parcel shipping Archives

Logistyx Technologies Talks Parcel Shipping, Holidays, and Returns

Logistics Technologies | By Chris Cunnane • 10/20/2021

Last week I had the opportunity to speak with Ken Fleming, President at Logistyx Technologies. In our conversation, Ken spoke about some of the findings from a recent survey Logistyx conducted on cross-border holiday spending, as well as some larger trends around the state of parcel shipping.

I asked Ken to give me some deeper insights on a few key points. First and foremost, why have supply chain technologies weathered the Covid storm better than other industries, and what has it meant for parcel shipping? Second, how does the ongoing capacity crunch impact the holiday season? Third, what role does cross-border shopping play for the holiday season? Fourth, what are some industry-specific trends for parcel shipping? And finally, what can retailers do to get ahead of the looming returns season?

Below are some key points from our discussion as well as the full video interview.

The State of Parcel Shipping

The initial reaction at the beginning of the pandemic was immediate caution as uncertainty set it. Most companies froze all activity as they did not know the extent of the pandemic and the long-term ramifications. This meant that a lot of companies decided to cut costs before understanding the impact that the pandemic would have on parcel shipping and its corresponding technologies. As everyone began working from home, and shopping from home, the e-commerce response was the reverse: it surged. In a very short period of time, the Logistyx customer base went from “hold everything” to “we need to move quickly, and we need access to better carriers, faster systems, and better e-commerce technology.” The companies that had a program to deal with supply chain disruption were in much better shape than those that didn’t.

The Holiday Season

Consumers are looking to shop early and shop globally. The news is reporting that supply chains are going to be disrupted this holiday season, so more and more consumers are starting early. In response to that, the smart retailers are assessing what they have in stock and what they will be marketing. These retailers are making sure that consumers know what inventory is available so they can shop to match their needs rather than buying something that is simply available. Cross-border services also remove the dependency on local providers.

Cross-Border Sales

Retailers need to review the cross-border services that they are going to use. One option is to use a cross-border delivery 3PL provider. Companies like FedEx, UPS, and Pitney Bowes offer this service. In those services, the retailer needs to understand what will be provided and how to present it to the consumer. The last thing a consumer wants is to be surprised when the item they bought will also be subject to duties at the end. The key is to make sure all the costs are transparent up front during the purchasing process. This means showing the consumer what the total landed cost is, enabling the consumer to make the decision of whether import duties or shipping costs impact their decision to buy. From a technology perspective, the key is to link customer systems into the carriers, as it’s the carrier’s service that needs to be passed on to the consumer.

Industry Trends

Manufacturing: manufacturers are trying to create or enhance their online presence of direct-to-consumer business. Brands are now putting up their own shoppable websites and doing their own fulfillment. While manufacturers have historically relied on LTL and TL shipments to their distributors or retailers, they are now implementing parcel deliveries for the first time. This poses many challenges, but the e-commerce surge is making this more of a necessity.

Retailers: it’s all about consumer experience. E-commerce is more important than ever, and retailers need to understand how they can enhance that experience. Fulfillment now plays into this, as retailers are bringing the shipping process into the online experience. Retailers need to know which service a customer wants (same day, overnight, weekend, etc.) and give transparency into the costs for that particular fulfillment option. Retailers are also giving visibility to track and trace in real-time so consumers know when they will receive their order.

Returns Management

The other retail trend is making the returns process easier. Retailers need a clear returns strategy and one that makes the process clear and easy for consumers to follow. The last thing a consumer wants is a difficult or complicated returns process, because they might not come back. Are returns free or do they charge? Are charges known at time of purchase? How easy is the returns process? Is the return label provided or requested? If requested, is it easy or difficult to obtain? These are the questions that retailers need to think about ahead of time.

About Logistyx Technologies

Founded in May 2017, Logistyx is a transportation execution solution provider focusing on multi-carrier shipping on a global level. The company saw an opportunity in the market to address the growing demand to support the exponential growth in parcel shipping to support e-commerce growth worldwide. To kick start the company, Logistyx acquired 3 businesses: Agile Network, ADSI, and Pantechnik. Agile Network was a federation of businesses that specialized in sales and implementation of enterprise shipping technology in North America. ADSI was a shipping software company focused on the SMB market in North America. And Pantechnik International was a UK based shipping software company focused on international markets to support a carrier network outside of North America. A year later, it acquired Transparix, a Dutch based shipping software platform that added more International clients and product functionality around Control Tower and Business Intelligence.

Modern Business Intelligence for E-commerce Shipping

Business Intelligence | By Mike Eisner • 03/26/2019

Companies with strong e-commerce strategies are reaping the rewards of rapid growth. Globally, we are nearing one in four human online purchasers, and Amazon commands 14% of these global online sales. Within the US, they dominate with +50% market share of online sales. The ‘Zon’s’ ability to predict and deliver on clients’ expectations for same day, workplace, Sunday, pick-up and locker delivery options (beyond traditional carrier options) while also reducing transportation costs has been a force of industry change. The “Amazon effect” has heightened delivery service expectations of consumers around the world, and carriers have taken notice – now offering myriad same-day delivery options as well.

Meanwhile, Shopify made history in 2018 by surpassing $1 billion in revenues, with more than 800,000 global businesses using its platform – further testament to the e-commerce boom. And adding yet another dimension, static and mobile 3D Print and Ship (or deliver) operations of e-commerce products is projected to grow as well.

The writing is on the wall: to survive and compete, organizations need to properly execute their e-commerce shipping strategy.

To succeed, the use of Business Intelligence is critical. While larger organizations are already disciplined with data strategies and use of business intelligence, small organizations may be so focused on buzz words like ‘big data’ that they have overlooked the importance of ‘right data.’ Management may not fully realize the value of business intelligence, or they may feel overwhelmed when they understand they lack key informational insights or have data trapped in silos. Regardless of organization size or maturity, however, the importance of business intelligence cannot be ignored.

Key Benefits of Business Intelligence in Ecommerce Shipping

Identifying carrier delivery performance improvements and cost saving opportunities provide the incentive for businesses to gather, store and interpret data to assist with decision making and gain competitive advantage. In traditional financial audit processes, this can track back to identifying and adjusting improperly invoiced items relating to contractual rates, accessories, guaranteed service rebates, claims management, address correction validations or even manifested but not shipped transactions.

Optimization analysis can identify even more significant cost savings. Using Business Intelligence to model and compare selected carrier services against actual carrier performance to find routing alternatives with lower cost implications and/or faster delivery times is a starting point. When these results are uncovered, they may require a corresponding behavioral change within the retailer organization. A simple example is use of a premium overnight expedited service level for a carrier, when the lower cost ground option offers the same delivery time to the end customer at a much lower cost. Use of business intelligence can increase confidence levels when making this decision. Carton consolidation opportunities within the warehouse and fulfillment workflow may also arise from an optimization analysis.

More advanced optimization strategies could emerge if analysis includes static or fluid zone ship opportunities affected by seasonal spikes or more effective ways to position facilities and inventory around the globe. These analyses are more complex. However, the overriding principles of near immediate delivery options to satisfy consumers’ need for instant gratification at as low a delivery price as possible are maintained.

In total: the results of each – let alone all – of these analyses can be profound and significant from a cost savings perspective.

Prepare for 3D Print and Ship market growth. Manufacturers and retailers who focus on business intelligence now will be prepared for new, and growing, distribution models tomorrow such as 3D Print and Ship, one of the trends discussed in our eBook, Omnichannel Merchants Shift Closer to the Consumer. Take, for example, a dishwasher manufacturer. Over time, small components within the dishwasher may fail. If the company expects the widget will fail 5% of the time, business intelligence can provide insight into inventory holding costs for this product, or as an alternative, utilize a 3D printer to print and ship to a customer on demand from strategic locations closer to the end customer.

Silos of Shipping Data

Often, smaller organizations operate with data in silos, or worse, ignore data access and leave data outside of their control in the external environment. Traditional data sources relating to shipping business intelligence traditionally begin with manifested shipping data. From here, visibility or event management feeds are available to manage the transaction within carrier networks. Control Towers manage these feeds and should generate ticket events to address problems proactively as they are identified from these carrier status feeds. On average, in North America, there are nine different status messages per small parcel transaction. Finally, the financial data from carrier invoicing is required to effectively close the loop on what has occurred with the transaction from the point of label generation through the carrier network to delivery. Exceptions are segregated and handled quickly to ideally maintain preferred carrier status. Carrier invoice adjustment responses further generate financial data through payment cycle acknowledgements, enabling reliable accrual modelling. Some more progressive companies will align line item details down to the SKU-level within this analysis to attain more detailed business intelligence validating budgeted product costing models and trend analysis results.

Use of this information is also vital for planning/procurement. When organizations understand where their customers are located, along with order characteristics, frequencies and trends, they can properly manage the carrier RFP process. Evaluating carrier proposals against predicted future transactions or historical data sampling reveals the cost impacts of working with various carriers. Focus can then be applied within these contract negotiations to identify relevant areas of negotiation specific to their environments. The days of carriers telling shippers what they have done and how they have performed should be long gone with proper business intelligence to facilitate carrier scorecards. Retailers leveraging manifest, visibility and financial data with business intelligence can now truly address business transportation problems openly with carriers to mutual benefit.

Data Connections Produce Valuable Insights

When businesses connect the data from shipping execution, visibility and finance, and then apply business intelligence, complex decisions and tasks get simpler. Opportunities to significantly shift, reduce and manage global transportation costs and monitor KPIs – without sacrificing service – are just a few of the most basic, immediate and impactful ways interconnectedness pays off for shippers.

And the customer service benefits of business intelligence can pay off in spades. As global consumers’ sophistication and expectations evolve, so too must the information that supports the decisions to facilitate the delivery of their orders. The players that leverage business intelligence to achieve on-time delivery in full can win the e-commerce consumer loyalty game and the repeat purchase revenue that comes with it.

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Based in Toronto, Mike Eisner is vice president, business intelligence at Logistyx Technologies, the leader in Transportation Management for parcels, where he oversees a team responsible for helping global businesses create value and leverage strategic information with BI within their supply chain operations

How to Know if a Parcel Solution Will Scale with Your Business

Guest Commentary | By Steve Williamson • 09/05/2017

With opportunities to expand volume, channels, geography, services – or all of the above – many shippers find themselves considering a parcel management solution to support growth. While it’s natural to focus on solving the specific pain points of today, this “tunnel vision” approach can lead to short-sighted decisions. Imagine the light at the end of the tunnel revealing a treacherous bridge to cross, versus a wide-open highway with no speed limits. Which would you choose?

Focusing on a bigger, more holistic picture while addressing the short-term needs can help companies avoid the risk of selecting a vendor that cannot expand with the business in the future. This approach can spare the hassle and expense of going back to the drawing board in a few years. Even better, making the right selection can deliver greater long-term value, and competitive advantage to scale the business more efficiently.

Parcel solutions vary greatly in their depth and breadth, so it’s important to understand all the ways your company can benefit from the technology. Here are four benefits of a parcel solution that are commonly overlooked.

1. Efficient returns processing

Take the retail environment for example, where it’s not uncommon for a certain percentage of shipments to be returned—for whatever reason. By investing in a robust parcel system that can manage both outbound and inbound shipments, companies can effectively streamline the returns process.

With a system that can handle multiple returns carriers and services, companies can leverage the service that’s right for their individual businesses. Parcel systems should be able to integrate into a customer’s portal system or provide a graphical user interface where a customer service rep could log in and produce a returns label. This is a point to bring up early in the software selection process, and one that shouldn’t be overlooked.

2. Supplier account control

When you pass your carrier account number over to a supplier, it’s all about control and who has it. Many shippers provide their carrier account numbers to suppliers to ship their orders on, but this gives the supplier an “open checkbook” to ship parcels on that particular account.

Using an enterprise parcel system gives shippers the ability to directly support supplier shipping and take back this control. This can be as simple as deciding on the right carrier and service to use, or it can go as far as providing a label that is sent to the supplier. An enterprise parcel system gives you a variety of control options when working with suppliers who are essentially shipping on your dime.

3. Order entry rating/e-commerce rating support

Used by shippers that want to allow their customers to have a say in which shipping method is used (by providing carrier, service, and rate information), order entry and e-commerce ratings play an important role in today’s omni-channel shipping environment.

With e-commerce as a key sales driver for both business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) companies, there’s a strong drive to get more accurate shipping rates in real-time. A shipper that has to calculate a shipping cost on the spot for a customer who is placing an online order, for example, can’t afford to either inflate or lowball the displayed rates. Using an enterprise parcel system, companies can leverage their solution’s advanced tools and provide accurate, real-time cost and delivery windows. And even if your organization isn’t currently using order entry ratings/e-commerce ratings, it may want to in the future.

4. Detailed tracking capabilities

While enterprise parcel systems aren’t a replacement for auditing tools, these solutions do provide detailed data to help shippers determine exactly what was delivered and when. This tracking capability lets you get out in front of a potential customer service issue before it occurs, or respond quickly if one does develop. There is nothing like being able to reach out to a customer and let them know that you’ve nipped a potential problem in the bud before they were even aware of it.

Ultimately, you want to be able to leverage all tracking information into a single system and do things a little better than your competitors – a strategy that can quickly turn into a competitive advantage in today’s marketplace.

Look beyond the tunnel

When evaluating and making determinations about the best vendor or solution fit, it’s wise not to overlook factors that could provide more value beyond simply solving immediate or short-term challenges. Pause and take a step back to assess where your company – and that vendor and its solution – will be in three to five years. Is that partner poised to support the future of your business in the global economy? Look to the solution that delivers maximum value in the long run.

Steve Williamson is Director, Solution Consulting, at BluJay Solutions. With over 20 years in supply chain, Steve is a recognized industry expert in parcel shipping and its complexities in both North American and Europe. He has investigated and designed many workflows and solutions for high-volume, complex customers.

How to Meet Customer Expectation of Same Day Shipping

Omni-channel logistics | By Larry Lewis • 10/25/2016

The consumerization of the supply chain has changed customer expectations. Customers want to receive the package as quickly as possible—maybe even the same day the order was placed. While same day shipping is great for maintaining positive customer experience, it does place quite a strain on resources for the shipper and the supply chain manager.

Is same day shipping even a possibility in your supply chain? Do you have the right technology to accomplish this feat? Here are three tips to help increase your odds of meeting this demand.

1. Embrace drop ship technologies
The reason same day shipping can place such a strain on all of the resources and parties involved is that the product must be in stock and available. Further, there must be a transportation method available to deliver it. Drop shipping is extremely beneficial for same day shipping because it removes warehouse storage and replaces it with a product that comes directly from the supplier.

As soon as the order is placed, the product will be shipped directly from the supplier to the customer. This means instead of the buyer having to check to make sure it is in stock from the supplier, the supplier is immediately alerted and begins the shipping process. The use of drop shipping automates the order-to-delivery process across the entire supplier network, and also offers real-time detail ordering abilities to allow orders to process faster, reducing cycle lead times – absolutely essential for same day shipping.

It means that out-of-season attire and products do not have to be stored in the warehouse, which can be costly, as the shipper is connected with the supplier and has access to goods on demand. The software that allows for drop shipping means that information is available fast for real-time visibility into order details and the status of key steps in the fulfillment process are clearly outlined. If there are any red flags with the order, the drop ship platform can flag them immediately, before they impact the shipping time to the customer.

2. Establish a wide carrier network
A big challenge to same day shipping is having the transportation available at the ready to get the good from the supplier to the customer. This can be accomplished by having a robust carrier network. Having options for transportation is especially helpful in the rapidly changing world of omni-channel retail, as users need to be nimble and agile to keep pace with customer expectations.

The carrier network helps to alleviate operational pressures that can be a result of the expectations of the sender combined with the reality of the increased cost of same day shipping. The use of the carrier network helps to buffer these costs, given the choice of carrier to the sender.

Costs that are able to be lowered include the network’s ability to ensure carrier compliance, including electronic manifesting for domestic and international origin carriers. Bigger retailers are beginning to embrace these methods, seeing it as an opportunity for more vendors to partner with them and a chance to capture affordable costs.

3. Enable end-to-end visibility
Another key to same day shipping is having the technology in place to enable end-to-end visibility throughout the entirety of the supply chain. This means having a single platform for all supply chain managers to connect to for real time status updates on shipments and transportation. Having complete insight into every aspect of the transportation process means that if needed, shipping can be course-corrected on the spot.

These platforms can be accessed from the desktop or mobile devices, reaching all parties where they are. For example, the supplier of the winter coat can communicate over the platform with both the shipper and the customer in case there are any changes in delivery time or problems with the product. Staying connected ensures a better overall experience.

The need for same day shipping is only going to continue as customers get more and more dependent on having items arrive instantly. Whether you are on the side of the shipper or the transporter, embracing these tools will ensure your team is always ready to handle same day shipping requests as they arrive, maintaining excellent customer experience at the lowest cost possible.

Larry Lewis has 15 years of experience in the software and high-tech industry. He is currently a senior solutions consultant for Kewill. Prior to Kewill, he was co-founder, CTO, and COO of PointandShip Software where he led the design and development teams for their shipping expense management software. He can be reached at larry.lewis@kewill.com.

Evolving the Supply Chain for Anywhere-to-Everywhere Shipping

Guest Commentary | By Mike Graves • 08/04/2016

The supply chain as we used to know it is changing – and these changes are impacting not only retailers, but a variety of businesses and industries. An increasing number of businesses that never had to worry much about shipping are finding themselves competing with experienced and emerging retailers. Just look at how major pharmacies and healthcare providers are rolling out ship-to-home medical supply services.

Traditionally, manufacturers only had to worry about shipping products to a distributor, who’d pass it on to the retailer for final delivery. However, the shrinking delivery cycle means many manufacturers and distributors are pressured to ship direct to consumers, which requires new routes-to-market and improvements to their fulfillment processes. All of this supply chain evolution ultimately means that shipping today is an Anywhere-to-Everywhere experience. Just about any company can be a domestic or international shipper, and they could be required to find a fast and convenient way to deliver goods to any global destination. But, do businesses have the infrastructure and shipping know-how to set up modern supply chains, navigate logistics and manage the complexities of international customs and pricing?

Companies are looking to suppliers to help them leap-frog domestic and international shipping expertise, and suppliers are responding with cloud-based shipping technologies – like multi-carrier shipping platforms that provide today’s businesses with what they need to meet the delivery needs of modern consumers. Learn more…

Mike Graves is a senior executive with over 25 years management experience. Currently with Pitney Bowes he has helped numerous organizations improve their supply chain management.

Six Key Questions to Ask a TMS Provider About Its Parcel Solution

Guest Commentary | By Steve Williamson • 03/03/2016

As logistics solution providers look to expand their footprint to grow market share, they often migrate into areas beyond their core expertise. In recent years this has meant companies specializing in transportation management systems [TMS] attempting to add parcel shipping capabilities of one sort or another into the mix.

Sometimes it works, but often it doesn’t.

Supporting parcel is not easy. It’s actually downright complex thanks to the highly specialized compliance rules each carrier has. As a result, some TMS providers try to dip a toe into the parcel pond by “supporting parcel” – emphasis on the finger quotes there – without really supporting parcel. Rather, they handle the basic services like ground and 2-day air while also supporting a limited number of add-on services like insurance or cash on delivery. This parcel module might even rely on the carriers’ bare-bones web services behind the scenes, which adds another layer of concern. But here’s the kicker: this might be fine for some businesses. If you have a single carrier, only ship with the mainstream services and don’t really care about tenths of seconds with faster application response time, then this type of set-up could work just fine.

For many shippers who are in the parcel market or looking to expand their capabilities, however, this isn’t enough. At minimum, most shippers today are looking to use multiple carriers and last mile services, with the ability to easily add regional carriers and ship internationally. The goal for all shippers should be to have a versatile supply chain strategy that provides various transportation options and sets virtually no limits.

The biggest and most overlooked challenge for TMS providers trying to support parcel shipping is compliance. Each carrier has its own rulebook that it requires shippers to abide by, and these rulebooks change constantly – at least once a year, but sometimes more. So it’s not just a matter of getting compliant, it’s a matter of staying compliant. Even TMS providers that rely on parcel web services think it’s a one-and-done effort, but those web services also need to be kept up to date.

This is vastly different than the freight shipping world TMS providers are accustomed to. Yes, there are rules to follow, but they’re generally pretty consistent among carriers – and much more static. The result is that TMS providers – who often go years without having to make upgrades to their software – often struggle with the heavy compliance load they encounter when getting into parcel.

Without question, staying compliant is the most difficult part of supporting parcel carriers, and the certification process for each carrier can be quite involved and time consuming. Keep in mind that this is for every parcel carrier every year, times the number of parcel carriers that are supported. It’s easy to grasp the commitment it takes to support parcel.

So compliance is a big factor in the parcel world, but the rate of general change also has a large impact.

Take for instance last mile services. Often this means a tag team effort from two carriers, creating double the fun for compliance. There is also the introduction of added services like alternative delivery addresses where the consumer can pick up the package at an alternative location. Parcel carriers are consistently trying to keep ahead of each other and the marketplace, which makes the business of supporting them that much more difficult.

So if you’re looking at a TMS vendor and they say “we support parcel,” you should ask the following questions to ensure you really understand their solution:

How did the TMS provider start supporting parcel compliance? Did they purchase a best-of-breed parcel system? Did they create it themselves? Are they partnering with another vendor?
If the carrier requires a compliance change for labels or uploads, what is the process to get these? Will you have to update your entire TMS?
If the carrier requires new data fields to accommodate a new service or add-on, how will the TMS capture this new value? Are simple add-on fields available in the TMS workflow? How flexible is the TMS to this type of change?
How many people does the vendor have dedicated to maintaining carrier compliance? What about development and quality assurance? If they don’t have 10+, then this can be a red flag that parcel isn’t considered a core part of their solution.
What is the process to on-board a new carrier that the vendor doesn’t currently support? Can you do this yourself or does the vendor need to get involved? How long does it take – days, weeks, or maybe even months?
How deep and broad are the carriers they support? It’s important to make sure you’re covered not only for what you need today, but also for the future and what it might hold – things like international shipping, hazardous materials, last mile, high performance, etc.

As you can see, there are a lot of things to think about when it comes to TMS and parcel. But asking the hard, deep questions now will save you many headaches down the road and set you up with a solution that meets your needs today and tomorrow.

Steve Williamson has spent 19 years at Kewill working with enterprise shippers, manufacturers and logistics service providers. He has hands-on experience with everything from complex, multi-carrier parcel solutions to full truckload shipping operations. His extensive experience working directly with customers has given Steve an intuitive feel for what makes an effective real-world supply chain – and how to troubleshoot one that is lacking.

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