The introduction of new technology in the form of blockchain, big data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning has led to rapid growth and advancement in logistics. With more solutions introduced each year, the future of logistics holds many surprises for all of us.
The logistics industry is being changed and shaped by the demands of its customers. As more and more customers become comfortable shopping online, brands and ecommerce stores will come up with different ways to soothe their desires.
In this article, we will briefly discuss all the benefits ecommerce logistics technology has brought to the ecommerce industry and how technology is changing the future of logistics.
The Past of Logistics and Technology
Logistics has existed for centuries but the technological advancement it has seen in the past couple of years has been rather unpredictable. In the past, where offline shopping used to be the norm, online shopping has now taken up most of the market share.
The entire shipping process used to be a manual task. Right from confirming whether you have enough goods in the warehouse to sell, to catching up with courier partners, everything needed human intervention. With the absence of tech such as GPS, IoT, and shipping software, businesses had no choice but to rely on the most detail-oriented workers.
Top 7 Ways Technology is Changing the Future of Ecommerce Logistics
There is no doubt that technology is evolving the future of the way businesses ship products. Below, we have listed the top 7 ways technology is changing the future of logistics. Some of these technologies are already in high demand among customers.
1) On-demand delivery
On-demand or scheduled deliveries are a tech-supported shipping feature that allows customers to receive orders at the time most convenient for them. Scheduled deliveries are a great way of getting rid of NDRs or shipping exceptions.
Using this feature, the carrier or online store gives customers the option to select a date and time of their choosing and automates the shipping and delivery process from thereon. Depending on the carrier, you can even offer same or next-day delivery if there’s an urgent need for the product ordered.
2) Automated order tracking updates for customers
Sending order tracking updates to customers might not feel like much when your order numbers are low. But as your ecommerce business grows and starts sending out huge order volumes, triggering individual order update notifications to customers will become impossible.
This is where technology steps in to save the day. With the automatic order update mechanism, online retailers can sync all the order data and order IDs onto their software, manage all orders from the dashboard, and automate the notification-sending process well beforehand.
A dedicated tracking dashboard will display the order status along with the location of a parcel in real time. Having such information at their fingertips lets customers satisfy their urge to check a product’s whereabouts whenever they wish. Adding branded elements like logos and themes further adds more personalization to your services.
3) Real-time inventory management
Ecommerce businesses or any third-party logistics providers they work with, store items in warehouses. Managing the inventory of items with countless items is no task for a human. This is why inventory management is using logistics technology to revamp the future of logistics.
All orders that leave or come to the warehouse are entered into the database and updated in real time. A tool called “Warehouse Management Software” or WMS ensures that all inventory operations from the moment they enter a warehouse till shipping can be handled under one roof.
4) Numerous payment options
Technology has also enabled carriers to offer several payment options to customers. With the present technological advancement in logistics, payment options can be directly integrated with any ecommerce platform or online site for easy payments.
A wide range of payment options allow customers from different parts of the world to buy products. With the rise of buy now, pay later, cryptocurrency, and digital wallets, online stores can expand their business in regions otherwise not possible.
5) Automatic customer location detection
GPS-enabled technology is helping in changing the future of logistics by automatically detecting customer location at the time of checkout. This feature helps carriers locate customer addresses much more effectively and reduces the chances of wrong input of delivery addresses.
6) Transparent communication with customers
Intelligent logistics software uses A.I. to effectively communicate with customers and keep the line of communication open and transparent. Customers can easily reach out to businesses or place return requests, complaints, or any other queries directly on the store itself.
Logistics software also notifies customers as soon as they anticipate any problem or delay with the order. In fact, AI-powered bots on websites and WhatsApp further let businesses resolve customer issues quicker than ever with dynamic workflows that operate based on responses.
Custom-made bots also allow you to display your product catalog on WhatsApp and help customers checkout without ever visiting your store.
7) Customer feedback and redressal
Advancements in technology have also enabled e-commerce businesses to build better rapport with their customers with the help of customer review.
The feedback may be in the form of a Google rating or any other format. Online forms can be customized to ask a question and prompt another question for better insights.
For example, a question of feedback may ask “Do you like the way we currently process returns?” If a customer answers no, they can be prompted with another question like “Where do you think we can improve?”
Such questions give you a deeper knowledge of the kind of service customers expect from your end.
Final Words
The future of logistics is heavily dependent on the advancement of technology. How technology is changing the future of logistics is evident in the numerous shipping services logistics providers can offer today which were unthinkable before. The credit for faster deliveries, better communication, and real-time parcel tracking can be, to a large part, attributed to technology.