With the advance of e-commerce, however, the relationship and interaction between retailers and customers has changed considerably, requiring a new approach in terms of e-commerce retail logistics. Retailers act as both distribution centers and online stores, using parcel and postal services for small shipments. Online retailers are responsible for shipment and delivery unlike traditional stores where customers visit the retailer’s location to make purchases.

How E-Commerce Retail Logistics Differs

Unlike traditional retail supply chains, e-commerce retail logistics involves the control and planning of processes that enable the processing of transactions. E-commerce logistics providers facilitate transactions and ensure that the proper procedures are followed in case of unexpected developments and situations. Integrated logistics services feature storage and distribution solutions that minimize the cost of administration and transportation, help increase efficiency and the production output, and reduce the required stock level that businesses and suppliers maintain.

E-Commerce Retail Logistics Solutions

Our teams offer assistance during all stages of shipment, from referencing, labelling, and checking of goods delivered by the supplier to secure storage, delivery by means of specialized transportation, and managing returns. Customers are offered the full array of e-commerce retail logistics services and benefit from:

• Multi-channel approach
• Ability to accommodate and move all kinds of goods
• Flexibility
• Ability to manage peaks in activity
• Well-developed infrastructure
• Customization of orders

Refrigeration transport is available to move perishable items such as fruits and vegetables. We also offer secure storage for valuable items and can help manage products by use-by or sell-by date, including food items, cosmetics, and detergents. Customers also benefit from high-level automation and capabilities to handle large volumes. Hybrid and intermodal transportation solutions are also offered to accommodate orders that require good reactivity to be able to meet deadlines.

Compared to traditional retail supply chains, e-commerce retail logistics involves made-to-measure solutions, from stock management and shipment to quality control, loading and unloading of vehicles, order preparation, etc.  From the reception of goods and preparation of orders to handling odd-size items, we always strive to support customers in the best way possible by taking care of shipment, stock, and management of orders. We take pride in our fast reaction times and multi-focus approach that helps customers to achieve optimal results by using the least amount of resources.

The companies featured in our freight forwarders directory offer linked services such as quality control and relabeling and customized solutions such as restocking individual items and delivery to a location of the customer’s choice. We can also help online retailers to manage orders during periods of peak demand such as Christmas and Easter.

The post Retail logistics and e-commerce appeared first on International Forwarding Association Blog.

While in traditional brick and mortar based retail, the customer is responsible to go to the retailer to purchase something and is actually performing the “last mile” in the distribution chain, with e-commerce, the customer expects the goods to be delivered to him or her, and thus the last mile delivery is performed by the list of logistics companies instead.

Since location is an essential element of retailing, many businesses rely on the forwarders throughout Europe to provide them with warehouses and storage and distribution services in locations which are near their customers.

The companies from the European network for transportation offer to maintain and manage their inventory, as well as to distribute it and perform the last mile of the delivery to the customer as part of the storage and distribution, and contract logistics services they provide.

In fact, for the larger e-retailers, the international freight forwarders network offers entire networks of distribution centers which allow for the optimization of the coverage and the services provided to regional markets.

The distribution centers are in fact now interacting with the customers who make their orders online, and they are responsible for making the home deliveries directly to the end clients.

So, more online retailers are now becoming responsible for the deliveries, which in traditional retail were the responsibility of the customers themselves.

How the freight forwarders association is adapting to these changes

With the growing intensity of distribution based consumption, the forwarders throughout Europe are working on making their storage and distribution services even more efficient. Because of the delayed timing of the delivery when a purchase is made online as compared to going to the store, certain perishable products are not that suitable for online commerce. These include groceries and medication, as opposed to apparel or electronics for example.

So, in order to capture larger market shares, online retailers are doing their best to offer same day or next day deliveries to their customers. This can be done by strategically positioning their high demand goods in the warehouses and urban logistics depots offered by the list of logistics companies from the freight forwarders network.

The impact of technology on retail logistics

Overall, with the huge technological advances, what used to be a complex process as traditional retail logistics, today is a much more efficient and self-orchestrated system.

Today, there are various technological innovations and trends which are affecting retail logistics, apart from the boom in online commerce.

These include the advent in artificial intelligence and in robotics. These are widely being used in the warehouses owned and managed by the freight forwarders network. Robots are already taking the place of human workers in the employees, and hopes are that pretty soon these automated systems will become smarter and will be able to work even more efficiently without the need of human control to determine the fastest delivery routes or to arrange pickups, for example.

Overall, it is obvious that retail logistics in undergoing serious change, and just how advanced it will become is just a matter of time to tell.

The post The latest trends in the retail logistics services offered by IFA appeared first on International Forwarding Association Blog.