The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the worldwide economy previously unseen in living memory, and its GDP impact on the economy is yet to be fully realized. While we don’t yet know when the pandemic will be fully behind us, it’s clear that the normal of tomorrow won’t be quite like the one we left behind. However, there …
If your company is trying to come to grips with the “when, why, and how” of partnering with a logistics company, take a look at the past year—particularly if your company has a peak season. Historical data is essential, as it allows you to determine exactly when your peak season is, giving you ample time to …
What will be necessary for e-commerce companies in 2021? We’ve put together a list of three key opportunities that need to be considered for such companies to thrive. As an e-commerce company, you cannot do it alone. You may have hired consultants to help you with product sourcing or marketing, but logistics remains a crucial …
E-commerce distribution and fulfillment strategy isn’t a “one and done” exercise. The market can change unpredictably from one year to the next, and you’ll need to change with it. There are several ways to thrive with this variability, of course. A universal method is to orient your business around a handful of core “best practices,” …
E-commerce businesses should be on the lookout for trends when developing their strategies. Some of these trends may not necessarily be new—perhaps, only intensifying year after year. Others may be surprised. Companies of all sizes can benefit by thinking about these trends and how they might affect a business, regardless of size. It’s also important …
You may have found a great product that you want to sell and a ready, willing target market of buyers for it. There’s just one issue: you’re not quite sure how to ship it. With all the other issues you need to handle while running your business, you shouldn’t have to worry about shipping products requiring special …
An important metric in the e-commerce space is calculating cost per order (also known as CPO). The CPO is not simply the labor involved in the shipment of the product. Still, it is a sum of items, including the costs associated with accepting the shipment of the product at your facility (receiving, storage, and inventory …
Maybe you’re a small business. It all starts with an online business idea — you have a product, do some marketing, the wheels of commerce start turning, and now you find there are people out there buying what you are selling. Now you’re at a tipping point: the orders are coming in fast and furious, …
It’s hard for any single company to do everything superlatively well. At some point, most businesses face the decision of whether to keep all operations in-house or to outsource some functions such as warehousing and fulfillment to specialist partners to focus on their core competencies. If you’ve opted to outsource your warehousing to a third-party …
Whether you’re manufacturing computer chips or chocolate chips, you rely on a group of suppliers to create your business products. Then you sell those products to specific customers. In this respect, your company, your suppliers, your customers (and their customers) form the different “links” of a supply chain. Moreover, the better you can integrate these …