Challenges and Solutions of E-commerce and Logistics Management

E-commerce and logistics have been long established over the different corners of the world, and they have shown a massive increase in popularity due to their unique concept of trading different products. Different companies have a different marketing strategy, but when it comes to e-commerce, there is only one path that needs to be followed. In a population of 7.7 billion all across the world, the e-commerce industry is shining the brightest and is coming up with unique concepts every day. Everything has its own problems and challenges and this blog talks about some of the major difficulties faced by e-commerce and logistics and some of their solutions. Read on…

Improper Online Identity

Whenever a visitor or a customer sign-up with any e-commerce store they blindly trust these platforms without being aware of its physical identity. This is a challenge for both the customer and the seller as no one is sure of how genuine either of the two is. This often creates huge revenue losses, for a company when a customer makes a Cash-On-Delivery (COD) purchase and when the customer enters the wrong personal information like phone number and address.

Too many competitors

With the increase in popularity, more businesses are inclining towards e-commerce, which is increasing the competition in the market. There are a lot of companies providing the exact same services that you do. So until and unless e-commerce and logistics are best in their services it is tough to stay strong with the market.

Reduced Customer Loyalty

Customer loyalty matters a lot when it comes to e-commerce and logistics. Poor services and lack of proper management often leads to poor customer loyalty and you start losing on significant profits.

The increased hassle of return and refund request

With different companies providing no question asked return guarantee, most of the retailers go through an increased loss due to return and refund request. They have to bear the extra cost of the second trip of the product, without getting paid a single penny for the first one.

Price competition

Apart from the product quality, another thing that matters for a good product sale is the pricing. No matter how good the quality is, the sale often lags behind due to product cost. This is a big challenge faced by e-commerce and logistics industry and impacts a lot in the company’s growth.

Lack of Data security

Every information and data of e-commerce and logistics are stored in the virtual space. A minor security issue can lead to a great loss. Fraud posts and virus attacks might lead to hacking of major data and your business might come at stake.

The Fuel cost

The logistics take care of every transport and delivery all across the country. Increased return request leads to extra mileage for their transport systems and increases the fuel cost of these logistics companies. The prices of fuels are rapidly increasing day by day. Hence these industries facing a surge increase in their expenses.

Business Process improvement

Carelessness of the logistics companies is the leading cause of misdelivery of the product. If a logistics doesn't feel the necessity to upgrade to the new technology then they are most likely to face loses and returns. Lack of business process improvement is a big challenge of the e-commerce industry.

Environmental issues

Environmental issues can often come as a big obstacle for these logistics company if they don't have proper infrastructure. Natural calamities like heavy rain and other inconvenience might lead to delayed product delivery and can also cause damage to the products. This extra cost is born by the logistics, increases their loss even more.

➦Solutions to these problems

Every problem has a solution if you do it the right way. All the above-mentioned problems can be easily taken care of if the company follows certain rules. This blog talks about how you can overcome these problems in a few simple easy steps.

A proper verification process

You can confirm on your customer’s identity through a proper verification process. Through a virtual calling system, you can carry out a verification procedure, by confirming on the phone number, address and product description. This will reduce the overall loss rate. This will also reduce fuel cost and will not lead to return and refund requests.

Be a step ahead of your competitors

Do proper research of your competitor and then land on the battlefield. Use the power of social media to your advantage to understand the type of content people are getting attracted to. In this way, you will be aware of your competitors have launched some new products so that you can prepare yourself accordingly. Promote your services through blogs and articles and flourish your business in the best way possible.

Maintain the quality

One of the best ways to maintain customer loyalty is by providing the best service possible. Through keeping regular contact and providing intriguing offers and services, you can maintain your customer loyalty can stay assured that your customers have not switched to some other place to avail the same service.

Know before you go

With a detailed verification, you can stave off the hassle of frequent return and refund request. Confirm on the product details from your customer’s end and make sure you deliver the right product. This is an initiative taken by iThink Logistics which has shown a 15% reduction in refund rates.

Set a middle ground for your pricing

We are not saying you give out your services for free to obtain customers but set a middle ground for the pricing. Try out free shipping and keep an average service charge. This will help you increase your customer base.

Stay ahead of the environment

Invest in the proper transport system to protect your products during all kind of natural calamities. No matter what action the nature god takes, you can stay assured of safe product delivery.