Sorted by Tag: Supply Chain
5 Challenges of Endless Aisle for Retailers
(This post was last published on May 4th, 2016. It’s been updated for accuracy and completeness.)
Retailers are missing out on nearly $1 trillion in in-store sales because they don’t have on hand what their customers want to buy. When customers can’t find what they want on your shelves, they’re quick to shop online or with one of your competitors.
There’s a lot of reasons why your shelves might be empty like miscalculating labor costs, customer satisfaction, and poor communication between vendors and retailers. To combat this problem, retailers of all sizes are turning to technology to ensure their shelves stay stocked, or appear to have an endless aisle of products consumers are looking for.
Implementing this retail strategy isn’t easy though. This article discusses some of the common challenges of deploying an endless aisle program.
(more…)What is Retail Supply Chain Management and Why Is It Important?
(This article was last published on November 22, 2017. It’s been updated for completeness and accuracy.)
Online shoppers continue to push retailers to meet their delivery expectations. They want free, fast, and multiple delivery options at check out and retailers deliver as promised. If something does go wrong, shoppers aren’t forgiving either.
In fact, 84% of consumers say that they won’t return to a brand after just one poor delivery experience.
The stakes are high for retailers. Delivery speed, price, and pick up options can dictate whether a customer buys from you or another competitor. It’s an important part of the purchasing decision that can’t be ignored.
Unfortunately, managing your backoffice operations to optimize for fulfillment is one of the hardest aspects of selling online. If you’re a growing business, it’s overwhelming to understand and take action to improve your processes for customers. To help you, this article covers the basics of supply chain management and why you must make it a priority for your online business. (more…)
Third-Party Fulfillment Services: Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) Alternatives
(This post was last published on December 12, 2017. We’ve updated it for accuracy and completeness.)
Consumers expect affordable (free), fast, and flexible delivery options when they order online. Free and discounted shipping is a leading reason why shoppers turn to marketplaces like Amazon to purchase. The “Fulfilled by Amazon” logo makes such a difference for shoppers because it guarantees that the seller will meet their shipping expectations.
Amazon’s advanced fulfillment system is one of their biggest differentiators. It also sets the bar high for merchants. Amazon has the resources and technology to provide customers with free and fast, even within 2-hour, shipping.
If you’re a smaller merchant though, order fulfillment is a painful process. It’s tough to meet the expectations set by Amazon for your customers. Many merchants then rely on third- party fulfillment providers to manage their fulfillment processes and protect their bottom line.
While Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a popular third-party fulfillment service, it’s not for everyone. This post helps you compare top alternatives to FBA.
(more…)Why Your eCommerce Delivery Strategy Is More Important than Ever
(This post was originally published on July 6, 2017. We’ve updated it for accuracy and completeness.)
Can your customers rely on your shipping policies? How often do you miss a date or ship the wrong item?
A negative shipping experience can have an irreparable impact on your relationship with customers. 84% of consumers say that they won’t return to a brand after just one poor delivery experience.
All it takes is one mistakes to erode your brand image and customer loyalty. These mistakes add up and affect your bottom line too.
If there’s one business area to focus on next, consider making it your eCommerce delivery strategy. Statistics show that a good shipping experience is more important than ever for customer retention.
(more…)Why CSV File-based Integration Can Be Better than API-based Integration
Merchants often need to move large amounts of data (such as product catalogs, orders or customer data) from one system to another for processing or organization. The issue is that how one system structures and accepts data might not be the same as the destination system. How do you transfer and share data between systems then (other than entering it by hand)?
many rely on integration that uses CSV (comma-separated values) files to export and import text files of their data between systems. CSVs are a universal file type that many systems support and merchants feel comfortable managing. While file integration is often an integration option, it also has its limitations. As you evaluate this data integration approach, this article considers why file-based integration via CSV files can be better than API-based integration. (more…)
