What are eCommerce Logistics Costs? 10 Types of Main Logistics Costs in 2025

E-Commerce Logistics is the operations involved in storing and shipping inventory for an online marketplace, including inventory management and the collecting, packing, and shipping of online orders. With countless bundles shipped across different countries on any given day, systems must be in place to keep them on track and ensure that they are safely delivered to the right place, within the estimated time. Efficient management of eCommerce logistics comes along with the costs associated with it. Read along to understand various types of logistics costs & various ways in which eCommerce logistics companies can reduce costs for eCommerce & online D2C businesses. What is eCommerce Logistics? eCommerce logistics begins with moving inventory from the place of the manufacturer and keeps going until it reaches the customer’s accurate location. eCommerce fulfillment is one of the riskiest methods of eCommerce logistics, and various components involved in eCommerce logistics are listed below: Inventory management Warehousing and storage Order fulfillment All components are very complex compared to one another so handling these processes smoothly is no easy task. Businesses should guarantee their stock levels as sufficient in a distribution center, close to that customer’s location. If they outsource fulfillment, their 3PL must be good and satisfy the fulfillment of orders in a fast manner, even during holidays or any peak season periods. If any mistakes take place in conveying the confirmation to the customer or implementing the process within your retail supply chain, it reflects negatively on the business. [contactus_uth] What is the Importance of Understanding Logistics Cost? Logistics cost is the expenses that are incurred through the logistical aspect of a company. That refers to things such as the number of packages, transportation, and storage facilities. However, planning and decision-making frequently result in excessive costs. Therefore, examining industry operations and making processes more efficient are significant policies to reduce a company’s costs. Paying attention to the control of logistics costs helps the business keep these costs as low as possible. What are the 10 Main Types of eCommerce Logistics Costs in 2025? The logistics area encompasses all the processes that occur within the supply chain. During these processes, the flow of materials involves many storages and movement techniques, planning, resources, strategies, and workers in an organization. However, the logistical cost may vary from one company to another, as there are many variables involved. There are also fixed costs in every company. Some logistics costs are listed below: Storage and inventory Logistics and inventory costs depend on the number of goods that the company works with and the duration of storage of inventory in the warehouse. Thus, we can conclude that the longer goods spend in the fulfillment warehouse, the larger the logistics expenses are. (Read how you can reduce inventory-carrying costs.) It is also essential to note that inventory expenses are separated into product cost, product shortage cost, and maintenance cost. Product cost is related to the investments that are made in every commodity that is picked up by the suppliers. Product shortage cost has to do with the absence of items and the influence that this can cause. Maintenance costs are connected to taxes, labour, physical space rental, inventory, etc. This contributes to the effective working of the entire organisation. Packaging A principal factor for receiving a good review from customers who purchase your goods is the packaging process and it should be done adequately. Thus, it is viable to insert some safety precautions to avoid damage and destruction of goods and hence expect good customer feedback. With this issue, it's additionally possible to avoid wasting and optimize the use of space. This is a result of correct packaging and is crucial to generating savings in prices and storage space. Transportation and freight Transportation costs in eCommerce logistics costs is one of the main expenditures of companies that specialize in distribution facilities. This is often a result of this sector involving the acquisition of vehicles, fuel, maintenance, depreciation, and idleness, among others. With challenges such as theft of goods, accidents, and the long distances that goods have to travel, the risk of working in this field increases. As a result, it is critical to invest in this sector. Technology Nowadays, competitiveness is increasing in the eCommerce space. Most companies are facing some challenges in delivering goods at a fast pace. People also expect their order within one or two days. The good news is that technology is able to automate many of the processes involved in eCommerce. The use of digital platforms, for example, is important for the logistics sector to work with high turnout. Another important factor is that it helps to reduce errors and inconsistencies. Finally, it gives agility and effectively reduces logistics costs. Financial designing As mentioned previously, knowing about logistics valuation is a necessary step in knowing what steps to require. With well-established expenses, successive steps are required to form an action plan within every logistics sector and improve the techniques. Structuring processes If there is no structure in the logistics process, every employee will do their work in their own way. But this will cause failures and a waste of time. So with this in mind, process mapping will be the best solution. Understanding the flow of business activities permits managers to strategize and confirm the order of the process to be followed. This has to be reviewed regularly. It is possible to create a higher level of monitoring of each sector and its productivity. Task automation The work involved in processing the task manually frequently drives the cost up since it takes more time and errors take place at higher rates. So automating important processes will benefit the company. Programmed machines and software are gaining importance because work is done in as short a time as possible and more efficiently. Fuel Surcharges Fuel Surcharges are the fees that add to the logistics cost due to the operation of vehicles. These fees are added by the trucking companies and consumers end up paying the fluctuating fuel costs. Fuel surcharges are calculated based on your freight volumes so facing unexpected heavy fuel surcharges is a common occurrence. Handling Fees Handling fees are also a fee that takes place in eCommerce logistics. This sudden charge is given to the customer at different rates based on the retailer’s logistics partner. These fees include the costs of preparing and moving the products at the time of transportation. This does not include the shipping rate. Restocking Fees A customer may not be satisfied with their ordered products. They decide to return an item to the warehouse. Then the item can be restocked in the inventory for resale purposes. Any eCommerce business that depends on a logistics partner for inventory and storage needs to bear the prices of this activity. Some e-commerce businesses combat this by giving customers a partial refund for returning things while withholding a standard amount to hide the restocking fee. Suggested Article: Managing eCommerce Returns How to Manage and Reduce eCommerce Logistics Costs in 2025? Logistics plays a very important role in company management. Through management and execution planning, you can optimize processes, cut back on its prices and increase your profit. Given below are a few tips on how you can reduce eCommerce logistics costs. Use Different Methods of Transportation You can reduce the cost by being more adaptable to the modes of transportation your business uses. Shipping goods by air is usually costlier compared to shipping goods by road. However, the time it takes to ship by road may cost you sales. So stay informed on the price of the amount of all modes of transportation and you can change your preferences if you need to. There is also intermodal transportation if you are dependent on single modes. So rail transport is very low in cost compared to the cost of transportation on by trucks. Embrace Automation in Your Logistics Process Another process to reduce the eCommerce logistics cost is by including automation in your logistics process. If your business can track shipments from start to end, they can know if there are any problems faced in transportation logistics. This will show you live information on unexpected delays as well as allow processes to get faster and more cost-effective. Improve Supply Chain Visibility Checking and maintaining the control and clarity of your supply chain may nullify any sudden increase in logistics costs. Tracing and maintaining control over your components and products can quickly decrease shipment delays or service disruptions. Other routes of supply can be implemented faster, and this helps us to control the cost. You can find disruptions in your company’s logistics process if you use real-time dashboards and it can give you good insights into mitigating possible issues later. One of the best ways to reduce eCommerce logistics costs is by working as a group with one of your suppliers to reduce the costs. In other cases, logistics suppliers will cover direct logistics costs. Look for Opportunities to Consolidate Shipments and Space If you are waiting for a chance to consolidate your shipments, you may need to know about less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments. This is a good option for shipments of lower weight. If you can consolidate shipments for a variety of customers or products into a single shipment, you have a chance to save money by using full-truckload shipping. You have to identify any wasted space and try to mitigate it. Your business can improve storage density by increasing the vertical space with bins. This can minimize the faults that shipping containers sustain by decreasing movement at the time of transportation. Outsource to a 3PL Provider By outsourcing to a third-party logistics (3PL) provider, you can remove the need for investing in transportation, technology, space, and staff members to initiate the logistics process. Many companies offer logistic solutions for optimizing the logistic process and decreasing costs. A company such as WareIQ can work with you one-on-one from beginning to end, providing your business with custom, targeted delivery solutions. From on-demand and same-day with routed delivery choices, our team can work with you to resolve problems and realize the solutions that exceed your expectations. With our transparent pricing, you will know how much your logistics, warehousing, or delivery services will cost. How can Outsourcing Logistics Requirements to a 3PL eCommerce Logistics & Fulfillment Company Reduce Logistics Costs? 3PLs are simply logistical fulfillment companies that are involved in the process of inventory storage, packaging, and shipping. Of course, 3PLs charge varying prices for each service, but it's usually overall less expensive to leverage their scale and resources rather than attempt to do it yourself. Affordable warehousing costs Warehouses are getting costlier, and are also demanded more. If you partner with a 3PL, you can save your inventory in components of their fulfillment centers together with other eCommerce businesses. In this way, the warehousing costs are shared across the various businesses. Bulk carrier discounts With thousands of shoppers, 3PLs can arrange bulk discounts from shipping carriers like UPS, USPS, FedEx, and DHL to supply higher rates for expedited shipping, 2-day shipping, international shipping, and more. Of course, the more packages you ship, the higher rates you can get to further decrease logistics costs. Technology and forecasting Most 3PLs have best-in-class technology and tools. These tools include inventory forecasting, so you know when to replenish the products that are in demand. Expect to continually search for ways in which to cut back logistics costs while still operating your business in a good manner. One of the best ways to keep eCommerce logistics costs in check is to manage orders and deliveries effectively. Avoid outrageous delivery prices by keeping an in-depth eye on supply and demand (a method known as forecasting) to confirm that your order arrives before it's urgently required and to avoid overwhelming the warehouse with too many deliveries right away. Conclusion: Why Do You Need to Keep Track of Logistics Costs in 2025? Businesses should continually search for ways in which to cut back logistics costs while still performing operations in the best possible way. One of the best ways to keep logistics costs in check is to manage orders and deliveries effectively. Avoiding outrageous delivery prices can also be done by keeping an in-depth eye on supply and demand (a method known as forecasting) to confirm your order arrives before it's urgently required and to avoid overwhelming the warehouse with too many deliveries right away. One way to do this is to partner with a technologically advanced company like WareIQ, which supplies businesses with tools to forecast and plan their distribution and fulfillment strategy in the most efficient ways possible. WareIQ is a Y-combinator backed startup, that is the leading provider of full-stack eCommerce fulfillment services for 300+ reputed brands in India. WareIQ offers a full-stack platform for eCommerce companies to enable same-day delivery and next-day delivery to customers – an Amazon Prime-like experience but accessible to everyone. WareIQ has customised offerings for merchants experiencing different order volumes as well as having different delivery speed expectations. WareIQ is probably one of the very few fulfillment tech companies in the world that have same-day delivery service for their customers under their product “WareIQ RUSH”. With world-class WMS functionalities, WareIQ handles the entire range of intricate operations in the eCommerce fulfillment process, ranging from Inbound Operations such as scanning and quality check, through 100% accurate Pick and Pack, to Inventory Management across all channels. WareIQ’s next day delivery and same-day delivery services are helping eCommerce businesses set new standards with respect to setting customer expectations and fulfilling them with high efficacy. At the same time, WareIQ customers realise significant cost savings and wider reach due to better negotiations with shipping partners, strategically placed warehouses, economies of scale and scope in warehousing, and data-driven decision-making. WareIQ’s WMS, a centralised tech platform helps to better manage undelivered orders by reducing NDR processing time by 12 hours – a multifunctional NDR dashboard helps to track and take immediate action for undelivered orders in real-time, thereby reducing RTO by up to 10%. Automatic replenishment recommendations and easy purchase order creation capabilities on the WareIQ platform further empower eCommerce companies to leverage all possible ways of increasing their ROI. [signup] Logistics Cost FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

April 23, 2022

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What is Fulfillment Status? A Comprehensive Guide in 2025

Each process has a result that matters the most. While an end-user may only think about the final outcome, the result can vary if all the steps in a process are not executed well. Fulfillment status is the fulfillment of a promise made to the end consumer that matters. Similarly, every order that a customer confirms has a lifecycle: order placement processing fulfillment When the number of orders per day increases from a few hundred to thousands and then lakhs, it tends to become cumbersome for the business to manage all these orders by themselves. The completion of the fulfillment lifecycle determines the success of every order. When a customer places an order on a website, both the customer and the service provider keep an eye on the status of the consignment to know if it has been fulfilled yet. But what does order fulfillment status mean? Let's take a look. What is Fulfillment Status? Order fulfillment status refers to an order's completion level in relation to the processes of the order lifecycle with the final goal being delivery to the end customer. The fulfillment status of a shipment highlights the stage of the order after the payment gets processed until delivery to the end customer. It depends on the activities of the service provider. It reveals whether the order gets processed correctly and when it can be shipped to the customer. What are the different stages of Fulfillment Status? An order's Fulfillment Status is categorized into six stages as per its readiness to be shipped: Fulfilled: Delivering a complete shipment deserves the status of a fulfilled order. This status does not wait for or depend on the customer accepting or returning the final product. Unfulfilled: A freshly placed order is described as unfulfilled until it is delivered to the customer, or the order query has been closed due to another reason like a return, refund, or decline by the seller. The order stays unfulfilled until the ordered inventory has been picked. Partially Fulfilled: When only some parts of a shipment get transported, it ranks as a partially fulfilled shipment. For example, this can happen when the customer orders multiple items in one shipment and not all are readily available at the time of processing. For the items pending delivery, either a refund gets processed, or they are queued for delivery later. In each case, the customer receives a notification via their preferred mode of communication; text, call or email. Queued Shipment: This is the penultimate stage before the order reaches the customer. This is the stage after the inventory has been picked, processed, and packaged, and the final product is ready for delivery. Then, it just needs a pick up by the delivery personnel and transportation. The customer gets a notification via written communication and a tracking number is assigned the moment the order leaves the service provider's premises. On Hold: The shipment status goes on hold when the customer has added goods to the cart but has not confirmed the order or made the payment yet. The service provider can locate the inventory but cannot begin processing until they receive a confirmed order from the customer. The status changes to unfulfilled when the order is confirmed, which the service provider can then undertake. Scheduled: This status primarily applies to prepaid shipments before their fulfillment date is reached. Their fulfillment date as per the subscription then changes to unfulfilled. The service provider can then begin the process of completing the order. [contactus_lilgoodness] What is the Difference Between Order Status and Fulfillment Status? [table id=12 /] Depending on the stage the customer is at, the status of an order can range from Open, Archived to Cancelled. Open Order: When the customer is surfing and has not placed the order yet, the status stays open until order confirmation or payment. Archived Order: An order goes into the archive when it gets canceled, needs a refund, or faces any other issue. Orders can be manually or automatically archived for viewing after being attended to. Both the customer and the service provider can archive it. It does not mean it gets deleted; instead stored in records away from the sight of the order page. Cancelled Order: As the name suggests, the order status appears as 'Cancelled' when the customer withdraws it. Yet, an order is not fulfilled if a refund is pending for the customer. 6 Step Processes Involved in Order Fulfillment Status in 2025 Source Receipt of Inventory Fulfillment status begins with locating the inventory in the warehouse or a storage unit and retrieving it for assembly as per the customer's order details. Before processing the final product, the service provider needs to ensure that each piece of the inventory is of desired quality and is not damaged. Then SKU labels and barcodes are put on each piece before reading them for pick up. Order Picking The inventory identified needs to be picked from the warehouse or any off-site location. It helps if the inventory is organised as per their urgency. For instance, the items in frequent demand can be placed upfront, followed by less-required products. The company's staff or a 3PL fulfillment company can pick up the shipment. At times, the dropshipping method is also used. This is where the manufacturer directly processes and ships the finished product to the customer. As a result, the service provider does not need to host the inventory or finished product; instead, it is sent directly from the seller to the buyer. In case of an unfulfilled order, the inventory can be picked through single-order, batch, cluster or zone picking. in Batch Order Picking, workers pick up inventory individually according to a batch or group of multiple orders. In Single-Order Picking, they pick up the stock as per the individual order received. In Zone Picking, they retrieve the inventory as per the geographical zone or area. And in Cluster Picking, the pickers gather the inventory from various SKUs and multiple orders rather than concentrating on just one. In another mode called Pick and Pass, the warehouse is categorised into different areas as per the inventory stored. Pickers get positioned in every designated area and then manually pick the required inventory and pass it over. Processing The next stage is making the finished goods ready for the customer. It requires excellent integration between the service provider and customer interfaces for a seamless flow of information from the order to the fulfillment stage. This system needs to prompt the warehouse staff about the inventory required when a customer places an order. Processing includes identifying the inventory required for putting together the final product and locating them in a warehouse or storage unit. Packaging The order must be packed well to prevent damage during transit before being sent for weighing and labeling. Efficiency and transparency are essential in this stage. That is why many companies offer customisations such as automated fulfillment services as per the needs of the service provider and their customers. Because of these features, orders will be packaged with efficiency regardless of the volume. The packers must observe and try to get the lowest possible dimensional surface area while packing a shipment to be able to place more orders inside the truck. This helps in reducing transportation costs and saves time. Shipping and Delivery This is the last stage where the product is in the hands of the service provider. The package gets weighed, labelled, documented, and is ready to get shipped to the customer. The service provider needs to select the fastest and most secure way to deliver the order. The nitty-gritty of the eCommerce shipping method depends on the type of product getting transported. For instance, a perishable product must be despatched with a coolant. In contrast, a fragile product will need proper bubble wrapping. An order is said to be fulfilled when the end customer receives it along with a written confirmation via a preferred mode like email or text. After the delivery, the service provider must seek the customer's written feedback about the whole experience, from browsing to ordering, receiving and using the product. Statistics say that 73.6% of customers believe that delivery is the key to a seamless shopping experience. Returns Suppose a customer doesn't like the product and intends to return it. In that case, the order remains incomplete until returned to the service provider. As mentioned above, including return labels in the shipment saves time for both the user and the service provider and gets brownie points for the latter. Once returned, the item needs a thorough check for damage before returning to the inventory and processing the refund. The service providers still need to stay in touch with the customer for feedback and to encourage future purchases. What are the Benefits of Fulfillment Status? Given below are some of the benefits of order fulfillment Status that service providers cannot ignore: Being a source of Information Information, especially through eCommerce logistics companies, drives all decisions, and fulfillment status provides it in abundance. Customers invest their time and money in the overall delivery experience. 75% of them expect information on the processing of their order. In comparison, 51% of customers wish to receive real-time visibility into their shipment progress. Fulfillment Status does that on behalf of the service provider. Therefore, keeping the end customers informed of their order progress is critical to being successful and encouraging repeat purchases for service providers. Maintaining Order Accuracy This is crucial for both parties. Order fulfillment Status highlights the details of a shipment for scrutiny. Most customers lose faith in a service provider due to wrong orders being delivered. The top reasons for order returns are damaged goods (22%), different looks as compared to online pictures (22%), and receipt of a wrong item (23%). Whether for checking the availability of raw materials, tools for warehouse allocation, or checking processing timings, fulfillment status assists service providers in managing their inventory. Inventory Management Multi-channel selling has raised the need for comprehensive inventory management, which enhances the service provider's reach in a shorter time period. Its tech platform leverages real-time data to facilitate the service provider to predict the future demand for a product. The first and most significant step in successful order fulfillment is receiving and sorting the inventory as per the order. In other words, Order fulfillment status means supplying the service provider with good visibility of the inventory. Customer Satisfaction Leading to Customer Referrals Besides the 3 points above, companies have another primary reason for investing in fulfillment status; the higher the success rate of their order fulfillment, the better their reputation, which profoundly influences their sales figures. New customers rely on a company's ratings before selecting their service. Existing customers would not reinvest unless they had a good experience earlier. How is Order Fulfillment Status Tracked? One can track an order fulfillment status in two ways: before and after the order is fulfilled. Here's how tracking happens. Each status can be tracked by adding a tracking number to the order and displaying real-time fulfillment or shipping details for the customer's order. Customers receive this tracking number at the time of order confirmation so they can check the fulfillment status whenever they want. Before Fulfillment We have discussed the pre-fulfillment process that involves steps like receiving inventory to shipping or delivery and, approximately 30% of the time, returns. Tracking an order status will yield one of the below results if done before fulfillment: Pending: This indicates that the customer did not complete the order. Awaiting Payment: This indicates that the customer did not proceed to payment after adding items to the cart. Awaiting Fulfillment: Awaiting fulfillment indicates that the customer has confirmed the order from their end, and it is the service provider's turn. To be Shipped: This indicates that the order has been packaged and waiting to be shipped to the customer. To be Picked-up: This tracking status appears when the customer needs to pick up the order from a pick-up outlet. Partially Shipped: This indicates only a portion of the order has been shipped. Shipped: This indicates that the completed order has been sent. Partial Refund Generated: This indicates that the refund requested by the customer has been partially generated. Complaint Received/Disputed Order: This indicates that the customer has filed a complaint or raised an issue in relation to the order or delivery. After Fulfillment After fulfillment, tracking will yield one of the below results: Delivered: This indicates that the complete shipment has been successfully delivered to the customer. Canceled: This indicates that the customer has cancelled the order. Returned: This indicates that the order has been returned as per the customer's request. Refunded: This indicates that the amount paid towards the shipment by the customer has been fully repaid. Declined: This indicates that the seller has rejected the order. Conclusion The success of the supply chain, especially in retail, depends on order completion. While fulfillment strategies have always retained the power to disrupt a supply chain, they have managed to arrive at the heart of customer experience in the past decade. A good platform for integrating the fulfillment center's and user's experience can profoundly affect a company's Order Fulfilment success. Having a robust system in place that makes the task easier at every stage of the fulfillment cycle is critical. Many companies employ excellent ERP software that integrates well with suppliers, vendors, and customer interfaces. Such a system helps accurately predict customer demand and optimise inventory, human resources, and finances. This is where WareIQ can help. WareIQ, a Y-combinator backed startup, has rapidly grown to be the leading provider of full-stack eCommerce fulfillment services for 300+ reputed eCommerce & D2C brands in India. WareIQ allows you to reach a larger audience in a shorter period of time with storage facilities spread across India and closer to your demand centers. Our smart inventory placement ensures that your demand centers are well-stocked and enables efficient & prompt delivery. We help you evolve from a 5-15 day delivery system to the same day and next day Amazon-like delivery system and are already helping 100+ other brands in India to do so. With world-class WMS functionalities, WareIQ handles the entire range of intricate operations in the eCommerce fulfillment process, ranging from Inbound Operations such as scanning and quality check, through 100% accurate Pick and Pack, to Inventory Management across all channels. At the same time, WareIQ customers realise significant cost savings and wider reach due to better negotiations with shipping partners, strategically placed warehouses, economies of scale and scope in warehousing, and data-driven decision-making. WareIQ's fulfillment platform enables eCommerce players to provide a superior post-purchase experience to their customers through an app store that has various apps like branded tracking, post-ship badges, RTO shield, etc. WareIQ’s WMS, a centralised tech platform helps to better manage undelivered orders by reducing NDR processing time by 12 hours – a multifunctional NDR dashboard helps to track and take immediate action for undelivered orders in real-time, thereby reducing RTO by up to 10%. Automatic replenishment recommendations and easy purchase order creation capabilities on the WareIQ platform further empower eCommerce companies to leverage all possible ways of increasing their ROI. [signup] Fulfillment Status FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

April 19, 2022

Detailed Guide on Micro Fulfillment Center: Meaning, Top Benefits & Challenges with Micro Fulfillment Centers and How Can They Enhance Retail Efficiency in 2025

In this day and age, where consumers are used to ordering most of their requirements online, a delay in them receiving that order could have dire consequences for the seller. With so much competition in every sector, businesses are pining for getting their products to their customers at a faster rate than their competitors. To accomplish this goal, businesses and online retailers have had to adopt new strategies to ensure that they don’t fall behind. This is why micro fulfillment centers are important as they can bridge the gap between where the order is being shipped from and the customer's doorstep. Read further to understand all the nuances of micro fulfillment, in more detail. What is Micro Fulfillment? Micro fulfillment is a strategy adopted by companies/eCommerce sellers where the fulfillment cycle is made more efficient by setting up small-scale ecommerce warehouses or storage facilities near densely populated areas, thus reducing the time taken from placing the order to delivering it. In this age of consumerism, where same-day delivery has become a norm in some locations, companies such as Amazon, Flipkart, Big Basket, and other eCommerce/retail companies are finding solutions on how to uphold customer expectations, while at the same time, figuring out how to maximize on their own profit margins. This is where micro fulfillment is the solution. Last-mile delivery incurs the most costs among the different stages of delivery, and is estimated to be between 40-50% of the entire supply chain cost. With the inclusion of micro fulfillment, this cost can be minimised as it reduces the shipping costs from regional/central distribution centers to the local distribution center. [contactus_uth] What is a Micro Fulfillment Center? Micro fulfillment centers are small, fully or semi-automated fulfillment centers situated in close proximity to the end customer and generally covers an area between 3,000 to 10,000 sq. ft. They center can be part of a larger warehouse or can exist as a standalone unit as well. They are also known as dark stores, where the order processing and packing is fully automated with minimal human interaction. A micro fulfillment center usually has limited inventory, lasting for 24-72 hours, and acts as a base for express delivery for products within a certain pin code or geographical location. To state an example, Flipkart may have a large warehouse in Binola, Haryana of 13 lakh sq. ft., but in order to fulfil express delivery for Saket, it can set up a micro fulfillment center in Saket of just 500 sq. ft., and thus cut down on the 1.5 hours of travel time. This will ensure that same-day delivery can be easily met for those end-users in South Delhi and offers an enhanced customer experience for the end-user. How can Micro Fulfillment Centers Boost Retail Efficiency in 2025? With the advent of hyperlocal delivery ecosystems, the aim is to increase efficiency to match the needs and expectations of the end customer. Still, despite automated warehouses and large fulfillment centers, with the latest implementations of picking and sorting technologies, the required efficiency is difficult to achieve. This is where micro fulfillment centers step in. eCommerce companies will find a boost in retail efficiency post the implementation of micro fulfilment centers due to the following reasons: Improved analytics Companies will gain deeper insights into the purchase patterns of customers within a pin code or a smaller geographical location. Thus, the inventory stored will be more precisely suited to the user's needs and will involve faster order pickups as well as cost-saving from unused inventory. Faster fulfillment Even in a semi-automated state, they help reduce the fulfillment cycle duration because the orders have to be picked from a smaller area and can be done with higher accuracy. The order pick up process reduces from 60 minutes in regional distribution centers to just 6 minutes in micro fulfillment centers. Faster delivery With last-mile delivery carving out a significant portion of an eCommerce company’s revenue, they reduce the delivery time and thus aid in cost-saving. Ease of integration They are much smaller in size, aid in the company’s expansion as they can help reach a larger area and are also much easier to integrate into the existing system of the company’s supply chain. 5 Benefits of Micro Fulfillment Centers vs. Traditional Fulfillment Centers As per the real estate firm CBRE, it was seen that for an eCommerce player to earn $1 billion in sales, it requires 1.25 million sq. ft. of storage space. This added to the fact that the majority of players are aiming for a faster fulfillment cycle, shows that micro fulfillment centers provide a solution to the needs of eCommerce players. Micro fulfillment centers prove how useful they are as compared to traditional fulfillment centers in the following ways: Highly responsive to changes in customer demands When the lockdown struck and customers’ demands changed from clothing to groceries, micro fulfillment centers could have adapted to the change in the demands much faster by making space for grocery items and replacing other products. This rapid deployment and shift in resources cannot be matched by a traditional fulfillment center. More customizable products With better insights into the customers’ demands in a certain area, micro fulfillment can stock up on the required inventory that the customers in that area need, and this leads to an optimised, faster and more efficient fulfillment cycle. Improved quality control With a lower order density, it is much easier to ensure that the products being shipped are of the quality demanded and to the correct addresses. Faster delivery time It is common to see commercial vehicles waiting to enter the city limits and ending up in long traffic jams at the city borders. This hassle is saved by micro fulfillment centers being set up close to the end-user, thus reducing the distance and ensuring extremely fast deliveries. Lower operational and set-up costs Micro fulfillment centers take much less time to be set up and the operational costs are lower than traditional fulfillment centers, thus increasing the company’s profits. What are the Best Practices in Micro Fulfillment? Micro fulfillment is a relatively new practice. Thus, eCommerce and other fulfillment companies are striving to ensure that they can fine-tune this to the best of their abilities. The following are some of the best practices that are being followed universally by most, if not all, eCommerce companies: Inventory: Establishing an inventory management system based on the business model, and thus ensuring that the micro fulfillment center is not under or overstocked is essential. Inventory issues can cause a bullwhip effect going back up to the main distribution center as well. Integration with existing systems: Ensuring the software system for handling the micro fulfillment center can be integrated with that of the distribution center’s Warehouse Management Software and/or the Order Management System and e-commerce platforms, to improve visibility and control over operations. Property Selection: Whether it is building a new store or renovating an existing property, the geographical location and ease of approach must be considered. A cheaper location but with an interrupted power supply will, in the long run, prove to be costlier than a location that might be more expensive but with better civic amenities available. 5 Main Challenges with Micro Fulfillment Centers Micro fulfillment is a solution that can revolutionise the eCommerce industry, but for all the promise and excitement, it must be taken with a pinch of salt. Players, new and old, when expanding using the micro fulfillment route, must keep in point the following challenges and be prepared with contingencies for them: Constant inventory replenishment Be it using the Milk-run route or the EOQ model, micro fulfillment centers, due to their smaller size, will require their inventory to be replenished often, and this means a proactive inventory replenishment system must be in place to handle this. Consumer unpredictability A limited storage capacity can sometimes make it difficult to quickly adapt to a certain trend. For example, an influencer posting about a certain product leads to an overnight trend, and this may lead to unfulfilled orders. Risk of stockouts With a limited inventory of certain SKUs, there is a risk of some products/SKUs facing stockouts during unpredictable high demand changes. Not suitable for all products/SKUs They are not suitable for some larger products which cover more area, and given the limited space available, it will be a choice between which SKU to sacrifice. Order consolidation Customers order multiple grocery items simultaneously and expect all the items to be delivered together. But at the micro fulfillment center, if even a single item is out of stock, it can lead to a delay in the delivery or cancellation of the product by the retailer’s end, both leading to depleted customer satisfaction and mistrust of this system. Source Top 8 Micro Fulfillment Companies in India [2025] Micro fulfillment in India is followed using a relatively hybrid marketplace concept. The FMCG sector in India is vastly unorganized, with close to 95% being unorganized. So, rather than only setting up dedicated micro fulfillment centers, many 3PL, eCommerce and fulfillment companies are using the already established infrastructure of these stores as micro fulfillment centers while also setting up their own micro fulfillment centers. While completely automated micro fulfillment centers have not been set up in India yet, many companies dealing in the hyperlocal delivery industry are using this hybrid model of using the existing Kirana stores as micro fulfillment centers. Below are some of the leading micro fulfillment companies: WareIQ Flipkart Dunzo Swiggy Grofers/Blinkit Big Basket Ola Dash Shadowfax WareIQ Source WareIQ is a category defining, best- in class full-stack eCommerce fulfillment tech platform (with inbuilt inventory planning, order management & shipping system) for modern brands to accelerate online sales/ expedite revenue growth & profits with same/next day delivery. We not only help you reduce your logistic costs but also your delivery timelines – this could be the game-changer your business needs! WareIQ offers centralised tech platform for your entire eCommerce operations ML-based prediction engine for efficient warehouse network design & smart inventory placement Centralised platform for core fulfilment & shipping operations Post-shipping apps for a delightful experience & zero to minimum supply chain leakages Today, over 300 brands have taken charge of their ecommerce logistics & fulfilment with WareIQ to unlock tremendous value in terms of revenue and customer satisfaction. WareIQ Rush is their same-day-delivery platform. Using this platform, WareIQ is aiming to help online sellers offer same day delivery in every major metropolis in India, with a plus 99% fulfillment rate. Sign Up Now with WareIQ RUSH to avail our superior fulfilment tech platform & enhance your online business growth. Flipkart Source One of the original players to bring about this hybrid concept of using Kirana stores as a micro fulfillment centers, this eCommerce giant has opened up micro fulfillment centers and launched the “Flipkart Quick” service to deliver close to 2000 products ranging from grocery to electronics such as smartphones. It now uses its vast network of micro fulfillment centers to provide grocery services across 1800 cities, 23 states, and 10,000 pin codes in India. Dunzo Source Established in 2014, this hyperlocal delivery system caters to 7 cities. Seeing the changing consumer demand due to the lockdown, Dunzo plans to open 300 micro fulfillment centers across 20 cities and keep the top 2,000 SKUs in each center. Their main goal is to provide delivery in under 19 minutes, in every corner of the country. Swiggy Source Swiggy’s Instamart is now available across 18 cities and has achieved the 15-minute delivery service level by opening up multiple micro fulfillment centers in partnership with local Kirana stores. The potential of this service can be realised by understanding Swiggy’s decision to invest $700 million into establishing a micro fulfillment center for hyperlocal deliveries. Grofers/Blinkit Source Grofers, now rebranded as Blinkit, one of the country’s earliest hyperlocal grocery delivery companies, is opening 1000 micro fulfillment centers across India and providing a 15-minute grocery delivery service. With the onset of services like Swiggy Insatmart and Dunzo, Grofers is trying to claim the mantel of India's leading online grocery platform. Big Basket Source Big Basket, with its BB Daily and BB Instant services, provides hyperlocal delivery services by being able to deliver around 90% of the items within two hours. Big Basket was amongst the earliest adopters of the micro fulfillment service. It presently has ten micro fulfillment centers in each metro city and one each in 50 smaller cities. Ola Dash Source Ola is known for its cab service but its up-and-coming same-day-delivery eCommerce service called Ola Dash, is seeking to up the ante by opening up to 500 micro fulfillment centers across 20 Indian cities. Ola Dash is presently providing a 10 minutes “Store to Door” delivery service across nine cities and across 2,500 SKUs and the micro fulfillment platform is set to expand upon that. Ola is hoping to make a name for itself in the eCommerce space. Shadowfax Source This logistics company provides same-day delivery and courier services and is now being used by retailers to fulfil their online orders. With Shadowfax’s micro fulfillment centers which are actually their delivery and sorting hubs, they provide hyperlocal delivery of products such as groceries and medicines, in a very short amount of time to their customers doorsteps. Conclusion: How You Can Utilize Micro Fulfillment Centers of WareIQ to Offer Same Day Delivery to Customers The Indian eCommerce industry is rapidly progressing towards the hyperlocal fulfillment sector. Zomato recently announced their decision to enter this sector as well, and with multiple other startups also aiming to provide the “10-minute” delivery service, the way forward is through micro fulfillment centers only. As the pandemic restrictions slacken and people are returning back to the offices, the hassles of coming home and buying groceries will return once again too. This will lead to an increase in the demand for hyperlocal delivery services, and subsequently, the need for micro fulfillment centers across metros and even smaller cities in the country. One such company seeking to provide same-day delivery services is WareIQ through their WareIQ RUSH platform. Established in 2019, WareIQ, a Y-combinator-backed startup, has rapidly grown to be the leading provider of full-stack eCommerce fulfillment services for some of the most reputed brands in India. WareIQ offers a full-stack platform for eCommerce companies to enable same-day delivery and next-day delivery to customers – an Amazon Prime-like experience but accessible to everyone. WareIQ has empowered brands to sell more, sell faster & sell everywhere due to: Access to WareIQ’s strong nationwide network of fulfillment centers & urban dark stores near their customers Access to all major national & hyperlocal last-mile couriers at discounted rates for making same/next day deliveries possible Easy integration across multiple online platforms & marketplaces Horizontal marketplaces: Flipkart, Amazon etc. Vertical marketplaces: Nykaa, Myntra etc. D2C platforms: Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce etc. Social commerce platforms: Bikayi Access to a superior centralised tech platform for eCommerce operations ML-based prediction engine for efficient warehouse network design & smart inventory placement Centralised platform for core fulfilment & shipping operations Post-shipping apps for delightful experience & zero to minimum supply chain leakages ( Branded tracking page with smart marketing placements; Trigger-based updates & smart communication platform) WareIQ has customised offerings for merchants experiencing different order volumes as well as having different delivery speed expectations. WareIQ is probably one of the very few fulfilment tech companies in the world that have same-day delivery service for their customers under their product “WareIQ RUSH”. With world-class WMS functionalities, WareIQ handles the entire range of intricate operations in the eCommerce fulfilment process, ranging from Inbound Operations such as scanning and quality check, through 100% accurate Pick and Pack, to Inventory Management across all channels. WareIQ’s next day delivery and same-day delivery services are helping eCommerce businesses set new standards with respect to setting customer expectations and marketplace fulfilling them with high efficacy. At the same time, WareIQ customers realise significant cost savings and wider reach due to better negotiations with shipping partners, strategically placed warehouses, economies of scale and scope in warehousing and data-driven decision making. [signup] Micro Fulfillment Center FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

April 13, 2022

New Product Launch: WareIQ Interact

Did you know about 70% of consumers say they now only engage with messages from brands that are personalized and tailored to their interests? It is quite apparent that personalization continues to dominate the modern customer experience. It helps you in building a brand that your customers can trust, leading to higher levels of: Customer SatisfactionAverage Order SizeFulfillment rate WareIQ Interact App enables you to provide a powerful, personalized & automated communication experience to your customers across the most widely used channels - WhatsApp, Email & SMS. Capabilities Share consistent personalized & interactive communications with your customers and drive brand loyalty & retention Engage Engage customers across channels like Whatsapp, SMS & Email and create opportunities to cross-sell & up-sell Automate Share a variety of automated updates regarding order status, NDR etc. & alleviate customers' shipping concerns Track Track communications you send out through a central notifications dashboard Benefits WareIQ Interact enables eCommerce brands to improve customer engagement and enhance the brand experience they get by unlocking the following key benefits: Send timely order updatesCommunicate with customers about the delivery scheduleUpdate customers about their orders regularlyCreate brand awareness and drive cross-sell opportunitiesSend order updates to your customers on the particular events that you wishGet your business and operations-related notifications

April 12, 2022

New Product Launch: WareIQ RTO Shield

More than 35% of online orders risk being returned back to origin (RTO). These RTO orders can lead to heavy losses and slow down business growth. With WareIQ's RTO shield, you can say goodbye to RTO losses. With our AI-powered RTO solution, you can intelligently identify potential RTO and adopt measures to minimize its impact. Capabilities Predictive technology to flag high-risk customers With WareIQ RTO Shield, online sellers can: Assess RTO risk for each order basis holistic customer profile developed using rich data on visitor’s activities across telecom, banks, hyperlocal, OTT etc. usageAutomatically disable COD for high-risk, untrustworthy, and/or blacklisted customersAdditionally, set rules using parameters like pincodes, order value etc. to determine when to provide the COD option and when to disable it Benefits With RTO Shield, online sellers can easily screen out high-risk orders and get the following benefits: Improve inventory turnover and thus generate higher salesSave on reverse logistics cost and drive down order processing costReduce time, and thus the opportunity cost, lost in quality checks & repackaging of returned orders

April 12, 2022

New Product Launch: WareIQ Shipping Badges

All customers while purchasing online focus on how soon the product can be delivered and how trustworthy is the seller. Optimising these parameters can boost your top-line performance significantly and help you to: Win customer’s trust and loyaltyImprove conversion rate during checkout But how do you improve this? One of the easiest ways to do this is by displaying fast shipping timelines on your online store. Introducing WareIQ Shipping Badges https://youtu.be/mqMEvqG-UVE WareIQ Shipping Badges allow you to display fast shipping timelines on your online store and win customer trust, leading to higher conversions and lower cart abandonment rates. Capabilities Display Delivery Time & Drive Sales Display same day/next day/standard delivery badges & lower cart abandonment & boost conversion rates. Enable Customers to Check Pin Code Serviceability Our Shipping Badges allow customers to check the pin codes that are serviceable and intelligently display the fastest available shipping timeline as per the delivery zone and the time of the day customers are checking pin codes at. Benefits WareIQ Shipping Badges allows online sellers to: Display transparent shipping timelines to reassure customers and enhance their trust in the brandBoost add-to-cart conversions and lower cart abandonment rateEnable real-time pin code serviceability and deliver an Amazon-like premium pre-purchase experience to delight customers Wish to know more? Visit: WareIQ Shipping Badges Now available on Shopify App Store: Install

April 12, 2022

New Feature Launch: WareIQ Branded Tracking & Customer Feedback

For brands, engaging customers online after a purchase has been made has a host of benefits, such as: Higher repeat salesElevated customer satisfaction & loyaltyKnowing customers preferences in depth WareIQ's Branded Tracking app allows you to achieve these for your brand easily & build a premium post-ship experience in a seamless fashion. Capabilities Add Promotional Banners on the Order Tracking Page With WareIQ Branded Tracking, add promotional banners on the order tracking page to redirect customers to your store for re-engagement and increase repeat purchases. Customize Order Tracking Page to Include Brand Elements Boost brand awareness by adding brand elements such as your logo to the tracking page and customize its URL to reflect your brand name. Moreover, you can add links to various landing pages of your online store to the tracking page, enabling easy redirection of users to your store. Enable Customers to Easily Track Order Status Share full shipping journey and real-time order updates with customers through the tracking page. Seek Feedback Easily to Improve Customer Experience With the Customer Feedback feature, you can easily gather feedback from customers on their brand experience. Analyze customer feedback trends over time and geographically to inform your future strategies and build brand trust and loyalty further. Benefits Redirect customers to your online store and increase repeat purchasesBoost your brand awareness and build your brand presence furtherAlleviate customer concerns regarding shipping by allowing them to easily track the status of their ordersGather customer feedback easily and leverage insights to augment the brand experience in line with customer expectations Interested in exploring more about WareIQ Branded Tracking and Customer Feedback Feature? Read our in-depth blog or visit: WareIQ Branded Tracking Page

April 12, 2022

Introducing the WareIQ App Store: Streamline your eCommerce Fulfillment and Shipping Operations

Businesses have myriad needs which vary from one organisation to another, as well as evolve rapidly over time. To enable our esteemed customers to augment the WareIQ platform further, aligned with their logistics workflows, our team of experts has designed a suite of powerful applications. Based on your valuable suggestions, we realised that it may become cumbersome for you, at times, to hunt for the applications unless we organise them into a single point of access. Hence, we are delighted to launch the WareIQ App Store, making it extremely easy for you to discover the apps that you need at your fingertips at the right time. How does the WareIQ App Store Help You? When you visit the WareIQ App Store, you get the flavour of a superior design and ease of experience, with convenient navigational tools, fed with live data of your business performance. Let's dive deeper to understand the massive range of capabilities of the WareIQ App Store and what it means for your business. Provides you with more tools in your arsenal to boost your eCommerce operations amd make supply chain your competitive advantage.Acts as centralised portal, empowering you to manage all the stages of your eCommerce fulfillment and shipping operations from WareIQ platform directly.Shed down the inefficiency, inconvenience and complexity of working on multiple non-integrable apps. Our suite of powerful applications can easily integrate with your eCommerce workflows and systems, thereby opening new avenues to scale up your business.Leverage AI-ML powered analytics, fed with live data, for smart demand planning, smart inventory placement and network optimisation to enable same/next-day delivery for our customers.Helps you reach out to your customers on the right channel at the right touchpoint, and build trust with your customers through transparent communication and seamless engagement.Build customer loyalty by ensuring a delightful post-shipment experience for your customers. Top Apps to Check Out on the WareIQ App Store It may look confusing to you at the first glance, which app to use for which purpose. To make your task easy, here's a detailed analysis of each of the apps on the WareIQ App Store. Branded Tracking Delight your customers with a premium post-ship experience through a Branded Tracking page built with capabilities such as re-targeting and cross selling to increase your revenue. Turn your order tracking page into a profitable marketing channelImprove your products and shipping operationsIncrease customer engagementIncrease customer satisfactionCustomized branded pages Sample Branded Tracking Page There are several benefits of using the Branded Tracking application on the WareIQ App Store: COD and NDR Verification - You can easily verify Cash on Delivery collections by the delivery person and get Non Delivery Reports at your fingertips, so that you are always ahead of your competition on the vital performance metrics.Showcase Product Banners to your customers - Product Banners create a long-lasting impression of your products on your target customers' minds, enabling greater brand-recall and mindshare than your competitors. Gather feedback from your customers - Collecting feedback from customers just after the delivery helps you understand the pain-points of your customers, so that you can work on the weaknesses immediately.Create Brand Awareness - Creating brand awareness will increase customer loyalty, drive up-selling and cross-selling opportunities and boost word-of-mouth for your brand. Link-backs to your store - Store links that redirect the customer to your online store help to drive repeat sales and reinforces customers' confidence on your brand and products.Live Tracking and Updates - Provide full shipping journey and real-time order updates on the tracking page, so that you maintain the highest levels of transparency and trust with your customers, avoid unwarranted misunderstandings. It is very easy to create and customise your own Branded Tracking Page. Click here to learn how you can do it. Notifications It is well-established fact that customer loyalty can be effectively boosted through frequent and transparent communication with the customer through the product fulfilment process. It also helps to reduce the number of grievances and support tickets raised by customers from time to time. With Notifications application on the WareIQ App Store, you can significantly enhance customer engagement through effortless communications, and deliver an impeccable post-purchase experience to your customers through AI-ML powered Notifications and WhatsApp automation. This helps to: Increase customer satisfactionBuild customer trustTransparency in the shipping processIncreases the delivery success ratePre-empt EscalationsReduce unnecessary customer support calls There are several benefits of using the Notifications application: Send timely order updatesCommunicating cutomers about the delivery scheduleUpdating customers about their orders regularlyCreate brand awareness and drive cross-sell opportunitiesSend order updates to your customers on the particular events that you wishGet your business and operations related notifications Customer Feedback Customer Feedback App can get detailed reports on the WareIQ dashboard for brand performance based on the feedback collected from your customers, which will help you to: Increase customer retention and loyaltyImprove customer satisfactionAnalyze customer sentimentMeasure and improve the brand perceptionIdentify unhappy customers proactively You reap some major benefits by using the Customer Reviews app on WareIQ App Store: Gather customer feedbackAct on customer escalations in real timeCollect customer feedback on brand and shipping experience Weight Lock Predicting the final dimensions and weight of the ordered consignment is a tedious and almost impossible task. However, courier partners maintain stringent pricing policies across different weight and size ranges, making it difficult to handle such issues. With the Weight Lock application on WareIQ App Store, you can freeze the weights of your products to eliminate the hassle of weight discrepancies and ship products without worrying about the weight discrepancies. This will definitely help to: Avoid repeated follow-ups with the courier partners over the weight discrepanciesGet accurate shipping cost so that you can do the cost planning before handSave your time and effort on negotiations for weight discrepanciesBring uniformity to streamline your business operationsMake your operations more efficient with Weight Freeze However, there are some product-level pre-requisites for setting up the Weight Lock app:- Dimensions of the productWeight of the productProduct Images Click here to learn how you can easily add Master Products, upload their dimensions, weights and other details. Shipping Badges Shipping Badges appear on your product pages that helps customer check pin code serviceability and the expected delivery date for any product. Why Shipping Badges App? Check pin code serviceability and the expected delivery dateGet upto 30% increase customer conversionsIncrease the trust of your brand Benefits of Shipping Badges App: Drive sales for your productsShow estimated delivery timeReassure customers with prime-like badges on your website You can use this app to: Check real-time inventory availability of the productIdentify the nearest warehouseCheck for the fastest available shipping timeline across our logistics network IVR Calling New-age eCommerce customers prefer to remain connected to the sellers through time-saving modes of communication such as direct calling, but at the same time, they are concerned with their privacy. Similarly, eCommerce business and customer success managers are often exhausted with telephonic intrusions on their personal mobile numbers. To alleviate these worries, now you can leverage the IVR Calling feature on WareIQ App Store as a command centre to connect with your customers and provide lightning-fast reconciliation, without revealing your telephone number. The feature helps you to: Record conversations and track them on order basisEmpower customer teams to seamlessly address customer grievancesEnable a privacy-first approach by keeping your contact details and customer conversation details private RTO Shield RTO Shield gives the eCommerce/D2C businesses a complete checkout strategy to save on RTO losses and boost your revenue Why WareIQ’s RTO Shield? Claim refund for the shipping cost of any RTO order that was predicted safe by usTechnology based smart COD checkout option to detect risky users and save on shipping costsAutomatically disable COD for untrustworthy and blacklisted customersDuplicate orders identification and eliminationShipping Address Verification and smart shipping decisions based on the completeness of the address Benefits of RTO Shield: Improve conversion rates and reduce cart abandonmentFastest checkout experience, checkout under 10 secondsIntelligently identify high RTO risk customers from data sets comprising of telecom, banks, hyperlocal, and OTTIdentify abusers with the help of historical behaviour data on past buying behaviour and win over fraudsters How does it work? Integrate the application with WareIQ3 months historical data would be needed to train the model & generate accurate predictions.Go live in 3-5 days WareIQ RUSH Online businesses can offer Same Day Delivery to their customers and accelerate their online sales with WareIQ Rush. WareIQ RUSH allows eCommerce & D2C businesses to reach a larger audience in a shorter period of time (within one day) by empowering them with a strong nationwide network of fulfillment centers and micro-fulfillment centers near their customers. Why do you need WareIQ RUSH? Capture impulse buying behaviour of your customers by giving them shorter delivery timelinesReduce cart abandonment rate by giving express delivery to your customersAvoid cancellations due to delayed delivery and deliver the orders within hoursDeliver the COD orders quickly to get the remittance earlyGive a delightful and hassle-free experience to your customers that they can remember Benefits of WareIQ RUSH: Reducing delivery times - Ensuring your fulfilment centres are well-stocked so that you can reach a larger audience in a shorter period of time & offer same day delivery serviceReducing costs - Save resources spent on establishing infrastructure and store your inventory in fulfilment centres as per your business needsImproved customer satisfaction - With WareIQ’s prompt response times, you can ensure timely deliveries and greater brand reliability translating to satisfied customers Conclusion WareIQ offers a full-stack fulfillment platform for eCommerce companies to offer same day and next day delivery to customers – an Amazon Prime-like experience but accessible to everyone. With a strong nationwide network of fulfilment centres & urban dark stores near to end-customers and access to all major national & hyperlocal last mile couriers at discounted rates, WareIQ has established itself as a reliable partner for many reputed eCommerce players across the country. The easily integrable centralised tech platform has been extremely helpful for our customers. With the arsenal of business tailored apps on the WareIQ App Store, you can now choose which app to use to supercharge your supply chain operations. The 1-CLICK App-Integration experience is opening new avenues to scale up business over an inefficient & complex ecosystem of integrating multiple standalone business applications.While you can choose & drop apps as per your business usage in a completely hassle-free experience, you can get working previews of the apps through free trials, and subscribe as per your usage. These smarter apps powering same/next-day delivery help leverage AI/ML intelligence for areas, such as on-demand planning, smart inventory placement and network optimisation. Sign Up Now with WareIQ to avail our superior fulfilment tech platform & enhance your online business growth.

March 25, 2022

Same Day Delivery Service: Key to Accelerate Online Sales in 2025

Did you know that same day delivery service can help brands achieve 30% jump in revenue Higher repeat purchases Near zero returns % As more & more brands start selling online to persist in the market, due to the burgeoning preference of online shopping among consumers, easy & improved accessibility to smartphones & faster internet services, one of the service offerings that has turned out to be the key enabler to online business growth is faster delivery service. Gone are the days when same day delivery service used to be just another factor for maximum customer delight. Same day courier delivery service is the new normal for online brands now. With the growing presence of online brands & geographically dispersed demand from customers across the country, eCommerce brands can differentiate themselves from other online players with same day courier delivery service even to the customers in the nook & corner of the country. Read along to understand how same day delivery services can be a game-changer for eCommerce & D2C business & how WareIQ RUSH can be your best fulfillment partner to accelerate your online sales. What is Same Day Delivery for eCommerce? Same Day Delivery for eCommerce brands is fast evolving as one of the most preferred services. Leading marketplaces like Amazon and Walmart have made deep pockets in the eCommerce space with Same Day fast Delivery service. As the concept is fairly new, there is a lack of awareness among eCommerce brands regarding the myriad advantages of same day/ 24 hour delivery. It means delivery of purchased products to the customer in less than 24 hours, ideally within the same day as the order is placed on the eCommerce platform. A recent survey showed: 60% of online shoppers said that delivery speed was an influential factor in their purchase decisions 80% of shoppers shift to a different ecommerce brand if delivery speeds are too long. Thus, speed is a very important factor for any eCommerce business as success depends not only on the product quality but also on the time taken by it to reach the customer. More specifically, about 49% of customers consider Same Day or Next Day Delivery as a value addition to their purchase experience on any eCommerce platform, according to a recent study. [contactus_uth] Why is Same Day Delivery Service Necessary for Online Brands? The e-commerce industry is getting very competitive day by day. With the entry of multiple billion-dollar companies, the segment is getting crowded as never before. With a lot of money in hand, they are able to provide multiple services such as same day /next day delivery service to the end customer which the small or medium-sized entrepreneurs are unable to provide. Moreover, the success of an e-commerce business not only depends on the product quality but also on the entire customer experience which depends heavily on the delivery timelines. For offline businesses who are planning to start online businesses & hence be a multi-channel retailer, same day courier delivery provides an opportunity to participate in the e-commerce boom and stay relevant in the market by providing more convenience to their customers at the same time with a hassle-free same day delivery experience. Do customers really want it? According to a recent survey by PWC, more than 60% of shoppers say delivery speeds influence their purchasing decisions and more than 80% of online shoppers search elsewhere when delivery speeds are too long, this clearly shows how much speed matters. As per Conveyco, “Nearly half of consumers said they were willing to wait within two days for delivery in 2021 as opposed to a quarter of consumers who said they would wait within 3-4 days. This 20% drop off illustrates the importance and expectation that most consumers have when it comes to standard two-day shipping.” Source: Mckinsey Report Now the expectations have started shifting towards same day courier delivery. If the online businesses don't find out solutions to meet the rising customer expectations of hassle-free same day delivery experience, either they are going to be surpassed by their competitors or completely run out of business altogether in the coming future which won't be too far. How is Same Day Delivery Service a Key Enabler for Revenue Growth for eCommerce Brands? High conversion rates - Ecommerce brands offering this fast delivery service have higher customer conversion to capture impulse buying behaviour Low cart abandonment rates - customers tend to abandon the cart if the delivery time is long (5 - 10 days) Delightful customer experience - give a delightful and hassle-free experience to your customers that they can remember Low order cancellation rates - reach your customers in 24 hours, so that they won't cancel the order due to a delay in delivery. Short cashflow cycles - to get the cash from the COD orders early, you will have to deliver the orders early What are the Top Challenges Faced by eCommerce while Providing Same Day Delivery Services? With geographically dispersed demand & rising customer expectations of same day delivery service of the products purchased online, even in the remotest parts of the country, e-commerce brands are now under pressure to provide such service to stay relevant in the market. However, 24 hour delivery can be challenging for e-commerce brands to offer because of the inaccessibility of prime-like fulfilment infrastructure to online brands selling outside of Amazon due to the following 3 factors: High fixed investments (significant contract size) Rigid contracts Tech complexity The fact that eCommerce brands typically don't have physical stores limit their ability to offer same day or 24 hour delivery service. This also makes it difficult to personalize deliveries and create a seamless customer experience. If e-commerce and D2C brands are handling their own delivery operations, they face a lot of challenges: Missing the 24 hours delivery timeline of orders due to improper planning & coordination of fulfillment process leading to minor delays in O2S (Order to Ship), S2D (Ship to Deliver) timelines that leads to delay in expected O2D (Order to Deliver) timeline of 24 hours Inadequate size of fleets & understaffed warehouses to handle the increased volume associated with same day delivery (in case of sudden spike) Improper packaging, & mishandling of items that lead to product damage during transit Improper labeling that leads to wrong product reaching a wrong destination Do it yourself (in-house) or find the right partner to do it for you (outsource)? There are 2 ways in which online brands can provide same day delivery services to their customers: In-house fulfilment: This provides more control and transparency on the processes, but it is hard to oversee and manage as it requires a lot of capital and manpower Outsourced fulfilment: This helps to serve the ecommerce businesses in a cost-effective manner but comes with its own set of challenges Apart from the differences, the operations involved in both the methods are similar, which includes Receiving and storing stock. Tracking and analyzing inventory. Picking and packing orders. Shipping deliveries with a shipping partner. The major challenge with both the solutions while offering same day delivery service to the customer is the cost of delivery. If you add the shipping cost to the product, then definitely the customer will abandon the cart. You also can't bear the cost of shipping because it will wipe off all the margin you had selling the product. Here is a short comparison between the 2 methods: How WareIQ RUSH Helps eCommerce & D2C Brands Accelerate Online Sales with Same Day Delivery Services? 5 ways in which WareIQ RUSH helps you accelerate your online sales with same day delivery services: Faster Order to Delivery WareIQ RUSH allows ecommerce & D2C businesses to reach a larger audience in a shorter period of time (within one day) by empowering you with a strong nationwide network of fulfilment centres near their customers. Our smart inventory placement ensures that your fulfilment centres are well-stocked and enables efficient & prompt delivery. As per reports, more than 60% of consumers, currently receiving deliveries in 5-15 days, are willing to pay more for a 1-day shipping speed and about 40% of customers prefer to shop from stores that offer 2-day shipping. Improved CPS (Cost per Shipment) WareIQ RUSH’s customers save resources spent on establishing infrastructure(i.e. Warehouses and fulfilment centres). We help you store your inventory in fulfilment centres as per your business needs. Our team’s expertise in logistics and our extensive warehousing network across India enables greater influence during negotiations(with warehouse owners and delivery partners), resulting in volume discounts for our clients Planning ahead in time WareIQ’s tech platform uses real-time data to enable your organisation to predict demand. With this data, you can make wise data-driven decisions ahead of time, thereby reducing costly delays and enabling supply chain efficiencies frequently Onground expert support Given the vastness of the logistics involved, WareIQ RUSH provides the expertise needed to improve and advance your supply chain for India’s ever-changing e-commerce environment. Our customer success teams support your day-to-day on-ground operations along with other requirements such as transport documentation, import and export licenses, compliances and economic regulations Improved customer satisfaction With WareIQ’s real-time data and prompt response times, you can ensure timely deliveries and greater brand reliability. This translates to satisfied customers — the most crucial success metric for direct to customer brands in a competitive space like India Customer Testimonial on Twitter Conclusion The online shopping experience of customers reaches an altogether different level with same day delivery experience. With minimum differentiation in product quality & features in similar categories & price range, same day delivery service can be an outstanding value proposition to your customers. In order to stay competitive in the market, same day courier delivery is probably the only way forward for eCommerce & D2C brands. While same-day delivery is an immense opportunity, it can be an operational challenge for founders/business owners alike. This is where WareIQ comes into the picture to help businesses accelerate their online sales. WareIQ is a category defining, best- in class full-stack eCommerce fulfillment tech platform (with inbuilt inventory planning, order management & shipping system) for modern brands to accelerate online sales/ expedite revenue growth & profits with same/next day delivery. We not only help you reduce your logistic costs but also your delivery timelines – this could be the game-changer your business needs! WareIQ offers centralised tech platform for your entire eCommerce operations ML-based prediction engine for efficient warehouse network design & smart inventory placement Centralised platform for core fulfilment & shipping operations Post-shipping apps for delightful experience & zero to minimum supply chain leakages [signup] Same Day Delivery FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

March 03, 2022

D2C Dialogues: Optimising the D2C Supply Chain with Gynoveda and WareIQ

August 16, 2021

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