Logistics Never Sleeps – 3 Key Strategies for Staying Ahead

Whether you’re an online merchant or a shipping manager for a fulfillment warehouse, you know that there’s no such thing as “downtime” when it comes to getting products out the door. Although things can seem a little slow when compared to the frenzy that is the holiday season, the earliest parts of the year are best used to improve on your processes and get prepared for success. Today, we’re going to talk about three strategies that we use to keep our consumer products fulfillment ops strong.

1. Sharing Across Channels

Over the last decade, order fulfillment has changed in many significant ways. The number of channels through which orders come in has increased dramatically and, in some cases, each one of these channels needs its own set of management. As a consequence, oftentimes each purchasing channel will also have their own inventory from which orders are fulfilled.

Successful 3PL providers need to have a clear pathway established for reaching across these channel divisions and using inventory where it’s most needed; and this clear pathway needs to be traveled without disrupting operations. Set practices for doing this in your warehouse and it’ll pay off when a certain product spikes in popularity through multiple channels.


2. Demand Forecasting

To the untrained eye, product demands seem to rise and fall at random. However, even seemingly timeless items have purchasing trends. Spend some time looking through the backlog of your orders and try to find some patterns in purchasing. If there isn’t enough data to study on your own, reach out to your partners and see if they anticipate any fluctuations in demand. By anticipating the crests and valleys of sales on certain items, you can more efficiently use the precious space in your fulfillment warehouse.


3. Future-Proofing

We write about logistics technology a lot on our blog and there’s a good reason for it. The future is coming whether you’re ready or not and that future is intrinsically linked to advances in technology. If you’re looking to get ahead, you need a 3PL provider that’s willing to innovate, adopt, and learn at the pace of technology. When a new skill or tool changes the paradigm, you don’t want to be left in the dust.

Vision Consumer Products Fulfillment has decades of experience and industry expertise in consumer products fulfillment services.  No matter who your customer is, we treat your customer as our own.  We know what makes a raving fan out of an individual customer, as well as what makes a business partner trust you with their business.  Call or email us to learn how.  We’re certain we’ll be the best fulfillment warehouse partner you have ever had!

Vision Consumer Products Fulfillment

Fulfillment Warehouse Services

http://visioncpf.com

CPFSales@VisionMediamgmt.com

The Order Fulfillment Technology that Fuels Fulfillment Warehouses

Just like with any other task in life, getting consumer products fulfillment done properly requires the right tools. Unlike other tasks, the ‘right tools’ happen to be a collection of sophisticated, specialized technologies. Today, we’re going to review a few of the technologies that power our fulfillment warehouses and make Vision Consumer Products Fulfillment such an efficient 3^rd party logistics provider.

Predictive Packaging Technology

Powered by sophisticated software, predictive packaging technology enables fulfillment warehouses to package goods as efficiently as possible using product dimensions and safety as guidelines. Complex algorithms package goods in just the right way to minimize dunnage and waste, which translates to more efficient logistics and savings for the client.

E-Commerce Expertise

The face of commerce has transformed radically over the last few years. Now, during the busiest shopping times of year, more business is done online than in-store. This makes efficient order fulfillment more paramount to success than ever before. Your 3PL provider must understand how e-commerce works, from back-end to front, and understand the complexity that goes into building an online storefront.

Pick-to-Voice Devices

Pick-to-voice devices powered by voice recognition technology allows warehouse operators to have constant direction as they place items in their proper place. With these devices, workers can simply speak the name or code of the item they’re holding and voice recognition technology will respond with the correct destination with 99.9% accuracy. Free of the burden of constantly glancing at order sheets, employees move about the fulfillment warehouse safely and efficiently.

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Vision Consumer Products Fulfillment has decades of experience and industry expertise in consumer products fulfillment services.  No matter who your customer is, we treat your customer as our own.  We know what makes a raving fan out of an individual customer, as well as what makes a business partner trust you with their business.  Call or email us to learn how.  We’re certain we’ll be the best fulfillment warehouse partner you have ever had!

Vision Consumer Products Fulfillment
Fulfillment Warehouse Services
http://visioncpf.com
CPFSales@VisionMediamgmt.com

What Thanksgiving Weekend 2015 Means for Your Business

Thanksgiving 2015 falls on November 26th. It’s a time to be with family and friends, treat yourself to delicious treats, and, in recent years, start hunting for deals. From Thanksgiving on through to the 30th of November are four of the year’s biggest shopping days, and although sales numbers as a whole continue to rise, there’s been a dramatic shift to getting shopping done online.

Last year, physical retail sales dipped 11% from 2013’s total.¹ While physical stores may be suffering, IBM’s U.S. Retail Black Friday Report 2014 boasted a 63.47% increase of online sales year-over-year (YoY) on Thanksgiving and a 9.48% increase YoY on Black Friday.² Across 2014’s holiday weekend, shoppers flooded digital channels, spending over $4.5 billion.³

As an online business, what does this mean for you?

1. You need to prepare your website for heavy traffic volumes.
   Building on trends established from last year, sales volumes are set to increase again, but physical retail stores may share an even lesser share of the commerce. Consumers are going to be out in force, but more than ever before, they’ll turn to their computers, smartphones, and tablets to make the sale. Make sure your website is ready for heavy traffic volumes so you don’t have to turn anybody away.
2. Your order fulfillment company must be ready for anything.
   For every digital checkout completed, there needs to be a physical reaction of shipping those goods to your consumers. Late November into early December is the single more important time of the year for 3rd party logistics companies to be highly performant and responsive.
   
   Vision Consumer Products Fulfillment runs their fulfillment warehouses with a mix of proven expertise and advanced technology to ensure that everything you sell gets out the door quickly. If your 3PL isn’t equipped to do the same, then it might be time to consider switching.

With each passing year, Thanksgiving Weekend becomes a bigger shopping spectacle. You want your business to be part of these record-shattering days, and you need a 3PL provider to back you up.

Vision Consumer Products Fulfillment has decades of experience and industry expertise in consumer products fulfillment services.  No matter who your customer is, we treat your customer as our own. We know what makes a raving fan out of an individual customer, as well as what makes a business partner trust you with their business. Call or email us to learn how. We’re certain we’ll be the best fulfillment warehouse partner you have ever had!

http://visioncpf.com
CPFSales@VisionMediamgmt.com

¹ http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/01/business/thanksgiving-weekend-sales-at-stores-and-online-slide-11-percent.html?_r=2
² http://www-01.ibm.com/software/marketing-solutions/benchmark-reports/black-friday-report-2014.pdf
³ http://www.statista.com/statistics/266104/online-retail-spending-on-thanksgiving-black-friday-and-cyber-monday/

FedEx Fuel Surcharge Déjà Vu

Effective 2 November 2015, FedEx is adjusting its fuel surcharge index.  Experiencing some déjà vu? That may be because just nine months ago, in February 2015, FedEx adjusted its fuel surcharge index.  

This time around, fuel surcharges for FedEx Express/International will increase 1.5% to 1.75%, while FedEx Ground surcharges will increase 0.5% – 1.0%.¹ These are in addition to the fuel surcharges implemented in February.  And the hits just keep coming: FedEx also announced increased shipping rates effective 4 January 2016, with FedEx Express, Ground, Home Delivery and Freight, all increasing by an average of 4.9%.²

You have to get your products into your customers’ hands, so you have no choice but to ship.  So, how will these changes affect your planning? What are your options for managing rising shipping costs?  How can you proactively address your logistics management?  

Before you panic and start taking the hit to your bottom line, talk to your 3PL fulfillment partner.  A great fulfillment partner can help; transportation is the backbone of their business, and they’re on top of the trends and working on ways to optimize their options to their partners’ benefit.  Talk to Vision, we can help you understand and plan for your transportation future.

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Exciting news: Vision will be at the SEMA Show November 3^rd through 6^th in Las Vegas www.semashow.com.  The SEMA show is the premier automotive specialty products trade event in the world!  If you’re thinking about going, let’s connect!  661-702-5050.

Vision Consumer Products Fulfillment has decades of experience and industry expertise in consumer products fulfillment services.  No matter who your customer is, we treat your customer as our own.  We know what makes a raving fan out of an individual customer, as well as what makes a business partner trust you with their business.  Call or email us to learn how.  We’re certain we’ll be the best fulfillment warehouse partner you have ever had!

http://visioncpf.com

                                                             

CPFSales@VisionMediamgmt.com

¹ http://www.mytotalretail.com/post/oops-fedex-increases-fuel-surcharges-products-effective-nov-2-2015/

² http://www.mytotalretail.com/post/fedex-announces-2016-general-rate-increase-changes-shipware-analysis/

How to Reduce Your Abandoned Shopping Carts

According to the Baymard Institute (baymard.com), 68% of all ecommerce visitors abandon their shopping carts – leaving behind merchandize valued at approximately $4 trillion!¹  How can you reduce this trend, and close the sale with your customers?  Fortunately, the same research tells us that 63% of those abandoned carts are recoverable.  Following are three significant reasons causing those abandons:

• Not ready to buy yet 16%
• Having to create a new user account 23%
• Unexpected shipping costs 28%

Addressing just one of these factors can have a positive impact on your sales, so let’s look at the biggest factor – unexpected shipping costs.

A well-designed ecommerce site focused on the user experience can support your efforts to close sales.  Your billing and shipping page should provide multiple shipping time options, with the delivery time and cost clearly displayed.  Set the least expensive as the default.  Include descriptions and input examples for input fields – you want to make completing the forms as simple as possible, and not leave room for questions or errors that result in the customer walking away from the cart.  And always provide an option to select the shipping address as the same as the billing address – never make your customer input the same information twice!

Your 3PL fulfillment partner can help you fine-tune your shipping options and ensure that you meet your shipping deadlines, to help maximize your cart close rates.  They can be a key partner in crafting your inventory and shipping strategies.  Talk to your partner today, and start recovering those abandoned carts today!

Exciting news: Vision will be at the SEMA Show November 3rd through 6th in Las Vegas www.semashow.com.  The SEMA show is the premier automotive specialty products trade event in the world!  If you’re thinking about going, let’s connect!  661-702-5050.

Vision Consumer Products Fulfillment has decades of experience and industry expertise in consumer products fulfillment services.  No matter who your customer is, we treat your customer as our own.  We know what makes a raving fan out of an individual customer, as well as what makes a business partner trust you with their business.  Call or email us to learn how.  We’re certain we’ll be the best fulfillment warehouse partner you have ever had!

http://visioncpf.com

CPFSales@VisionMediamgmt.com

¹ https://econsultancy.com/blog/66680-top-10-digital-marketing-stats-from-this-week/?utm_source=Econsultancy&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=5922660_1836-daily-pulse-us-2015-07-10&dm_i=LQI,3IXYC,9O32IC,CN17Z,1

Planning for 2015 Holiday Shipping

During the dog days of summer, it seems as if the holidays reside far in the distant future.  The reality is that your preparations for the holiday season should be well under way by now!  Just a few of the steps you should be working through are:

1. Forecasting 2015 holiday sales.
2. Assessing your current inventory against the forecast, translating that into inventory requirements, and beginning to coordinate with your suppliers.
3. Planning your logistics management to keep a close eye on your inbound product.
4. Determining how you’ll store and manage that inventory when it arrives.
5. Defining your sales strategy
6. Monitoring key holiday shipping dates and costs – and their impact on your strategy and bottom line:
• UPS: http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/about/news/service_updates/20150806_transit_time.html?WT.mc_id=VAN701482
• FedEx: http://www.fedex.com/us/service-guide/holiday-schedule.html

A commonly understated component in your sales strategy is shipping to your consumers – how fast will the order get to the customer, and will shipping be discounted or free?  Will delivery speed and cost vary based on the customer and or order size?  Will you offer discounted or free shipping when you follow up on abandoned online shopping carts as an incentive to close the sale?  In addition, what are your options to make the delivery, and ensure the customer’s experience is positive and their expectations are met?  No one wants a replay of the 2013 holiday season, with gifts arriving after the big day!

Your fulfillment partner can help you ensure that you meet your shipping deadlines, all the while still balancing the highest degree of customer support and flexibility.  They can be a key partner in crafting your inventory and shipping strategies.  Have that discussion now, and sleep better tonight!

Vision Consumer Products Fulfillment has decades of experience and industry expertise in consumer products fulfillment services.  No matter who your customer is, we treat your customer as our own.  We know what makes a raving fan out of an individual customer, as well as what makes a business partner trust you with their business.  Call or email us to learn how.  We’re certain we’ll be the best fulfillment warehouse partner you have ever had!

http://visioncpf.com

CPFSales@VisionMediamgmt.com

Why Your 3PL Should Be Your Strategic Partner

The need to manage and reduce costs is nothing new.  And the centralization of logistics services and automation offered by 3PLs have enabled companies to bundle and outsource complex logistics functions, leading to more efficient operations and in many cases, allowing the companies to capitalize on the 3PLs infrastructure, resources and relationships.   All good so far, right?

The problem arises when those companies begin to view the 3PL as a commodity provider rather than a strategic partner.  “The recent white paper, “Unpacking Risk Shifting: A White Paper Challenging Unreasonable Risk-Shifting in the Transportation Industry,” written by what could be viewed as a collection of logistics “all-stars,” including academics, 3PLs and shippers, and consultants, makes the argument that the relationships have swung too far toward commoditization and away from strategic partnerships.  Companies “…want innovation and investment by 3PLs, with 3PLs reluctant to deliver, citing how ‘razor thin margins and short-term commodity-based contracts create a disincentive for 3PLs to make investments.’”¹   That’s bad for both sides of the transaction:  3PLs may turn away business, or even go out of business.  Companies may not be able to find a 3PL willing to work with them.  Both sides lose.

Contrast that with a more balanced relationship that builds on the success of both the company and the 3PL.  As a strategic partner, your 3PL is in a position to invest in the future, supporting the success of both organizations.  They can be the innovative solution provider that your company relies on, rather than just the folks who get the package from point A to point B.  When the next crisis or amazing opportunity arises, will you have a strategic 3PL partner to help you solve the problem or capitalize on that great new opportunity?  

Talk to Vision today, to learn how we can be your strategic 3PL partner, building a future together.  Vision Consumer Products Fulfillment has decades of experience and industry expertise in consumer products fulfillment services.  No matter who your customer is, we treat your customer as our own.  We know what makes a raving fan out of an individual customer, as well as what makes a business partner trust you with their business.  Call or email us to learn how.  We’re certain we’ll be the best fulfillment warehouse partner you have ever had!

http://visioncpf.com

CPFSales@VisionMediamgmt.com

¹http://www.logisticsmgmt.com/article/shifting_risk_and_meeting_in_the_middle_could_serve_as_key_to_shipper_3pl_r

The Impact of Amazon's Prime Day

Amazon’s Prime Day, scheduled for 15 July 2015 is being touted as “…Christmas in July, bigger than Black Friday or a U.S. version of Singles Day, the blowout online shopping event in China that generates billions of dollars in sales.”¹ Whether it lives up to the hype, or just transpires as a 20^th birthday celebration for Amazon, Prime Day has the potential to have a major impact on e-retailers, and by extension all fulfillment and distribution channels.

For e-retailers, participation in the sale could be huge. “Amazon Prime members convert at a rate of 74%, according to a recent study from website traffic measurement firm Millward Brown Digital on the online shopping behavior of Prime members. When Prime members shop with other online retailers, such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Target Inc. and Home Depot Inc., they convert on average 6% of the time, the study suggests.”¹  The potential increase in sales generated from the event could make or break the e-retailer depending on their pricing and profitability.  But hand in hand with increased sales comes additional shipping demands, and with Amazon Prime, that means free two-day or cheap one-day shipping.  If the volume spikes more than Amazon and its shipping partners have planned, e-retailers and consumers could see delays during the days following the sale.  So what can you do to plan for Amazon’s Prime Day?

If you’re an e-retailer, a 3PL partner can provide options to minimize any potential delays for your customers.  A great 3PL will be already be evaluating and implementing strategies to reduce any negative shipping impact resulting from the event.  Talk to Vision today, to learn how you can leverage our strategic planning and fulfillment optimization.

Vision Consumer Products Fulfillment has decades of experience and industry expertise in consumer products fulfillment services.  No matter who your customer is, we treat your customer as our own.  We know what makes a raving fan out of an individual customer, as well as what makes a business partner trust you with their business.  Call or email us to learn how.  We’re certain we’ll be the best fulfillment warehouse partner you have ever had!

http://visioncpf.com

CPFSales@VisionMediamgmt.com

¹ https://www.internetretailer.com/2015/07/08/amazons-prime-day-could-push-e-retailers-margins-lower

Why Use a 3PL Provider?

A common question for businesses who handle their own warehouse and shipping is, “why should I use a 3PL provider?”  One very strong reason is the advancements in technology.  “…many respected 3PLs use software developed by other firms to help run their businesses, and run them well. But some 3PLs have brought the technology expertise in-house, creating their own systems for transportation management, business analytics, and other key functions.”¹  For shippers large and small, utilizing the logistics technology of a 3PL partner can deliver value. For smaller companies, this means being able to access cutting-edge tech they might not be able to afford otherwise. For larger companies, this allows you to focus your resources on your core mission. 

So what logistics technology can you leverage through your 3PL partner?  Start with electronic data interchange (EDI) and data dashboards tracking product quantity, shipping cost, and scheduling. Systems that optimize every aspect of a shipment can directly contribute to your bottom line.  Varying degrees of control are available, allowing complete outsourcing, direct management of transactions or a blend that focuses on your key concerns.  A great 3PL partner can combine that cutting-edge logistics technology with the expertise to maximize the return on its use.  Talk to Vision, and let us help you leverage our logistics technologies and expertise.

Vision Consumer Products Fulfillment has decades of experience and industry expertise in consumer products fulfillment services.  No matter who your customer is, we treat your customer as our own.  We know what makes a raving fan out of an individual customer, as well as what makes a business partner trust you with their business.  Call or email us to learn how.  We’re certain we’ll be the best fulfillment warehouse partner you have ever had!

http://visioncpf.com

CPFSales@VisionMediamgmt.com

¹ http://www.inboundlogistics.com/cms/article/3pls-put-technology-front-and-center/