The logistics industry is becoming one of the key economic driving sectors with the rise of eCommerce. The logistics industry is the backbone of an eCommerce business, without which it is impossible to imagine the existence of an online marketplace. Every eCommerce business constantly needs a dependable logistics service partner to manage its supply chain network, right from placing orders to delivering goods and services.
As a business owner or an eCommerce startup, it is a priority to understand every aspect of eCommerce logistics, which this blog intends to do.
What is eCommerce Logistics?
eCommerce logistics refers to the processes involved in preserving and distributing items, which include inventory management as well as the picking, packaging, and shipping of online purchases.
eCommerce logistics starts with the transportation of goods from the manufacturer and continues until the commodities arrive at the end user's destination. One of the most crucial parts of eCommerce logistics is digital fulfillment, which consists of the following elements:
1. Control of inventories
2. Inventory control and warehousing
3. Order fulfillment
Maintaining the flawless operation of each of these components individually is no easy task because they are each closely interrelated.
How Does eCommerce Logistics Work?
eCommerce Logistics include a range of operations, including inventory management, warehousing, packing, labeling, invoicing, shipping, payment collection, return, and exchange. These variables all work together to create a time-sensitive project that demands the use of an all-encompassing strategy.
Furthermore, eCommerce logistics demands in-depth knowledge of geographic areas, travel routes, and road conditions, as well as regulations controlling the movement of goods and transportation laws. Establishing a logistics unit's main objective is to transport goods much more swiftly, safely, and accurately than was previously achievable.
Following are the steps involved in the operations of eCommerce logistics:
Stock management
Effective tools must be used to keep track of everything that is being held in order to manage stocks properly. The foundation of inventory management is the premise that businesses should prevent unexpected shortages.
2. Warehousing inventory
Warehousing is the practice of using physical facilities to organize, manage, and store goods that haven't yet been delivered to customers.
3. Delivery and transit storage
Your order is picked up and delivered to its final location once it has been manifested. Although 3PL logistics companies offer a variety of logistical services, the majority of their attention is given to properly delivering the order to the consumer from the last-mile warehouse.
4. Deliveries that go the extra mile
The "final mile" of the delivery process is a service provided by logistical companies in the transportation sector. Orders are picked up from in-transit storage and delivered to customers along this section of the route.
5. Refund Management
In the delivery process, reverse logistics are equally as important as forwarding logistics. eCommerce logistics is determining how to reduce returns and how to handle them such that the online retailer experiences little or no loss.
Conclusion
The future of eCommerce logistics holds ample opportunities for the growth of online business globally, which will further be fuelled by rising digitalization and global internet consumption. According to estimates, the Indian logistics sector will continue to have a strong growth of 10–15% yearly, outperforming that of the overall economy.
The growth of the logistics industry has facilitated the stronghold of online courier service companies in the market, which enable eCommerce firms to quickly provide goods and services to the most remote locations.
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