E-Commerce Experience

In an era where everyone keeps a potential shopping device within hands’ reach at all times, maintaining an e-commerce presence is a must for all companies. A customer’s experience with your e-commerce store makes a significant impact on whether they convert or move on to a competitor with a nicer site.

Details, down to the most basic design and content choices, on your home page will capture a potential customer’s interest and urge them to continue browsing your products, eventually leading to a purchase. The key here is to always consider the user’s experience. The easier your website is to navigate, the easier it is for a prospect to convert and come back for more.

Here are some things to keep in mind when you’re thinking of the customer’s experience on your e-commerce site:

• Make sure your buying process doesn’t contain any broken links. Regularly audit your site to be sure that all internal links lead to accurate products and current offers. A broken link makes customers uneasy and if a customer feels uncomfortable with any part of the buying process, they won’t hesitate to find another company they are comfortable with. 
• The store should be full of beautiful, detailed images. Customers like to see what they are purchasing before they even put it into their basket. Show off your products in great detail and highlight anything specific to the product. 
• Make sure your site loads quickly. The average e-commerce customer will lose interest in a site if it takes over 2 seconds to load. Slow load times can lead customers off your site completely—make efficiency a priority. 
• Most e-commerce interactions are completed via mobile. Don’t let your lack of mobile experience be the reason you lose customers. Make sure the mobile version of your site has identical functionality, affording smartphone and tablet shoppers all of the same amenities.
• Customer rating and reviews matter. Display previous and current customer’s satisfaction via a rating system or comments section. Studies have shown that customers trust user reviews as much as personal recommendations. Use this to your advantage! 
• Focus on great customer service. Customer service can come in many forms, such as chat, email, or phone support. According to a survey completed last month by Onestop, 63.3% of customers who had a good customer service experience returned to make another purchase.

E-commerce should be flawlessly intuitive. Anything that breaks the customer’s train of thought could prevent them from making the purchase. Remember—a customer’s second option is just a Google search away; make sure your site flows naturally from landing page to conversion. Think like a customer, consider the experience, and start racking up online sales.

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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

The Biggest Day in E-Commerce You Didn’t Know About

If somebody asked you, “What’s the biggest single day for e-commerce sales?” you’d probably come up with one of two responses. Both Black Friday and Cyber Monday are great choices—billions of dollars move through online channels on these days and, for many retailers, these represent the peak of online sales for the year.

However, what you might not know about is the single biggest day in e-commerce sales volumes that happens, primarily, across the Atlantic, in China. November 11th is “Singles Day,” and it’s on this day that fulfillment warehouses the world over are in a frenzy shipping packages out to paying
customers.

So, just how big is Singles Day?
The holiday weekend that spans from Thanksgiving Day (11/26/15) through Cyber Monday (11/30/15) is known for bringing in massive volumes of sales. Last year, the online sales total for the entire weekend was roughly $11 billion dollars.

The total value of goods transacted through Chinese e-commerce giant, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., during Singles Day 2015 was a staggering $14.32 billion. In a single day. That means a single company moved more than the entire 2014 GDP of Jamaica in one day. And while the amount of commerce done is impressive just by looking at the numbers, we can’t help must wonder about the amazing logistics and order fulfillment that goes on behind the scenes.

Singles Day in the US?
For all of you wondering if this means there’ll be yet another day in November in which you’re encourage to spend, spend, spend—don’t worry. Chances are, Singles Day won’t translate into a holiday in the US to any sort of magnitude near China’s. Retailers here plan all year long for Holiday Weekend special events and sales. The odds that they’ll want to prepare another sale for just a few weeks previous are slim.

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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

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

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/

What to Look for in a 3PL Provider

If you’ve been following our blog, then you’ve seen us define third-party logistics (3PL) and discuss reasons why you should consider using 3PL for your company. Today, we’re going to take a slightly different approach and tell you how to pick the right 3PL. The ideal 3PL provider has all of the following:

International Reach

Today’s connected environment gives even the smallest companies the ability to extend reach worldwide. While earning global visibility is achievable by the individual, actually shipping your goods across the globe requires specific expertise. Your 3PL should be able to take your goods across the world. Even if you aren’t shipping internationally right now, choose a 3PL team that will allow you expand when you’re ready.

Domestic Expertise

While shipping across borders and overseas gives you a competitive edge, mastery over domestic shipping is absolutely essential to any business. Select a 3PL that's quick, accurate, and affordable when it comes to order fulfillment.

Local Cartage

While most order fulfillment companies work with other carriers when necessary to get the job done, the best teams make use of their own fleets to satisfy local orders. Order fulfillment companies using an in-house fleet are able to fully own responsibility for local orders, ensuring that the product gets to the consumer without ever switching hands.

Small Parcel Shipping

Some business models involve shipping small packages to individuals across the country—these orders aren’t always best handled by entire fleets of delivery vehicles. To accommodate smaller orders, a good 3PL will work with other carriers at competitive rates to ensure that packages arrive on time. Every delivery should be treated as important, no matter the size!

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

Fulfillment Best Practices - The Foundation of Your Supply Chain

Technology is changing the world by the day, if not by the hour.  It’s easy to get caught up in the hype, and focus on automation, or the latest, greatest software.  But all of these are only as good as the underlying basics – best practices aren’t called that by chance.  Fulfillment best practices form the underlying foundation that allow you to take advantage of that latest technology, or utilize that cool new software package.  “A best practice is a method or technique that has consistently shown results superior to those achieved with other means, and that is used as a benchmark.”¹ Or in other words, get the basics right, and you have a strong foundation to grow on.

What, you may ask yourself, are the basics for supply chain that you should be focused on?  As Bob Trebilcock, Editor at Large for Logistics Management, discussed on 19 May 2015, inventory management rests on three main points: warehousing, transportation, and labor – Trebilcock’s “three-point stance”.² But what are the best practices for these areas?  And how do you implement them?  This is where a 3PL partner can lead the way.  A great 3PL will be operating on best practices – they improve their efficiency and profitability, and that translates to better operations for their clients.  Talk to Vision today, to learn how you can leverage our best practices and fulfillment excellence.

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://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Best_practice

²http://www.logisticsmgmt.com/article/supply_chain_management_remember_the_three_point_stance/blogs

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/