The biggest problem when it comes to e-commerce is how will you make your goods reach the customers. This is where logistics and supply chain comes in. It’s comparatively easier to spread an e-commerce initiative when it comes to the airline, railway booking or a cinema booking. The reason being what you’d get in the result is intangible, you get an SMS or an email which you can show at the theatre and walk into the cinema hall. In these cases, there is nothing to be delivered to you. That’s why an industry in which there is no tangible to be delivered is much easier to run.
However, when we talk about e-commerce there is something which will come home in a physical package. So the biggest problem that any e-commerce company faces today is how are they going to make it possible to reach out to 500 million-plus people in the country, in time with a product which does not lose its quality and integrity and is the right product which was ordered online. If these companies wish to exponentially expand their businesses they must focus mostly on their capability to deliver more efficiently because, in the end, it boils down to something as simple as if you want to control e-commerce you must control logistics. The primary reason being apart from delivering the product what else do you do as e-commerce? You have a well-maintained website, a good catalog, a good base which will supply the material and most definitely a strong advertisement in the market but unless you control logistics you stand nowhere. The reason being, the only experience the customer has of you is when that package comes to their home. Unlike the traditional retail companies which have mannequins displaying their product and many other ways to attract the customer, in e-commerce whatever attraction they give you apart from discounts ultimately what counts is the quality of the delivery. When any normal courier would take 6-7 days it is not enough since we are competing with the retail where one can go and buy something next door. So a gap of 7 days is not acceptable. Hence, it is obvious that logistics facilitate e-commerce.
Other than this, logistics also increases sales for e-commerce especially for heavy items that can not be shipped via small parcels. When freight rates are available in the online shopping cart at the time of checkout, it gives consumers visibility of the cost while they are on the website. This decreases the chance of losing the customer because they don’t want to wait for the freight rate.
Lastly, logistics also enhances the buying experience of the customer along with improved customer satisfaction. Integrating e-commerce with logistics gives us the ability to display and incorporate many services and delivery options to customers. This enhances the buying experience and increases the satisfaction of the customer massively. Although the idea of integrating e-commerce with logistics may overwhelm you however, if you’re partnered with the right service providers along with the necessary tools, then integrating e-commerce with logistics would prove to be an easy undertaking which would ensure a countless increase in dividends over the years.