4 Challenges for Warehousing and Distribution in Post-pandemic Era
After the city was locked down, shortages spread to the rest of the world. Transportation was suspended; so was the distribution of the available commodities. It was the ideal demonstration of how our world has become more globalized and how lean supply chains have evolved.
The COVID-19 problem brought logistics and fulfillment to the fore. Fulfillment and logistics leaders have firmly responded to the pandemic's challenges over the past years by improving their digital and risk-management capabilities, successfully adjusting to new working practices, and increasing inventories. However, other recent occurrences have demonstrated that fulfillment and logistics are still susceptible to shocks and disruptions. Consequently, many industries are working to overcome supply shortages and logistics capacity limitations. Most concerning is that these new concerns appear when top leaders operate their business elsewhere. Moreover, there are indications that the rate of investment in global logistics technologies is slowing down across several industries.
Challenges Are Many
Here are 4 challenges for the warehousing and distribution sector:
1. Ever-changing international situations and policies
Things look bad for all e-commerce practitioners and worse for cross-border businesses. International situations never stop changing, and so do the policies issued by each country, both of which pose tremendous stress to logistics and fulfillment. As a result, manufacturers have been trying to spread out the locations of their warehouses or relocate them. This way, they can adjust to the latest change, reducing the loss caused by import and export restrictions.
Choosing a warehouse nearby your products’ manufacturing regions is a safe move. Storing them in the warehouses allows you to distribute the goods to your customers when needed. Even when the worst happens, and you have to return them to the manufacturers, you still control your loss by limiting them to the goods’ values, excluding import and export taxes.
2. Lack of labor and workforce
The future is uncertain. Companies may demand shorter contract terms when renting, leasing, or co-sharing warehouse space. The same holds for 3PL collaborations. Standard 3PL partnership and warehouse space contract lengths will be shortened significantly. That is why you need to consider working with the 3PL logistics companies rich in the labor force, preferably at a reasonable price. The good news is that YunFulfillment China Warehouse can easily achieve both labor and cost control.
3. Stock & inventory control
Think about the bullwhip effect of COVID-19: shifts in consumer demand that increasingly impact the supply chain and pose long-term challenges for supply and production. The occasional spikes, such as toilet paper, may result in stockouts for one week and a subsequent buildup of excess inventory. In addition, the pandemic has caused inventory disarray, resulting in late or unwanted deliveries of products.
Worry not! With YunFulfillment Warehouse's multi-linguistic OMS (online management system) and bilingual staff assistance, you are good to manage the inventory as you desire.
4. Return management
The return also serves as an important part of doing eCommerce. Clients appreciate the free, straightforward return process; in fact, free returns or exchanges are listed as the second factor that encourages consumers to "buy online." However, even if you have a fantastic return policy, it won't mean anything to your customers if your e-commerce fulfillment providers can't properly implement it, thus influencing your customers' experience.
Solutions Are More!
Global shipping, logistics, e-commerce, and cross-border business have seen a better day. E-commerce practitioners suffering from multiple changes, labor shortages, and overstocks must be more careful in the next move. Integrated the warehousing and storage, pick and pack, and inventory management to logistics and fulfillment, YunFulfillment Warehouse is dedicated to providing a one-stop service to enhance the clients’ experience. Despite these ups and downs, YunFulfillment Warehouse has always been by your side, paying attention to the problem and resolving it.
Global shipping, logistics, e-commerce, and cross-border business have seen a better day. E-commerce practitioners suffering from multiple changes, labor shortages, and overstocks must be more careful in the next move. Integrated the warehousing and storage, pick and pack, and inventory management to logistics and fulfillment, YunFulfillment Warehouse is dedicated to providing a one-stop service to enhance the clients’ experience. Despite these ups and downs, YunFulfillment Warehouse has always been by your side, identifying the problems and eventually, resolving them!