10 Stats to Help you Plan your E-commerce Logistics in 2020

As an e-retailer, you must be constantly thinking about logistics. So does this mean you know it all? Guess not! Even after careful scrutinisation, you might be missing out on some important aspects of your shipment strategy. 

To put it simply, supply chain management is planning, implementing and controlling the flow and storage of goods, efficiently. It also comprises related information to meet customer’s requirements.

As customer demands soar up and service becomes more complicated, the need for robust fulfilment strategy increases. After all, it has a direct impact on the bottom line, i.e. your company’s growth. 

With the right e-commerce courier service strategy in place, you can save time and money and deliver superior customer service.

Research shows that 79% of companies with high-performing supply chains achieve greater revenue growth compared to average within their industries. Hence, it makes sense for retailers to consider fulfilment chain as a strategic tool for business growth. 

From achieving on-time shipments to managing inventory, every aspect of the supply chain makes a critical factor in the overall management of a company’s logistics. 

There are a variety of ways through which companies are making their supply chains more productive. We have compiled for you the most significant supply chain stats that will help you plan your fulfilment strategy in 2020.

10 Stats to help you Plan your E-commerce Shipping Chain in 2020

1. India is the fastest-growing market for the e-commerce sector. Revenue from the sector is expected to reach USD 120 billion by 2020. This will comprise the annual rate of 51 percent, i.e. the highest in the world.

The above stats reflect how lucrative e-commerce courier service is going to be in the coming year. Whether you are selling clothes or medicines online, it may be a B2B or a wholesale business, the right thing to do is act now. 

Preparing your supply chain early on will give you an edge over your competitors. It will also prepare you for the full-bloom of demand-supply in 2020.

If you are already associated with good carriers, maybe you want to compare fresh rates and tie-up with those providing global logistics solutions. Or if you haven’t yet thought about adding more payment options, now is the time to do so. The soaring e-commerce figures demand you to polish your axe.

2. More than 70% of chief supply chain officers believe that by 2020, the supply chain will be a key driver of better customer service for their organisations.

You can’t agree more! While you may think that the supply chain is all about service, it isn’t so. With growing customer demands, fulfilment chain is all about the experience.

Streamlined logistics ensures that shoppers receive the right product, in undamaged condition and also in the promised time-frame. Besides, it provides customers efficient channels to reach out to you if they want to replace or return the product, get a refund or simply want to know the status of their shipment.

If your supply chain provides shoppers an unforgettable experience, it becomes one of the main factors for better customer service and a blooming business.

3. By 2020, 65% of logistics operations will make use of autonomous functions for order fulfilment processes; helping productivity by over 100%. 

Haven’t yet adapted the tech? What are you waiting for? Automating supply chain functions not only helps you save on time but also reduces errors that go amiss due to manual intervention.

Supposedly, during the next festive season, you have a high flow of orders and you need to quickly upload them and assign it to the carriers. Wouldn’t’ doing them one by one be a herculean task? 

Automated e-commerce courier service processes like bulk order uploads, automatic order syncs, etc. are a great way to cope up with huge demands.

Relying on more such tech-operated processes like scheduled picks-ups and shipment tracking is a great way to optimise time and resources. How else will you be in the league in the coming year?

4. Shipping damage accounts for 20% of the returns. The cost to replace damaged products can be up to 17 times the original shipping cost.

There can be several reasons why customers return the products. One of them is because what they receive is damaged.

When products are returned through reverse logistics, you not only have to replace them but also take care of dissatisfied customers. Moreover, the return of products and replacing them cost you more than it does to ship them in the first place.

So how to cope up with this?  Well, pay attention to your product packaging. Neatly and attractively packaged products will save you a lot of trouble. 

Besides, when there is so much pressure on your e-commerce courier service, why add to it by shipping packages that are not good to protect the product it carries?

5. 65% of a company’s business comes from existing customers. Meeting their sales order demand is important. 

You supply chain can be one of the metrics to define traction for your business if it helps you retain existing customers and help you fetch more of them.  

Customers remain happy if you fulfil their sales order demands through your logistics. And since there are a variety of customers, the demands that can stem up can be of several kinds.

Supposedly, one set of your customers always need some of their products urgently and are willing to pay extra. How about sending them the products using partial shipment. You can split the orders amidst two or three carriers and make this possible.  

Likewise, what if you have a customer base that only goes for COD? In this case, your e-commerce courier service partner should provide them an option to pay in cash.  When 70% of your company’s revenue comes from satisfied customers, it’s only wise to find ways to retain them.

6. 87% of today’s customers are willing to wait for two or more days to receive free shipping 

Like we said before, as an e-retailer you will get to deal with all sorts of customers. While there will be some willing to pay extra for quick deliveries, there will be a whole bunch of them wanting freebies.

Your logistics should have solutions for each of these customers. In this case, the solution is free shipping. Of course, the shipping is never going to be free for you. One way or another, your supply chain will have to sustain the expense. 

Optimising product packaging, announcing free shipping on orders above a specific amount, etc. could be few ways through which you can offer this value to your customers.

7. Businesses with optimal supply chains have 15% lower logistics costs and cash-to-cash cycles at least three times faster than those not focused on supply chain optimisation. 

If you want your customers to stay satisfied and your supply chain sustains minimal expense, then you need to look for options to optimise everything. Cutting corners in terms of time, cost, manpower and resources is one way to achieve this.

You might want to opt for reliable partners with a good market reputation. Carriers can also assist you with product packaging and in some cases, help e-retailers with warehousing needs and transportation.

Optimising costs at every link of the logistics chain is the only way out to get successful in the long haul.

8. When operations upgrade their pick/inventory systems, there is an average of 25% gain in overall productivity. 

Here again automation is the key to overall productivity. It not only helps you in greater tasks like managing inventory but also comes handy in day to day processes.

Like for instance, you can schedule all the order pick-ups for the day and need not coordinate time and again with your e-commerce courier service partner. When orders are scheduled, there are lesser chances of them getting delayed.

Remember, returns also happen when customers do not receive the product on time. This is easily avoidable by upgrading operations from conventional methods to a more integrated process.

9. Around 52% of online shoppers that receive custom packaged orders admit that they are more likely to return to that same company for future purchases. 

Much has been talked about the importance of packaging in logistics. When it comes to online shopping, the packaging is more than just a cardboard box.

Well-thought and carefully crafted e-commerce packaging can impact your business, positively. It can help to minimise the volume (and cost) of returns. It can help to foster customer loyalty and make your brand visible to more people.

Moreover, if you go a step ahead and customise packages for your e-buyers, you will leave them awe-struck. We need not emphasize the packaging aspect anymore. The above data says it all.

10. 25% of online shoppers abandon their carts because of unexpected extra costs 

If you see your e-commerce courier service strategy getting any successful, the thumb rule is to be transparent. No matter how you cover it up, hidden costs disappoint your customers.

It may be a good idea to state the shipping cost clearly on the website or while shoppers start to add products in the carts. If customers need to pay extra for quick deliveries, if there are more costs for  logistics in a particular geography or any other extra cost, tell your customers upfront.

Unexpected costs that rise up when they are about to check out will only lead to spoiling your reputation and cart abandonment by customers.

Conclusion

Overwhelmed with all the above stats? One way to deal with your supply chain problems is to depend on a shipping aggregator platform. ShipKaro, StoreHippo’s shipping aggregator platform is the answer to most of your shipping queries like where to find good rates for carriers or how to deal with automation in logistics. The platform offers lots of easy in-built tools that can help you optimise your fulfilment chain and achieve greater customer satisfaction. Also, you can tie up with carriers of your choice and plan your way to a successful shipping strategy for the coming year.

Want to roll out swift logistics in 2020? Drop us a line below and we will get in touch with you!