E-commerce fulfilment is vastly different in 2023 than it was a year earlier. Customer expectations are rapidly evolving even while the direct-to-consumer retail model is still dominant. Customers demand that the brand accommodate them at each stage of the purchasing process; wanting real-time order monitoring, social media shops, in-store choices, and more. Numerous changes are anticipated in 2023 as well that brings a whole different world for business owners.ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
Let us discuss the trends that are prevalent in the warehouse and fulfilment industry:ย
Upcoming Trends in Warehouse and Fulfilment Industries
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Labour constraintsย
Finding enough employees to fill open positions was one of the pandemic’s major issues across the global business fraternity. This was particularly true in the supply chain sector, where there were labour shortages for delivery truck drivers as well as warehouse workers due to the recent e-commerce boom.ย
Employee incentives are crucial and needed for more than just giving competitive compensation to fulfil the rising demand for labour. What do you have to offer that would entice someone to work with you or commit themselves to your business for the long run? Consider offering leadership development opportunities, flexible schedules, and other perks to draw in and keep staff.ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
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Sustainability
Pollution and global warming have been somewhat shunted to the back pages of the news while corona took up most of the headlines.
However, all major world economies have vowed to reduce greenhouse emissions to safeguard the planet.ย Similarly to this, customers are giving more value to solutions that are as sustainable as they can be, such as packaging made without plastic, filler made from recycled paper, and transportation that emits no CO2. This issue, which is arguably the greatest challenge today, will become increasingly important to the warehouse and fulfilment processes in the upcoming years.ย ย ย ย ย
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Real-time order and shipment tracking
People today are accustomed to having instant access to information. To stay current, customers in particular place a high value on having open access to information on warehouse operations at all times. This is exactly what logistics management technologies like NimbusPost do by explicitly preparing and automatically transmitting all pertinent data, including order status, stock levels, returns, and package tracking They allow customers to access the real-time access of their shipments with just a simple tap on their screens.ย ย ย ย
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Social commerce
You probably saw one or more popular TikTok videos in 2022. And if you’re like 75% of customers, you’ve undoubtedly checked out a brand or product on social media. Thatโs how social media will continue to influence e-commerce in 2023.ย ย
With improvements and new features for in-app browsing and buying now available on apps like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, platforms are starting to rethink their shopping choices. Over the past year, sales through social media platforms were estimated at $992 billion U.S. dollars. And, these types of sales are only expected to gain popularity in the future with forecasts of around $2.6 trillion by 2026.
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Retail commerceย
When COVID-19 engulfed the global economy, businesses all over the world were forced to move direct-to-consumer because of a shift in customer demand from brick-and-mortar distributors to online retailers. Moving away from the tried-and-true department store retail model, companies like Nike and L’Oreal started selling through their websites.ย ย
And while online sales and shoppers are still increasing, supply chain problems, shipping prices, and fulfilment issues have led some customers to wonder if online shopping is truly worth all the hoopla.ย ย
Now that the pandemic is over, retail trends are once again favouring an in-store experience where customers can try things, buy them, and take them home all on the same day.
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Personalisationย
Creative add-on material and corporate-style branded packaging are great ways to improve the buying experience for the consumer. These distinguish you from the sea of identical packages and give the order a personal touch. There are many other methods to improve shipments, like changing the packaging and shipping boxes.ย
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Advanced technologies
A recent survey of the supply chain industry found that 38% of respondents want to improve the aspect of technologies of their fulfilment operations. Implementing robotics and automation can help reduce costs and improve efficiency. Advancements in robotics can help speed up repetitive tasks and labour-intensive tasks, such as picking, allowing your human resources to focus on higher-value tasks that directly impact business growth and customer experience. Other technological transformations can also help build an easy and smoother way of doing business resulting in a rise in efficiencies.ย
Conclusion
The year 2023 is all about technological advancements, social media and overcoming the challenges of the post-pandemic world, with a primary focus on growth.ย ย
While the industry is flooded with many competitors, NimbusPost is emerging as one of the leading tech-driven shipping aggregators which is revolutionizing e-commerce logistics and warehouse fulfilment with automated shipping and logistics solutions.ย ย
