E-Commerce: challenges for successful deliveries

Diego Urfeig and Martin Urquizo

In line with the trend of recent years, and despite the ups and downs of the economy, electronic commerce continues to be a thriving industry that grows at rates of the order of 50% year-on-year. This constitutes not only a notable increase in billing and volumes operated by the sector, but also a great challenge to plan distribution and deliveries to the national customer.

We are convinced that the e-commerce industry will continue to develop at a fast rate. For years, logistics companies have been developing specialized solutions in e-commerce, advancing a lot in this field, and local operators have taken this challenge very seriously.

Today companies that sell online have technology available to manage their shipments throughout the country, offer different delivery options and track their shipments online in order to effectively deliver their products, which has an impact on the buying experience of its users. In addition, they have tools to streamline their operation and generate cost and resource savings. There is still a long way to go, but e-commerce is growing and logistics is accompanying this growth.

Every day online vendors become aware of the importance of the logistics operation of their e-commerce, since this not only makes the delivery of their product effective, but also impacts the shopping experience of its users.

Regarding online buyers, they are increasingly used to placing their orders by choosing the shipping method, knowing the cost and checking the tracking of their purchases online. All this in a simple way and with a good user experience from when they choose the product on a web page, until the moment they receive it.

More and more users are buying through the internet, and it is very important to analyze who are those who buy, why they do it and what products they choose so that the e-commerce market continues to grow year after year.

Evaluation of the effectiveness and delivery times of the products At present we find ourselves with more demanding users who know the market in which they make their purchases. They value that online vendors fulfill what they promise in their offer and, in this sense, the effectiveness of delivery times plays an important role in achieving customer satisfaction.

It is important that the terms to which the seller commits include a margin to absorb any contingency and not exceed the promised term. Logistics operators specialized in e-commerce are aware of the importance of meeting deadlines and have adjusted their processes, reaching effectiveness percentages close to 100%. There are always specific cases that must be dealt with, but e-commerce has professional alternatives to manage your shipments.

Currently, logistics operators make investments by expanding their capillarity, offering more delivery points and dispatch of packages; they have also carried out branch expansions; improvements in processes accompanied by new technology to speed up withdrawal times and delivery of shipments in the branches.

Undoubtedly, the technology applied to logistics in the last mile is one of the key factors to achieve a good shopping experience. E-lockers are a clear example of this progress and the market has shown great acceptance.

For those who doubt whether e-commerce logistics is a competitive advantage or a problem to be solved, the latest studies point to logistics as one of the main barriers to growth and, in turn, as the main opportunity. Logistics is, without a doubt, a differentiating factor and a competitive advantage for those who want to achieve a smooth operation, offering a good user experience to their customers.

New technologies to optimize e-commerce logistics

Undoubtedly, the technology applied to logistics in the last mile is one of the key factors to achieve a good shopping experience. E-lockers are a clear example of this progress and the market has shown great acceptance. For those who do not know them yet, e-lockers are self-service electronic lockers that can be chosen as a delivery point for online purchases. They are located in strategic places with high traffic, such as shopping centers, service stations, supermarkets and others.

Once the purchase is made and the product arrives at the e-lockers, a unique withdrawal code is sent to the buyer via email/SMS. With the code in their possession, the buyer approaches the e-lockers, introduces it and the locker automatically opens with their order. This process takes less than 15 seconds.

Electronic commerce is also a direct and indirect employment generation factor. As the industry grows more people are needed to program, to work on technology, for administrative work, for logistics and all the other gears that make up the industry. Every day we seek to professionalize the sector and offer a better shopping experience on demand and thus contribute to the prosperity of the digital economy.