Inventory stays close to home:despite increased talk about micro fulfillment centers in urbanspaces and the expectation that many online retailers will spreadtheir inventory across regions to reduce shipping zones and cost,this trend is developing at a slower pace than once expected giventhe complexity and cost of regionalization. Many large onlineretailer merchants continue to dispatch inventory from one to twosites close to their operations to localize shipping points andpartner with 3PLs closer to consumers to improve transittimes.
Inventory management will becomemore sophisticated: the last 12 months has seen a significant spikein online merchants adopting more sophisticated multi-channelinventory management systems with end-to-end tracking, real-timeshipping rates and in-transit details, making for improvedinventory management, transparency and better planning for spikesin volume. The adoption of these types of software has shown tosignificantly enhance e-tailer and shipper relationships givenimproved forecasting that results in more efficient management andprocessing of volumes in distribution centers.
“Throughout the year, at DHLeCommerce Solutions we take the pulse of our customers andprospects to identify how to best meet their needs, and as aresult, we have compiled all the themes and trends we’ve identifiedand packaged it into this E-tailers’ Almanac,” said Lee Spratt, CEOfor DHL eCommerce Solutions, Americas. “The Almanac includes aguide for online merchants to know when is the best time to ramp uptheir promotions and ensure they ship their light weight parcels ontime to their customers for the big e-commerce holidays in2020.”