Retail Supply Chain White Papers

Shipping has never been more challenging than it is today. Increasing productivity and providing exceptional customer experiences is imperative. Companies are finding it difficult to solve the current challenges in the packing arena, which include labor shortages, unnecessary DIM weight expenses and customer experience.

The future of the global trade system faces more risk and uncertainty than at any time since it was created after World War II. This year and beyond promises to be a decisive one for worldwide trade with protectionism and populism growing across the globe. The world’s top 60 economies have adopted more than 7,000 protectionist trade measures 1 on a net basis since the financial crisis of 2008.

Over the last year or so, “fast fashion” companies have gained tremendous market share from consumers in search of the hottest trending item at the best price. These companies have executives from every industry – not just fashion – talking about the need for speed.

While consumers want the ease of shopping online, the ability to track orders and the use of sustainable packaging, they also prefer to see and try their purchases in person. In fact, two-thirds of consumers who purchase online use the store before or after the transaction. So how do retailers offer the conveniences consumers demand while reducing costs? The answer: Perfect every aspect of the packaging and shipping process.

Shipping is a critical component of supply chain logistics for e-commerce stores. e-tailers find it increasingly important to optimize shipping as it significantly impacts the customer experience, repeat purchasing, brand loyalty and profitability.

Shipping and fulfillment impacts commerce in a significant manner, affecting profit margin and revenue, operational efficiencies, brand and customer experience. Our hypothesis is that retailers’ current shipping practices prevent them from realizing the full potential of their business. These practices add unnecessary friction to the buyer journey, and are often misaligned with today’s sophisticated, tech-savvy online shopper who seek a seamless, almost intuitive experience. To prove this, we started tracking the habits, practices, performance and sentiment of online shoppers and retailers annually with the aim to measure the gap between retailer capability and consumer expectations.

The growth in global e-commerce is top-of-mind for all retailers today. Consumers are more demanding than ever before and expect to be able to order their goods from any device and receive them at a time and place that is convenient for them. International commerce is both a cultural and complex business, requiring technologically-robust systems capable of handling everything from making packages as small as possible, to choosing the right carrier, ensuring compliance and keeping track of orders.

Shipping software tools optimize service, efficiency, control costs, and ensure orders get on the right truck faster. And that keeps consumers coming back.

Global trade continues to accelerate both in volumes and complexity, with the WTO’s most recent trade forecast revised to show improved growth in world merchandise trade volume. Just look at the numbers from Alibaba and their most recent Singles Day, where products were purchased from 192 countries. The number of tons shipped by ocean containers has multiplied many times over in recent years—almost 17 times—from 102 million tons in 1980, to 1,720 million tons in 2016!

Public perception of private label brands (PLB) used to be quite negative. In 2011, 17 percent of U.S. consumers felt PLB’s were for people on tight budgets who couldn’t afford the best - but due to the economic downturn in recent years, consumers have changed their mindset on these products.