Reigning the D2C logistics with technology
Recent years have brought about a number of changes in customer and supplier behavior across industries. A very significant & burgeoning new segment that has come up as a result of this shift is of direct-to-consumer(D2C) business model. While there are numerous significant factors to take into account at various levels of the supply network, the capacity to meet the single-item demand created by the “at home” consumer and the corresponding last-mile delivery & D2C businesses have now taken center stage.
Direct-to-consumer business model is a quick-turnaround retail approach in which companies use an online presence to sell goods directly to customers without the need for any wholesalers or distributors. The logistics operations for this market are therefore efficient but overly complex & costly. This is where new-age technology solutions can help you reign the D2C logistics segment.
Adoption of D2C logistics in today’s era
India is home to 800+ D2C brands and this market is expected to reach $100Bn by 2025. Businesses from across the industrial segments like retail, pharma, FMCG, cosmetics, electronics, etc. have slowly moved towards the adoption of the D2C business model. But what factors make this segment more lucrative? It’s the adoption of the D2C logistics model with a major focus on the following four segments.
- Cutting down on intermediaries & costs associated with those deliveries
- In-house & in-control inventory management solution
- Strong & loyal customer database
- Faster & convenient deliveries
The growing need for technology solutions in D2C logistics operations
Although the D2C model has many advantages, there are some practical difficulties that businesses face on a day-to-day basis. After examining the obstacles of D2C logistics management, we have come up with a list of technologically-driven best practices that companies can adopt to tackle the challenges & streamline their operations.
Challenge: Faster & Efficient order management
Solution: In order to stay ahead of the competition, D2C brands need to align their order management processes to ensure faster back-end operations. A smart technology solution can help with proper order documentation, sorting, and allocation thus kick-starting a faster delivery process. It also helps you maintain order details in the system that can be easily extracted in case of any customer queries or return management.
Challenge: Delivery & Fleet Planning
Solution: Based on customer needs, businesses may rely on their own fleet or a rental fleet to fulfill client requirements for doorstep deliveries. In either case, having an in-house integrated platform to ensure real-time visibility of delivery status & fleet performance, can help the company drive faster deliveries within the budgeted expenses. These systems also facilitate more efficient route planning, rider distribution, and delivery coordination, among other things.
Challenge: Maintaining the right level of inventory
Solution: A lot of orders in D2C businesses are customized & need to be prepared and delivered as per the client’s requirements. Thus, the brands need to keep a certain level of inventory for both raw materials as well as end-products. Manual calculation & identification of this optimum level of inventory is time-consuming & also has low accuracy. Today’s modern-age technology solutions, driven by AI & ML make it really easy for brands to maintain inventory levels within the desired cost-efficient limit.
Challenge: Reverse logistics & customer management
Solution: Direct-to-Consumer logistics operation is not a one-way communication or interaction hence, the consumer is open to coming back to you with his/her queries, complaints, feedback, and even the return of items. Digitalizing the entire D2C logistics process makes it easier to identify bottleneck situations and also provides faster query resolutions. Additionally, technology-driven reverse logistics procedures are significantly quicker, easier, and more convenient, and they unquestionably benefit the D2C brand using them.
Challenge: Controlling the rising logistics costs
Solution: D2C brands are expanding quickly, yet there is stiff competition in the market. In order to ensure profitability, brands must maximize their spending on logistics, last-mile delivery, and transportation. With evolving logistics technology solutions, one can get end-to-end visibility across the D2C logistics processes and can overcome the challenges stated before with utmost perfection.
Elixia’s solution to optimize D2C logistics
Elixia’s Intelligent Delivery Orchestration Platform is a SaaS-based delivery management solution to cope with the challenges of high delivery density & operational costs for Direct to Customer logistics & last-mile deliveries. The solution is highly equipped to manage high-order volumes, optimize delivery routes, improvise warehousing & inventory, provide real-time tracking, and also handle reverse logistics. This solution’s remarkable technological know-how will enable you to closely monitor your D2C costs and operations and prevent any slippages.
So what are you waiting for?
Free up your capital in inventory & inefficient logistics processes, and streamline your D2C logistics processes with Elixia now.
Schedule a demo now ⏩ https://elixia.tech/schedule-a-demo/
