This is how e-commerce is revolutionizing logistics
Managing growth: This is how your logistics keep up with today’s times
Due to the increasing growth rate every year, online retailers have to have their logistics under control. Optimal preparation and targeted planning are the basic requirements for efficiently functioning logistics. Efficient logistics means that you basically don't "talk" about it, that's an unspoken truth in the industry. It is important that all the important building blocks are in place and that they make sense in a logical context. This strengthens the company organization, in which all departments involved are in constant communication. This aspect in particular can still be improved today. The logistics department is often the last link in the process chain and often receives the important information too late or not at all. But there is no bad intention behind this on the part of the other departments. Rather, they are not aware of how their own actions can sometimes significantly change familiar processes in logistics.
Online trading (e-commerce) in particular is a highly competitive market in which proper logistics provide a decisive competitive advantage. The e-commerce market in Germany is growing strongly every year. The reason for this is the growing online purchasing behavior of many consumers. As a result, the speed of everyday business has also increased rapidly. You probably know this too: When you order something, you want it to be delivered either today or tomorrow at the latest. This was established by the many large online department stores. If the package ordered does not arrive on time, the end customer can express their anger on social media or review portals. As a result, companies are constantly exposed to the pressure of damage to their image. The tasks of logistics have also increased significantly over time. Initially it was purely B2B logistics, but today it is increasingly B2C. This also presents logistics with an enormous task that must be overcome 
must. Workflows change and service levels increase. Without appropriately good IT, logistics is completely lost. In classic B2B logistics, you only needed a single interface, namely the one to the customer's ERP system. This is now almost completely a thing of the past. Nowadays, logistics has to manage a large number of overlaps with, for example, several partners, customer portals, digital marketplaces and payment service providers. Extensive IT systems are required that ensure a fast and flexible connection and can bring together all relevant data in a timely manner.
As B2B and B2C grow together, the internal flow of goods requires different picking structures and packaging routes. These can handle larger orders as well as cover smaller areas. Additional services are increasingly playing a growing role, such as the increased volume of returns. Only those who can process returns efficiently can maintain their position on the market in the long term.
“30 percent off everything” – words that raise blood pressure for every logistician
For logistics, promotions such as "free shipping" or "30 percent off everything" mean that not only does it have to process more orders, but that the structure of the shopping baskets also changes. For example, with free shipping, the shopping basket is reduced to fewer items per order. If you rely on old structural data here, you will quickly end up with too many employees in the warehouse. If there is a "30 percent off everything" promotion, more items usually have to be removed from all product ranges. If the warehouse logistics are not properly prepared in advance, a collapse within it is almost certain. If the discount campaign only applies to a certain product range, the logistics effort is significantly lower.
The purchasing and product range management of the online retailer is also important, as this also has far-reaching effects. The trend in online retail shows that one's own core range should be expanded to include related, interesting ranges. Retailers who only sold electrical goods suddenly have to include household goods in their incoming goods and order processing. Manufacturers usually deliver electrical items ready for shipment, but instead household goods must first be individually packaged, as these products often arrive at the customer damaged. This increases the cost of returns enormously.
The complexity within intralogistics is increasing
Once the organization has been optimized, the intralogistics must be adjusted accordingly. The days when only individual packages were sent via a parcel service are a thing of the past, especially for large e-commerce retailers. Many retailers today often work with several transport service providers who, for example, enable same-day delivery or can integrate shipping companies into their shipping processes. Many parcels are also sent internationally or have to deliver online orders to their branches due to multichannel services. All of this complexity means that orders have to be differentiated according to their recipient and the shipping method. Accordingly, the structure in outgoing goods and the new tasks and challenges must adapt. It is important that good organization and planning was carried out in advance.
The introduction of new ranges
If new product ranges are introduced, purchasing and logistics must work together to come up with a suitable organization beforehand. Afterwards, both departments must focus on the most important key figures for inventory management and also exchange information at regular intervals. One important issue here is controlling "long-sellers and best-sellers". Once the warehouse is filled to the brim with product ranges that are not selling well, this can have costly consequences for warehousing. Furthermore, more must be invested in goods receipt and warehouse expansion. With larger areas and longer routes, picking times increase expondentally. Articles with a high return rate should be kept under constant review and sorted out accordingly.
What makes good logistics these days? - A summary
Planability, process transparency, process efficiency and the resulting reliability are the cornerstones of any good logistics system. Logistics capacities should always be planned six to 12 months in advance based on verifiable past data. Even in today's fast-moving world, the implementation of new warehouses and the delivery of the necessary infrastructure takes time, and this takes several months in advance. Retailers who operate in e-commerce and take this into account benefit from two effects. Firstly, customer satisfaction increases and secondly, costs decrease. If this is the case, logistics is no longer "talked about".
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