What is the Future of e-Commerce Fulfilment?
What is the future of e-commerce fulfilment?
Because brick-and-mortar retail is on the decline, retailers have accelerated transformation of their supply chains; demand for small, local warehouse space has surged, leading to transformation from brick and mortar into local fulfilment centres.
In the future, demand for order fulfilment is predicted to continue to grow. While outsourcing e-fulfilment is increasingly common for smaller e-retailers and marketplace sellers, marketplaces such as Amazon, and many major global brands, will continue to keep the service in-house, recognising its strategic importance to their proposition. Some multi-channel retailers are exploring the potential to use their store networks as fulfilment hubs to support same-day delivery.
Continued growth in the market, driven by further increases in internet retail is predicted. Prior to Covid-19, growth was predicted to be less rapid than in the past as “internet retail inevitably matures as it accounts for an ever-larger share of overall UK retail”, however more recently, the pandemic has already accelerated online retail growth by an estimated five years.
In the future, advances in warehouse robotics are predicted to increase picking efficiency, reducing labour and property costs thanks to the use of satellite storage locations.
Because demand has outstripped supply, retailers throughout the UK and Europe are searching for extra storage capacity to grow their business, but before selecting a fulfilment provider, consider if they are suitable for your business model and growth aspirations.
How do I choose which fulfilment provider to work with?
At Whistl we help a wide range of online retailers and brands outsource their fulfilment. Ultimately it begins with your individual circumstances, such as:
- Your growth aspirations
- Your customers’ expectations
- Where your current customers are based
- Where your future ideal customers will be based
- Your product dimensions and weight
- Any bespoke storage requirements
- The amount of stock you need to store
- Your Sell-Through Rate - the speed at which you will sell your stock or in other words, clear your inventory
- Any value-added services such as outsourced e-commerce customer service and customs clearance.
Read how Whistl has helped Ethical Superstore fulfil their orders more efficiently?