E-tailers in Malaysia are facing several challenges in fulfilling orders in a timely and cost-effective way.
The last thing e-tailers would want is their customers going through a sub-par experience filled with unmet expectations.
Order fulfilment is one of the most critical operations to make sure a satisfied customer experience.
Let’s look at the top 5 logistics trends that will improve the last-mile delivery.
(1) E-Commerce & E-Fulfilment
No doubt that e-commerce is a rising trend in Southeast Asia.
In recent years, the efficiency of order placements has improved.
However, there is also the trend of conventional logistics service providers (LSPs) and new courier startups placing more emphasis on providing superb e-fulfilment.
Online businesses will have a competitive edge over others by enhancing the final customer experience in their online purchasing journey.
(2) Variable Shipping Options
Offering to customers two-days shipping is great. But what if they want three-days shipping, or even the option to ship-to-store for pick up?
Customer’s have variable shipping requests, and it is hard for e-commerce to determine a single best shipping option.
Startups like Pgeon Express focuses on providing last-mile delivery solutions to e-commerce, turning existing physical retail outlets into alternative locations for pick ups. EasyParcel is another e-commerce enabler that allows e-tailers to pre-book deliveries on dates that fits into the customer’s shipping request.
(3) Brick & Mortar Will Stay Relevant
Brick & mortar stores were predicted to be a thing of the past. However, we are witnessing shoppers visiting physical stores in greater frequency.
Brick & mortar stores compliment e-commerce, providing a seamless customer experience as shoppers engage on their mobile devices while viewing the products displayed in the physical outlets.
Pgeon Express is a startup example that looks to the existing brick & mortar outlets as a solution for consumer flexibility in sending and receiving their deliveries.
(4) Transportation Optimisation
Platforms, such as EasyParcel or Ezyhaul, are optimising transportation by reducing the cost. Because of such platforms, industries are able to view the availability of courier services that will meet their demands.
EasyParcel not only acts as courier service consolidator but also make the courier rates transparent. This not only creates pricing competitive but also forces courier players to optimise their operations to boost the use of their fleets.
This also means to improve 3PL relationships to meet customer’s delivery expectations.
(5) Transparency
Currently, Malaysian consumers are not that interested in knowing the wages of the people who made the products they are about to buy online, or whether the product was made in a sustainable way.
However, we can see that consumers are increasingly asking for product information. What does this mean for logistics? For logistics, transparency would mean to offer tools for consumers to track their online purchase shipment.
In the near future, we can look forward to tracking our shipments like how we view the whereabouts of Uber or Grab drivers.
