E-tailing has irreversibly changed the paradigms of how the retail and logistics sector does business and this fundamental shake-up of the process of distribution and handling of products has far-reaching effects on industry and infrastructure the world over, according to a new report by storage management specialist Link 51, entitled Taming the E-tail Tiger: Keeping Ahead of the Online Retail Revolution.
The landmark report -launched at Multimodal - April 28 - 30th 2015, warns those industry players that are slow to adopt new strategies will not just miss out on opportunities, but potentially become a casualty of this tidal wave of change. According to Link 51 managing director John Halliday, this latest whitepaper commissioned by Link 51, the UK's market leader in bespoke storage management solutions, has become a "wake-up call for the whole supply chain."
The whitepaper provides a snap-shot of the current state of 'e-tailing'; identifying those key players who are ahead of the game and the sectors which need to catch up with developments in order to prevent being left behind.
Link 51 has described e-tailing as an evolution, rather than revolution, due to its steady developments to the skeletal structure of retail over several decades, which has demonstrably been the driving force for the adoption of online strategies and encouraged greater innovation to enhance the customer experience. "Nonetheless, this seismic change in how the logistics sector does business is unrelenting and requires a thorough understanding of the levers that are driving change and a constant need to be innovative to meet customers' requirements. Yesterday's solutions are just that, often consigned to redundant ways of doing things. Nowadays solutions are required to be scalable and flexible to meet the ever changing needs of the logistics and distribution supply chain from entry point to end user," commented John Halliday.
E-tailing has unwittingly caused changes to the way that logistics planners think about how they work, which has ramifications on the supply chain. This runs from transhipment and port-centric logistics to warehouse property and real estate configuration through to transport hubs and delivery to the end user - and not forgetting the complicated returns process.
John Halliday added: "The e-tailing evolution is dynamic and one we have witnessed change beyond recognition during the past few years, as a result of the development in technology and reliance on mobile devices. It doesn't stand still and demands constant innovation, which has been the approach that we have adopted at Link 51 in order to be a leader in storage logistics. Hopefully the strategies explored in this report will help those who are relatively new to benefit from this paradigm shift to apply the e-tailing concept and how it impacts on their business."
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