Bringg, a leading delivery, and fulfillment cloud platform provider released its 2021 Bringg Barometer: State of Retail Delivery & Fulfillment, which highlights findings from a recent survey of 1.000 US retailers and brands. The survey uncovered current strengths and weaknesses in online fulfillment capacity and variety of fulfillment services, and top fulfillment priorities for 2021.
In 2020, the retail industry faced immense challenges as many retailers were ill-equipped to immediately and effectively meet consumers’ changing demands. Many of those surveyed invested in new fulfillment channels since the beginning of the pandemic, including curbside pickup (51%), BOPIS/buy online pickup in-store (33%), alternative pickup locations (28%), and same-day delivery (27%).
Alternative pickup locations
Though the alternative delivery channels proved to be effective throughout the pandemic and over the holiday season, retailers have recognized the need to continually invest in fulfillment capabilities and adjust current capabilities. Retailers and brands surveyed reported that they are prioritizing adding alternative pickup locations (30%) and BOPIS (24%) in the next six to 12 months. However, less than half of the retailers surveyed work with a technology vendor to streamline operations.
“In order to be successful at scale, it is important for retailers to understand that the complexities of creating efficient operations are always much larger than anticipated,” said Guy Bloch, CEO of Bringg. “There are many lessons coming out of 2020 for the retail industry, including the critical advantages that external support provides when it comes to optimizing fulfillment operations. If these channels are to remain in place as a long-term answer to eCommerce fulfillment, retailers must consider a partner that specializes in digitizing, connecting, and orchestrating between systems and stakeholders.”
Pain points
The biggest pain points when it comes to scaling delivery are working with multiple fleets (36%), scheduling delivery times with customers (30%), and lack of real-time visibility once the order is out for delivery (20%)
Lack of visibility (39%) and lack of brand control (31%) are the biggest pain points when it comes to working with external fleets for delivery, followed by cost (29%).
When it comes to pain points associated with delivering on time, retailers reported the number of drivers available (29%), dispatch and routing issues (20%), and travel distance between warehouse, retail location, etc., and delivery points (19%).
“COVID-19 put an enormous amount of pressure on e-commerce, leaving retailers in a rush to implement fulfillment capabilities that met changing consumer behaviors and demands,” said Guy Bloch. “As we look at 2021 and beyond, especially as eCommerce is expected to account for 19,2% of all retail sales by 2024, retailers that prioritize delivery and fulfillment operations will see greater operational efficiencies and provide premium customer experiences. We recognized that in order for Bringg to continue to be a trusted partner and help our customers adjust to these capabilities, it was important for us to make changes internally. As a result, we refreshed our technology and our entire brand to ensure that our customers are adequately supported now and in the future.”
Source: Bringg