Why is current delivery management a ticking time bomb?

Surviving the e-commerce boom

E-commerce in France

81.7 billion euros: this is the amount of money made from Internet purchases in France in 2017. This represents an increase of 13.47% in one year, with a growing share of mobile commerce (30%). The amount of e-commerce companies has increased by 12% and is distributed as follows:

The competition gets tougher every year and the customers’ demands are skyrocketing, due to the abundance of delivery options and features available: tracking, delivery within 24 hours, free delivery, accuracy of delivery schedules, etc.

It is therefore imperative to differentiate from competitors in order to retain customers and gain market share quickly. While this does require attractive products, an optimized and reliable logistics strategy is just as important, to meet the multiple expectations of the customer.

E-market and delivery troubles

58% of e-merchants consider that the current management of their delivery is a hindrance on their activity. 31% of them are not satisfied with the visibility of the progress of the rounds and 25% consider the large number of software used as a problem. It must also be mentioned that 69% of them use a different interface for each carrier, with an average of 2.4 chartered carriers. This coupled with the unexpected last-minute additions and cancellations of orders for a tour before its departure makes the logistics very difficult to manage and optimize without a suitable tool.

There is therefore a serious gap between the size of the sector’s players. Another gap exists between the growing expectations of customers and companies overwhelmed by the complexity and the number of flows that need to be optimized. This is particularly true about the last mile, where the items are delivered to the customer, most often to his home or to a warehouse. Since these last kilometres represent 20% of the total logistics cost, the possible savings are huge.

With e-commerce benefiting from growth, it is not viable in the short/medium-term to manage the logistics “by hand” for any company wishing a development vital to its survival. But it’s not just that, because the optimization of these deliveries would also reduce the company’s ecological footprint, as the kilometres travelled would decrease: delivery vehicles are responsible for 40% of fine particle emissions.

What can we do to fix this?

So how to establish an adequate logistics strategy? First, everyone needs to stay informed. 16% of e-merchants consider that they lack information on innovations and good practices for shipments and this same proportion believes that the lack of IT services and infrastructure accompanying the rise of e-commerce is an obstacle in the proper management of shipments.

Luckily, adapted solutions have been developed, so that at a competitive price, e-commerce companies can significantly strengthen the day-to-day management of company logistics and go beyond what customers require with customized features. If e-commerce companies want to survive, they must adapt and stand out, offering irreproachable service to increasingly demanding customers at a constantly decreasing prices. The French e-commerce market alone is expected to exceed 100 billion euros in 2019, so let’s keep in mind that time really is money.

Source: FEVAD 2017 Report