So you've got big plans for your retail empire. You know there are consumers in other markets interested in your goods and you've decided it's time to ship 'cross-border' per-order. While cross-border can be a wise way to test the market early, eventually it’ll make sense to fulfil locally.
There are many factors that contribute to a company's success when entering global markets. A key component to ensure this success is an efficient logistics network.
Logistics for e-commerce involves everything around moving and storing your goods and is an essential element of a retailer's supply chain. A supply chain manages a network of organizations, people, data and information, activities and resources to facilitate the movement of a product from supplier to consumer.
The International Marketplace
Two decades ago, the idea that you could order food, buy a handbag, or even enrol in a university using your smartphone, tablet or laptop was considered almost impossible. Now, with the recent e-commerce boom, consumers demand convenience, flexibility, speed and transparency in every purchase online.
If you’re looking to take advantage of online sales to grow your company, going global is a necessity.
Global order fulfillment, which encompasses the entire operation from the moment of sale through to the final delivery and in some cases, returns, is an integral part of any e-commerce operation. It often involves a third-party to complete fulfillment steps. These include first-mile delivery, receiving, packaging, pick pack, labelling, last-mile delivery, and each comes with their own set of challenges and solutions.
Key Terms
Third-Party Logistics. Partnering with a 3PL allows businesses to outsource all logistics processes.
Also known as a customs warehouse is a secure warehouse where goods can be stored customs-free until they are cleared for export.
Compound annual growth rate is the rate of return that would be required for an investment to grow from its beginning balance to its ending balance, assuming the profits were reinvested at the end of each year of the investment's life span.
The movement of goods between two or more countries.
The process of consolidating orders for the first leg of their journey overseas.
Splitting of goods across different fulfillment centers strategically chosen to keep inventory closer to the end customer.
Enterprise Resource Planning systems manage a multitude of business processes through a single system and enable the flow of data. An example of this would be for inventory management and demand forecasting.
A retailer selling goods online.
API stands for Application Programming Interface. It is a set of definitions and protocols for building and integrating application software.
First-mile delivery is used to describe the process of taking an item from a supplier to the warehouse or from the warehouse to the courier.
Combining items to create a new item.
Labelling is the process of affixing shipping and/or detailed inventory information to stock. Warehouse labels eliminate mistakes, such as shipping the incorrect item to customers and mishandling items that should be treated with care.
Last mile, sometimes called final mile, delivery is the last step of the supply chain process. It is the journey that delivers the package to the end customer. The last step of the process.
Packaging is any material that a product is ‘placed into’ so that it can be safely handled by couriers and transport partners.
Pick pack is a warehouse process where products are picked off the shelf and re-packaged for distribution.
The first step of the e-commerce fulfillment process where stock is delivered, entered into the inventory management system, and stored in the fulfillment center ready for dispatch.
Refers to repair of returns.
Small and medium-sized enterprises or small and medium-sized businesses.
Designed to streamline and automate processes in order to lessen the complexity such as automated label generation or billing.
Small fees charged to support overseas transactions.
