E-Commerce Impact on the Logistics and Transportation Industry
With COVID-19 turning into a worldwide pandemic, online shopping has become the only safe way to get the hands-on items you want or need. Buyers are turning their sight to the internet to solve their daily problems; the internet has become the means to their ends. But it’s not just the internet; it’s the device that’s now being used as the primary channel for shopping: your mobile phone.
Having everything you need in the palm of your hands has led to incredible growth in eCommerce sales, especially during the first few months of 2020. Nowadays, having a physical store but lacking an online presence is a major setback. Therefore, most stores have migrated to the internet and optimized their websites for an easy and intuitive buyer experience that leads to purchases.
This fast-paced change has undoubtedly benefited the global economy, but it’s also had a significant impact on the transportation industry. While buying items online is just a click away, having them arrive at your home is a different story that entails a lot of work and coordination.
Although this increase in sales is a good thing, with great power comes great responsibility. Transportation and logistics companies now have the task of getting those items to the end-user as soon as possible.
Customer Experience in the Logistics Industry
Although technology is sinking its way into the transportation process, customers still want more. Buyers want to know the exact location of their package in real-time, and also see if it’s going to be delayed.
Therefore, communication is vital. Every single party involved, from when the item is bought until it arrives at its destination, needs to be on the same page. Nowadays, intermediary companies are attempting to manage the entire flow of information. A Task that, if done correctly, will benefit the whole process and ultimately achieve the main goal of business: a happy customer.
Increased Demand on Shipping Volume and Time
Now, another aspect comes into the picture: same-day delivery purchases. Buyers want to have what they bought immediately delivered. This is the retailer’s promise that provides more value to their product. Same-day delivery puts an even bigger load on freight transportation companies, now having to manage increasing volumes of goods and less time to ship them.
How are Logistics Processes Changing?
But not everything is bleak. There are evolving market opportunities, such as the development of newer and more specific logistics services, structures, e-fulfillment centers, parcel hubs, and sortation centers that will morph the entire logistics process to the ever-growing customer’s needs.
In hindsight, the growth of eCommerce during 2020 has come with significant challenges and a completely different way of approaching the transportation process. Things are rapidly changing, and the only way to stay afloat is to change and adapt at the same rate. Finding new market opportunities and jumping on them immediately.
Kathy Monroy is an experienced Communications Specialist and Journalist. Driven to go above and beyond, Kathy produces high-quality content specializing in transportation and logistics, marketing, sales, and technology. Her goals include becoming an expert and an authority in her line of work, always providing her audience with the most relevant and useful information.
