Entrusting your customer service or fulfillment to a third-party logistics (3PL) company is a big step. Like using other outside services, it’s important to manage the process to reduce errors and exceptions, providing a high level of service at an affordable cost. These 8 steps will help you get the most from your 3PL partner.
FedEx announced it has acquired inventory management provider Northwest Research, adding technology to help with its ecommerce fulfillment capabilities. The companies said Northwest will provide “new approaches to inventory management issues, including specialized research to maximize successful outcomes for challenging shipments.”
Jeff Bezos and the innovation teams at Amazon seem to have cornered the market on far-out ideas that push the envelope for ecommerce distribution, from delivery drones to blimp warehouses to even an undersea DC. That is, until Elon Musk and his hardy band of rocketeers at SpaceX came along and shot the moon – or Mars.
Risk analysis is essential for large and complex DTC fulfillment projects including the above as well as moving to or from third-party fulfillment operations. As a result, most large projects are not delivered on time or within budget. Understanding risk and the likelihood of negative outcomes will help reduce costs and improve on-time implementation.
A startup company is looking to ease a chronic ecommerce pain point – returns – by enabling customers to bring unwanted items to a nearby mall for fast processing and credit, even if the seller doesn’t have its own stores. See what Happy Returns has been up to and what its plans are for the future.
An executive with bpost cross-border unit Landmark Global said it will be able to help customers of new sister company Radial expand into markets in Europe and Asia, while Radial can provide a range of value-added ecommerce and omnichannel services for bpost’s customers in those same markets.
Target is significantly expanding its partnership with Google, offering customers voice-directed ordering through a Google Home device or an Android TV – and two-day delivery nationwide via Google Express. The company will also soon offer voice ordering through Android phones and iPhones.
Ahead of the holiday season, FedEx has expanded same-day delivery service to 1,800 cities in 30 regional markets through its FedEx Office division. The deliveries are made by uniformed FedEx drivers in branded vehicles, and the service includes a mobile app to track delivery status including alerts on estimated arrival time.
In this ecommerce world of point, click and deliver, are you accurately monitoring DTC operations metrics to help you meet high expectations from both customers and management? Check out these fulfillment and customer service KPIs from six different direct-to-customer merchants and see how your operations stack up.
Taking a DIY approach to warehouse robotics, Boxed.com has developed its own autonomous ground vehicle (AGV) to help associates with picking, gaining operational efficiency.