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.
It’s easy to visualize your supply chain as a river, flowing from one point to another. Along the way, it can branch out into various tributaries and meet various bottlenecks — but like running water, any item in the supply chain will find its way to its destination eventually.
Yet just as a dam can hold back the flow and slow it down, your processes can be encumbered by bottlenecks.
There are many reasons why a bottleneck may develop in your logistics, but the effects it can have are all negative. If left unaddressed, they can cause delays, hurt productivity and waste resources.
None of these is good for your business’s bottom line, which means it’s crucial to know what causes them and how to address them.
The logistics industry is worth over $8.1 trillion. Not only it is an incomprehensibly big market, there are countless factors shaping it.
Globalization introduced a new level of complexity. International shipping has become a norm and customer expectations are higher than ever: we want our shipments on time, delivered as soon as possible and for this complex service we are willing to pay less and less.
In order to meet these high expectations and keep their customers satisfied, logistics service providers have to reach a never-before-seen level of efficiency.
Logistics is only seldom mentioned when we talk about innovation: industries like IT, telecommunications and automotive are the ones that first come to mind. Yet logistics, which represents an enormous opportunity given its size and its potential growth, has undergone a major transformation as well and the process is not close to an end.
The following infographic shows us how two multi-billion dollar companies, Uber and Amazon are revolutionizing the industry. Will a taxi app and an online retailer be the ones setting the new standards?
Amazon and Uber are the two giants in the industry. And the E-Commerce marketplace requires companies to provide a fast, free (or inexpensive to the customer), and reliable last mile delivery solution. This tremendous article provides a great characterization of Amazon and Uber in the Last Mile marketplace.
Amazon and Uber article and permission to publish here provided by Sam White at Argentus. Created by trademachines.com. Originally published on Supply Chain Game Changer on December 6, 2017.
With the increase in the popularity of e-shops and delivery companies, the e-commerce logistics business keeps growing. It faces more and more challenges, as customers need companies to be quick and increase their logistics performance more than ever before.
What does it mean for your business? This article explains why understanding and following the key trends in logistics e-commerce are crucial for organizations that want to save their place in the supply chain and get better results with less effort.
Outsourcing logistics can provide numerous advantages for businesses of all sizes. As supply chains become more complex and globalized, many companies find it beneficial to rely on third-party logistics (3PL) providers to handle some or all of their transportation, warehousing, distribution, and fulfillment needs.
While outsourcing any business function requires careful evaluation, logistics is an area where outside expertise and resources can offer a significant return on investment.
Let’s explore 7 key benefits companies can gain by outsourcing all or part of their logistics operations.
While immensely popular in the United States, self-storage solutions have remained pretty uncommon throughout Europe… that is, until now.
More and more entrepreneurs are recognising the untapped opportunity presented by the storage industry and as a result we are seeing a major increase in the availability of facilities in Europe.
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?
In today’s eCommerce landscape, the majority of customers interact with you only two times, once when they make a purchase on your website and then again when the product is delivered. Improving your website’s conversion rate is very important and gains a lot of attention in the eCommerce industry, while the anatomy of the unboxing experience is too often overlooked.
As the marketplace for physical products continues to transition online, the customer experiences far less interaction with the actual company. These lost opportunities for a business to impress through exemplary service will need to be compensated for in other ways.
In an increasingly globalized world, logistics and transportation have taken center stage in the successful operations of businesses worldwide. Emerging from the shadows of standard methods, custom logistics and transportation platforms are shaping the future of the supply chain industry.
Supply Chain innovation is a team effort requiring collaboration and buy-in from all levels within an organization, and it’s especially true when it comes to bringing innovation to the supply chain.
While new and buzzworthy technologies like drones and robotics are consistently being introduced, innovation for the supply chain is truly a continuum of small improvements that make a greater impact – whether it’s improving processes or the overarching business model.
When I started my career the term “Supply Chain” had just been coined. As such it was many years before I actually heard of the term “Supply Chain Management”.
Regardless I pursued my interests and took on an increasingly diverse set of progressive jobs as time went on. Now as I look back on my career virtually everything I did falls under the banner of Supply Chain management.
Supply chain leaders and heroes will face the year with uncertainty and opportunity. Digital technologies are becoming more prevalent in basic supply chain functions, and changes in legislation are likely to spur dramatic changes that will result in the need to reevaluate supply chain strategy in both domestic and international locations. How can they be Supply Chain heroes?
Similar to the supply chain maturity curve of technologies, as explained by Steve Banker of Forbes, supply chain managers should consider how top supply chain trends will influence operations in the coming year.
Even though modern coffee machines offer an attractive variety of caffeinated drinks like cappuccino or latte macchiato, for me it is a simple cup of black coffee that helps kick-start my productivity when the clock strikes 8 am.
This “kick-start”, or boost aspect of coffee was randomly discovered between the sixth and the ninth century. A widespread tale sets the scene in the kingdom of Kaffa, in Abyssinia – which today is Ethiopia – where a shepherd one day observed that his sheep were unusually cheerful after eating white blossoms and red cherries from a previously unknown plant.
Prior to one Holiday season several years ago the volume that was coming into the Distribution Centre receiving area was unprecedented and unpredicted. We were out of room on the docks and we were out of storage space but trucks kept on coming. And we were still weeks away from being able to ship product to stores to relieve the pressure.
We were gridlocked. We kept inching our way along but we were very, very close to having this traffic jam of activity shut us down.
The key to sustaining healthy 3PL relationships is very much dependent on the person that is given the role to manage the relationship with the 3PL service provider.
One of the biggest mistakes that many organizations make when they move from the DIY to 3PL model is in the selection of the person they choose to manage the relationship.
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