trends that will influence the ecommerce sector. Some of the main trends are as follows.

Continue reading “The Future of E-Commerce! (Infographic)”

Logistics in the Golden Age of E-Commerce!

For the last two decades, the field of e-commerce fulfillment (logistics) has been going through the golden age because of the equally growing market of e-commerce providers (online sellers). However, other logistics companies improved their fulfillment game in 2018. New players in the field, such as ShipBob, presented the public with cheaper fulfillment solutions.

With all the changes in the e-commerce industry, customers are expecting faster services and response times. Amazon suddenly changed the game by introducing the 2-day shipping program of Amazon Prime. Target tried to counter this move, but Amazon launched ‘Amazon Prime Now,’ which ensures deliveries over two-hour delivery time.

After the launch of these fantastic services, customers’ demand will only increase.

Continue reading “Logistics in the Golden Age of E-Commerce!”

The Benefits of Providing Tracking Information to Customers!

Online shopping has become an integral part of many consumers’ lives. The increased volume of parcels shows that this new way of acquiring goods and services and the provision of tracking information is here to stay.

While a lot of packages are successfully delivered, sometimes, they can get misplaced, damaged, and in worst cases, lost. For these reasons, many customers will want to know the exact location and status of the items they ordered to ensure that it will safely arrive in their homes.

Continue reading “The Benefits of Providing Tracking Information to Customers!”