Keeping up with the growth of e-commerce can be a difficult and daunting task. In fact, experts predict that retail will evolve more over the next few years than it has over the past 50 years. The significant growth of e-commerce has caused companies to change the way they fulfill orders. It’s now more important than ever to have modernized warehouses and fulfillment centers that correspond with the surging demand of e-commerce.
Meeting the Demand for E-Commerce
One of the biggest changes affecting warehousing and fulfillment is the rise of e-commerce. Fast and reliable shipping expectations force companies to move more individual parcels through the warehouse quicker than old warehousing and fulfillment centers were designed to accommodate. Warehouses that were designed before e-commerce existed aren’t properly set up to fulfill huge amounts of direct-to-consumer orders. Modern warehouses and fulfillment centers must constantly monitor the information received from online shopping channels in order to adapt and succeed.
Adapting to New Technology
While customer service and supply chain visibility requirements continue to gain traction, it’s crucial for warehouses and fulfillment centers to implement an up-to-date warehouse management system (WMS). Due to the high volume of products and limited capacities for warehouses, products may become lost or damaged, leaving the customer wondering where their product is located. This is where a warehouse management system can help. WMS technology provides customers with complete, real-time status of products entering or leaving one of its warehouses or distribution centers. Adding a warehouse management system is a giant step towards modernizing warehouses and fulfillment centers.
Does Modernizing My Warehouses and Fulfillment Centers make sense?
Before taking the giant leap towards a fully modernized warehouse or fulfillment center, ask yourself the following:
How will this impact my warehouse finances?
How easy will it be to implement a warehouse management system (WMS)?
How will this affect day-to-day working habits?
How quickly can a modernized warehouse or fulfillment center become functional?
Will my warehouse be able to fulfill through all of my selling channels (e.g., direct, website, Amazon, etc.)?
If it makes sense for your business to modernize warehouses and fulfillment centers, then don’t think twice. E-commerce is still in its beginning stages and will continue to grow and prosper for the foreseeable future. For any additional questions regarding warehousing or fulfillment, click below and our team of experts will get back to you promptly.
Companies that sell through Amazon must contemplate whether it makes sense to use Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA) services or consider third-party warehousing alternatives to FBA. When making this important business decision, it is crucial that companies understand the benefits of third-party logistics (3PL) while recognizing some of the potential downfalls associated with FBA. Here are a few issues that Amazon retailers face, and ways that 3PL companies such as Logistics Plus can help:
Cause: Due to the decreasing space at Amazon fulfillment and warehousing centers, the costs continue to increase and fluctuate by month. Between the months of January-September and October-December, Amazon retailers can expect about a 245% increase in monthly storage prices.
Logistics Plus Solution: By offering complementary, but lower-priced FBA-related services, Logistics Plus can provide more flexibility with packaging and warehousing, along with predictable and stable pricing all year long (see examples below). We can also help address sellers needs for omnichannel fulfillment strategies.
Issue: Supply chain visibility and unknown locations of products.
Cause: Due to the high volume of products and limited capacities of FBA warehouses, products may become lost or damaged, leaving the customer wondering where their product is located or being held. When Amazon struggles to offer this valuable information to their customers, this can often lead to a frustrating experience.
Logistics Plus Solution: Logistics Plus is able to track and locate products much easier because it is much smaller and more nimble than Amazon; and Logistics Plus warehouse management system (WMS) technology provides customers with complete, real-time status of products entering or leaving one of its warehouses (we support both LIFO and FIFO inventory systems).
Issue: Customer service communication and cooperation.
Cause: Due to the amount of retailers selling on Amazon, the customer service responses can often be delayed. Buyers and sellers tend to have multiple questions to make sure they know exactly what Amazon is doing with their orders. Working through these questions, a retailer can often expect a significant amount of time on hold, often without final resolution.
Logistics Plus Solution: By employing an efficient and cooperative call center solution, Logistics Plus will tend to every customer’s needs. Whether it is a quote on your next import or a simple question regarding the status of your inventory, Logistics Plus will provides answers quickly.
If you’re a retailer that sells on Amazon and you’re contemplating third-party warehousing alternatives to FBA, then contact Logistics Plus. As an endorsed member of the Amazon Global Selling Solutions Provider Network, we know Amazon and we know Amazon sellers well.
Check out this outsourced fulfillment article from Patrick Randolph, fulfillment director for Logistics Plus, that is appearing exclusively on the Inbound Logistics magazine website (click image below to be taken directly to the online article).
Logistics Plus fulfillment director, Patrick Randolph, was featured on last week Friday’s airing of Business Spotlight on WPSE AM 1450/FM 107.1 Radio. Business Spotlight is a 30-minute program airing Fridays at noon. Each segment focuses on a business or organization that is making an impact across the region.
Amazon has introduced a new program called Supply Chain Connect for merchants using Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA) services. This new program is designed to enhance seller-supplier efficiencies and increase control of inbound shipping to Amazon fulfillment centers (FCs). Logistics Plus, being an approved third-party Amazon solutions provider, is a full participant in this new program.
Sellers currently have two methods to deliver inventory from suppliers to Amazon FCs. One is to have the merchandise delivered to their own facilities and then prepare and ship the items to Amazon FCs themselves. Another is to have a third-party supplier ship the merchandise directly to Amazon FCs on their behalf, in which case the seller would have to coordinate between the supplier and Amazon. With Amazon Supply Chain Connect, FBA sellers can choose to have their third-party suppliers (such as Logistics Plus) send items to Amazon FCs using the same Seller Central portal they already use for all of their Amazon-related shipments.
Click here for PDF flyer
Program Advantages
New Supplier Portal: A central supplier gateway where designated suppliers can develop your FBA shipments.
Reduced Lead Time: Suppliers can enter box content information and instantly download FBA shipment and item labels removing the need for back and forth communication, following a decrease in lead time.
Streamlined Process: Suppliers have the resources needed to carry out shipments with greater precision and become more mindful of the Amazon shipping processes.
Fulfillment Flexibility: By having streamlined communications with suppliers regarding your Amazon shipments, eCommerce merchants can continue to use third-party logistics companies to support all of their omni-channel fulfillment needs.
When a merchant chooses an Amazon Partnered Carrier, the results are lower costs and greater visibility for Amazon. Throughout the months leading up to Christmas, FBA sellers often describe complications of shipments to Amazon FCs that end up in limbo. Supply Chain Connect could likely clear up these issues for sellers, enhancing the fulfillment process. Here are two scenarios in which sellers can use the Supply Chain Connect program in conjunction with Logistics Plus Fulfillment Solutions and their Amazon Seller Central accounts:
Process for Merchants that utilize Seller Central and Logistics Plus manages the process
The client emails to let us know what they want sent into Amazon.
We log into their Seller Central account, create the shipment, confirm the PO and print all necessary ASIN labels.
We prepare the shipment and enter the details back into Seller Central.
We then print the shipping labels/BOL and complete the PO.
Process for Merchants that handle their own Seller Central account:
Client will set up the shipment in Seller Central themselves and then email the details to us, including the template for the labels.
We prepare the shipment, label, pack and send the details back to the client via email.
When the shipping labels/BOL are available they are sent back to us via email.
The fulfillment experts at Logistics Plus stay up to date on Amazon guidelines and information so that our clients don’t have to. We guarantee that our work is up to their requirements. We can do simple shipments, or we can handle very detailed assembly work prior to shipping. Let us know if we can help you address your Amazon or eCommerce fulfillment challenges.
Keeping up with the growth of e-commerce can be a difficult and daunting task. In fact, experts predict that retail will evolve more over the next few years than it has over the past 50 years. The significant growth of e-commerce has caused companies to change the way they fulfill orders. It’s now more important than ever to have modernized warehouses and fulfillment centers that correspond with the surging demand of e-commerce.
Companies that sell through Amazon must contemplate whether it makes sense to use Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA) services or consider third-party warehousing alternatives to 
Logistics Plus fulfillment director, Patrick Randolph, was featured on last week Friday’s airing of Business Spotlight on 
