E-commerce has revolutionized the way people shop, providing convenience and accessibility. EMARKETER projects the e-commerce market to grow to $7.9 trillion by 2027 and indicates a growth of 8.8% of e-commerce sales in 2024. Therefore, the increase in digital orders is not just a trend but a new reality. However, companies are struggling with last-mile delivery, warehouse management, and inventory optimization issues amid the projected growth.
E-commerce Logistics and Fulfillment Operations Challenges
Concerning warehouse management, most businesses struggle to track their stock and are left grappling with overstocking and overselling. Most companies face warehouse management challenges, including:
- Accidental redundancy
- Bad inventory management
- Unpreparedness for seasonal demands
- Unsatisfactory order management
The MYOS reported that about 34% of businesses have encountered a situation in which they have sold a product unavailable in their stocks. Consequently, this results in issues such as failure to fulfill orders, canceling orders due to stock discrepancy, and inaccurate inventory cancellation.
Last-mile delivery is the final link in the supply chain, and e-commerce companies still face issues that result in increased operational costs. In the United States, 59 % of companies reported that last-mile delivery is the most inefficient in their supply chain. It has detrimental impacts such as loss of consumer loyalty and reduced profit margins in the long term. Data shows that 84% of clients said they would avoid shopping with retailers following a bad delivery experience. Addressing the last-mile delivery issues enhances a company’s competitive edge due to increased market share.
Leveraging Technology to Address the Challenges
As an organization, it is possible to achieve E-commerce logistics and fulfillment with a seamless technological infrastructure. At AvyaTech, we take great satisfaction in ensuring a seamless e-commerce operation from when the client makes an order to the delivery. The delivery of a fluid e-commerce site for KodoKids is a testament to our capabilities.
The e-commerce site was integrated with third-party software such as Unleashed and ShipStation. The completed website helped KodoKids address issues related to warehouse management and last-mile delivery challenges. This is due to the business analytics insights from third-party software, enabling tracking inventory, demand planning with intuitive forecasting, and digital stocktaking.
