Here is a new story, I believe you would be interested in covering - Third-party Logistics Cost Sky-High; SMBs Must Implement New Technology.

U.S. e-commerce sales reached $1.03 trillion in 2022, passing $1 trillion for the first time ever. However, concerns persist over shipping and logistics processes. In 2022, 32% of customers abandoned their carts due to long shipping durations, while 56% of shoppers switched to new retailers due to shipping delays.

As e-commerce companies continue to grow and expand their operations, with competition becoming fiercer, many are looking for ways to cut costs and increase efficiency. This is especially true in the realm of order fulfillment, where third-party logistics (3PL) providers have traditionally played a major role.

3PL has become a popular option for many companies, but it comes at a high cost. According to McKinsey analysis, logistics costs constitute 12-20% of e-commerce revenues and may increase to 15-25% due to wages and final-mile cost pressures.

In 2020, 36% of warehouse decision-makers faced greater customer demands for shipping, with 35% observing more e-commerce transactions. 34% felt the need to fulfill orders faster and for less cost. Consequently, 40% of supply chain experts have already integrated cloud computing and storage technologies into their business processes.

“Implementing technology and automation in order fulfillment leads to faster and more accurate processing, reduced labor costs, fewer errors and returns, and increased scalability,” says Mikel Lindsaar, CEO and Founder of StoreConnect, which provides an affordable eCommerce solution for SMBs that integrates natively with Salesforce and offers 15 tools in one system, allowing businesses to easily scale up from 3,000 orders per month to 35,000 orders over two days.

Around 46% of transportation and logistics firms and 44% of retail businesses are concerned due to insufficient real-time data that results in inconsistent and outdated information.

“A single unified framework of tools helps in monitoring for efficient logistics and supply chain operations management and creates a personalized customer experience by driving tailored marketing campaigns to customers. SMBs can then use the money saved on 3PL costs to hire more people,” concludes Lindsaar.

Mikel Lindsaar, CEO and Founder of StoreConnect can speak on the following:

• How can SMBs integrate logistics management technology for better efficiency and savings on costs?

• How does a single unified framework of tools help SMBs provide an enhanced customer experience, scale up orders and increase sales revenue?

• How can the money saved by SMBs on 3PL providers be used to increase hiring?