eCommerce Logistics
eCommerce Logistics is a holistic term used to describe the warehousing and distribution of online retail products from the moment a customer places an order to the moment that order is eventually received by the customer. As 3PL eCommerce fulfillment specialists, Invenco offers your business the fast, accurate and cost effective management of your entire product line from warehousing to the shipment of your products out to your customer base. We are able to provide you with flexible warehousing space and tailored logistics services which allow you to concentrate on building your business and expanding your opportunities, rather than staying bogged down in nightmare customer order fulfilment.
Most online retail businesses will begin as small operations with one or two full-time staff which are usually made up of the original business creators. Orders for an eCommerce online generally only trickle in at the start so managing the customer order fulfilment is not normally too strenuous. The big issues at this stage are generally related to instituting warehouse management systems for accuracy and speed but the order queue is normally small enough for one to two people to handle. As the business begins to get bigger and bigger, however, that starts to change. It’s at this time that business owners start looking for cheaper solutions and that’s when we are ready help.
The warehouse and shipping requirements for your online business early on are usually relatively small. Often a home garage or a small commercial space is large enough for small eCommerce Logistics, like inventory management for the stock that your business needs, without costing too much to maintain or rent. Often, however, this initial space doesn’t leave a lot of room for the business to grow, especially spiked business growth where expansion happens rapidly as a result of fluctuations in the market, broader customer reach and successful online marketing strategies. It’s during unexpected periods of growth that a business is mostly like to review their eCommerce Logistics processes in a desperate attempt to secure cheaper shipping, more warehouse space to accommodate overflow stock levels, and hunt out cheap personnel who can help carry the load until business calms down again. If the business doesn’t even out, and instead continues to grow and expand, early short term warehousing solutions become tougher to shake. The business becomes reliant on expensive short term rented space, expensive casual labour and high cost shipping, without a breath long enough to review the logistics systems in place and search out a better, lower cost and more efficient solution.
For more steadily growing businesses who don’t end up in this situation, getting in front of potential growth can be tricky. When it becomes time to upsize into larger commercial premises, small business owners start to find it hard to locate large enough space in a convenient location at costs the business is able to comfortably absorb. Planning for potential growth is a great way of ensuring that your eCommerce Logistics processes remain efficient and cost effective but unwieldy real estate markets can demand higher costs for space than a business may be able to comfortably cover over the short term. For example, space in Sydney or Melbourne is at an absolute premium. Having local and metropolitan warehouse space in those cities in Australia is convenient for staff, and usually cheaper for managing shipping costs, however, when it comes to upgrade to a bigger warehouse, owners find themselves having to move out of those convenient locations and that starts to affect their staff retention and their customer experience because prices will need to increase to accommodate the new costs.
Customers do not want to pay higher shipping rates. Managing your eCommerce Logistics costs means locating and negotiating shipping rates that are highly competitive. If a business needs to increase the cost of shipping orders to its customers, that is not going to be popular with its customer base. Happy customers are not only repeat customers, but they like to talk to friends and family about your business as well. Customer growth is far more likely to occur when reasonable shipping rates on your orders are consistent across the entire country and it’s not always possible to maintain that from inconvenient warehousing locations.
As a third party logistics provider, Invenco specialises in providing convenient space like warehousing in Sydney that is large enough to accommodate our clients’ stock and customer orders but which won’t break the bank for our clients to utilise. With Invenco, you only pay for the space that you need to use and nothing else. Our services are tailored to ensure that you can price each of your items accurately and retain healthy profit margins across all of your products. You can offer consistent shipping rates for all customers and even possibly improve shipping times, offering your customers access to live tracking and transparent order fulfilment.
Because we are specialists, and because we service a large number of clients, our warehousing space is big. Very big. Our inventory management systems are state of the art and our staff are highly trained professionals managed by strict and efficient warehouse practices including safety and security of both stock and personnel. Your stock is housed in secure locations, handled by expert staff who are held to strict quality control protocols that ensure accurate pick and pack procedures and accurate order fulfilment. We also source the lowest available shipping costs on your customer orders.
eCommerce Logistics is reliant on shipping and freight. Your shipping needs to be timely, accurate and as transparent as possible. We find you the lowest possible shipping rate across all of our products so you can pass those freight savings directly to your customer.
With Invenco, when your customers place an order on your website, that order is received automatically on our pick queue. Our inventory management software integrates seamlessly with most online ERP platforms which means that your inventory levels in our warehouse are always delivered in real time and accuracy. When your customers check out their order, that stock is automatically picked by our staff of expert pickers and packers who then ship it directly to the customer. You can request trackability on your orders, too, so that your customers can clearly see where their package is and how long it will take to arrive.
It’s time to invest in a 3PL service provider when your business cannot accurately account for warehousing and shipping costs. It’s time to invest in Invenco when your business is becoming a logistics nightmare and you’re constantly up until the early hours of the morning either packing orders yourself because the business cannot support more staff, or trouble shooting with angry customers who do not appreciate lengthy delays or poor shipping from sub-standard freight companies. It’s time to seek out the 3PL professionals who specialise in simplifying your eCommerce Logistics problems with simple, cost-effective and flexible warehousing and shipping solutions.
Contact one of our consultants today to learn what Invenco can offer your eCommerce Logistics reliant business and how much you are likely to save choosing the 3PL option over in-house warehouse management and shipping. We will take you through everything that we offer and suggest a tailored package ideal for your business and your pricing models.