VOL 08 ISSUE 02 2021
Personalized Approach The Future of E-commerce After the Pandemic
Tech Commerce The Trendsetters of Industry
Editor’s Desk P
The World Seems Small with E-commerce
lace your order, pay, and get it delivered to your home! When you get services like these, it becomes worth buying more and exploring more of what ecommerce has got. If you want to save your time and effort on business and increase your sales, then transforming your business into e-commerce is what you need to do. Life has become much easier with e-commerce through its compatible options for the customers. It has enabled people to buy a variety of fresh retail, food, medical products hassle-free and as smooth as possible across the world. Geography limitation is no more a problem now. Moreover, the e-commerce industry has reduced our efforts of visiting shops to bring the best for us. It categorizes things with detailing for customers so that they can have a seamless experience whenever they enter any e-commerce store. With the advancement of e-commerce, the world has become closer, and through this transformation, more customers and more markets have got an opportunity to grow. This platform has set an excellent example of the best use of human and machine intelligence that understands the importance of increasing customer needs. The e-commerce industry has become one of the largest customer bases in the world, which compares to no other industry. The products and services not only vary for retail but every platform that has the power to harness technology. From managing processes to providing services, e-commerce continues to drive more global workforce. Of course, there are challenges when you will be leading the most cutting-edge and fastest-growing platform in the world. But that’s what makes e-commerce providers different; they bring the transformation and are on the mission to build the future of localized business. The e-
commerce industry is already expanding globally, and the future of local businesses looks promising. It is a great time for entrepreneurs to be a part of the e-commerce business. The opportunities are tremendous, and more and more companies are beginning their journey in e-commerce and are growing. In this edition of The 10 Fastest-Growing ECommerce Solution Providers, we have enlisted businesses that are offering a helping hand to online businesses to grow exponentially with their state-ofthe-art solutions. On the cover, we have Synder, a powerful business software that automates a significant part of finance management and provides more accurate and fast bookkeeping for e-commerce and SaaS businesses, created by Cloud Business Inc. It is an accounting automation software tailored to help businesses accurately record and easily reconcile data from different sales channels and payment providers, such as Stripe, PayPal, Shopify in any accounting software. You will find more such companies and their revolutionary offerings in this edition. With that said, we come to the end of this editorial note. Lastly, do not miss going through the CxO standpoints written by the industry experts and the creative articles by our in-house editorial team. Have a Happy Read!
Sourabh More
sourabh@insightssuccess.com
CONTENTS COVER STORY
08 Synder
A Revolutionary Software that Automates Accounting for E-Commerce and SaaS Companies
ARTICLES
18
Personalized Approach The Future of E-commerce After the Pandemic
26
14
Lionbridge
Tech Commerce
The Trendsetters of Industry
Bridging the Communication Gap by Translating and Localizing All Content in the World
CxO
22
32
Leader’s Viewpoint
Leader’s Viewpoint
Technologies Which are Disrupting Future of Pharma Industry
On-Demand Delivery Apps: x Types of Apps & Their Role
28
ZigZag Global Enabling Returns Management Seamlessly
Editor-in-Chief Hitesh Dhamani Managing Editor Anish Miller
Executive Editor Sourabh More
Assistant Editors Jenny Fernandes
Visualizer
Art & Design Director
Associate Designer
Co-designer
David King
Priyanka Rajage
Shubham Dali
Kartik Balapurkar
Senior Sales Manager
Business Development Manager
Kshitij S
Peter Collins
Marketing Manager
Sales Executives
John Matthew
David, Martin, Vinod
Technical Head
Business Development Executives
Jacob Smile
Steve, Joe, Dharmendra
Technical Specialist Aditya
Digital Marketing Manager Marry D'Souza
SME-SMO Executive Amol Wadekar
Research Analyst Frank Adams
Database Management Stella Andrew
Circulation Manager Robert Brown
Technology Consultant David Stokes
sales@insightssuccess.com August, 2021
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Featured Person
Brief
E-cargo e-cargo.co.il
Eitan Varman CEO
E-cargo offers comprehensive global e-commerce & logistic Air and Ocean cross border solutions, international forwarding, customs clearance, multi-vendor last mile services, Drop shipments , flexible payments options, returns solutions and smart added value logistic services.
FreedomPay freedompay.com
Taylor Durovsik Associate Director, Marketing & Communications
FreedomPay is a company that provides payments platform as a service.
Keelings Knowledge keelingsknowledge.com
Eamonn Flynn CEO
The Keeling's family have been in the fresh produce business for three generations dating back to 1926 and have been developing software exclusively for this industry since the 1980s.
Kerridge Commercial Systems kerridgecs.com
Ian Bendelow CEO
Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) provides specialist software, services and support to deliver fully integrated trading and business management solutions to trade, wholesale, manufacturing and distribution customers across the world.
LimeSpot limespot.com
Aidin Tavakkol Founder
LimeSpot is an eCommerce conversion data network that increases conversions for online merchants.
Lionbridge lionbridge.com
Jaime Punishill CMO
Lionbridge partners with brands to break barriers and build bridges all over the world.
Synder synder.com
Michael Astreiko CEO
Synder is a powerful business software that automates a significant part of finance management and provides more accurate and fast bookkeeping for e-commerce and SaaS businesses.
Teleperformance teleperformance.com
Daniel Julien CEO
Teleperformance is a global leader in solution design, business optimization strategies, front-office customer support, and back-office services like finance, accounting, collections, and tech support.
Zebra zebra.com
Anders Gustafsson CEO
Zebra builds enterprise-level data capture and automatic identification solutions that provide businesses with operational visibility.
ZigZag Global zigzag.global
Al Gerrie Co-founder & CEO
ZigZag Global is a software solution to help ecommerce retailers manage returns domestically and globally.
Company Name
A Revolutionary Software that Automates Accounting for E-Commerce and SaaS Companies
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COVER story
Michael Astreiko CEO
Synder
When your books are 100% accurate, you can be sure that you will not underpay or overpay taxes, or wrongly plan annual and monthly expenses. Synder has made creating financial reports quicker and easier. It collects the detailed payment data that is essential for accurate reports and creates the main financial statements regularly to track your business progress. In a nutshell, Synder helps to: Ÿ Automate the bookkeeping of your transactions; Ÿ Reconcile your books in one click; Ÿ Connect all sales channels and payment gateways within one interface; Ÿ Provides you with detailed data for sales, tax, and other necessary reports, including P&L and balance sheets. Distinguished Characteristics
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eadquartered in San Francisco, United States, Cloud Business Inc. was founded in 2016 as a business and financial software company that develops and supports financial, and accounting software for small and mid-size businesses and accountants. With a strong belief that technology can help businesses manage their finances better, smarter, and faster, Cloud Business Inc. created a smart solution in the form of Synder. Synder is a powerful business software that automates a significant part of finance management and provides more accurate and fast bookkeeping for e-commerce and SaaS businesses. It is an accounting automation software tailored to help businesses accurately record and easily reconcile data from different sales channels and payment providers, such as Stripe, PayPal, Shopify in any accounting software. Imagine having Shopify and Amazon stores with many different payment gateways, and you want them to be easily reconcilable in your accounting software. With Synder, businesses can have detailed transaction data from various sources connected to their e-commerce shop accurately recorded, categorized, and literally reconciled in one-click. A Way-Out Solution for Businesses The best solution for business owners, who don’t want to spend too much time and effort on manual bookkeeping, is to consider connecting an accounting automation software, such as Synder. It automatically imports historical and ongoing sales into books, provides detailed information about each payment, and allows reconciliation in just two clicks.
Below are the some of the characteristics that define Synder: Smart Automation Synder automatically records and categorizes transactions from all your online payment and e-commerce platforms in your accounting. Capturing necessary business details such as item and customer info, tax, shipping and processing fees, locations, and more, it provides you with instant, detailed, and accurate reports for business analysis and tax filing. Moreover, by using Synder Smart Rules, you can customize accounting processes where you need it. For example, you can apply taxes based on the shipping location automatically, and Synder will use it as a rule for all relevant future syncs. Super Easy Payment Processing With Synder Invoicing, you can easily create and send invoices, offering a wide choice of payment methods to your customers, including credit card payments. Thus, you make payments super convenient for customers, and therefore ramp up the payment fulfillment. Also, simple payment links help you turn ANY of your social media pages (like Facebook, Instagram, etc.) into a checkout page with both one-time and recurring payment options, allowing you to get paid instantly. The cherry on top - all your payment information gets into the right place in accounting right away, automatically closing open invoices.
One-click Reconciliation
Extended List of Integrations
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Synder allows to reconcile the synced data in your accounting books and keep track of any mistakes if such occur. If everything is correct the difference between your accounting platform and actual balance will equal zero.
Synder integrates multiple sales channels and payment processors such as Stripe, Square, PayPal, Shopify, Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Ecwid, Authorize.net, Pin Payments, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and GoCardless. You can synchronize all these platforms within a single eco-system and under one account. The process runs automatically in the background, with no need to log in to start synchronization. Solution for Both, Business Owners and Accountants Synder is a universal solution. It suits owners of ecommerce businesses who need to receive, process, and manage online payments using a minimal software set. Also, Synder is a solution for bookkeepers and accountants that need to eliminate a great deal of manual data entry. Using the organizations feature, accountants can manage multiple clients within one single infrastructure.
Leading the Pack At the forefront of the success of Synder is Michael Astreiko, CEO and Co-Founder of Cloud Business Inc. Michael is a results-oriented entrepreneur with a 10 years developer background and a FinTech business experience. He is driven by his passion for technology, IT architecture, customer-centric development, and building a team of rock stars that are ready to drive it all forward. Providing Quality at Affordable Price At the moment, Michael mentions that Synder has several main competitors in its business area. “Unlike our competitors, we provide easy to use one spot accounting with the largest number of features,” he says. Synder has the edge in more precise and detailed synchronization and allows users to sync each transaction separately. For example, if you sell via Shopify and get paid via Stripe, Synder will correctly and fully collect the data from both platforms and automatically record all the details in books. This granular synchronization from multiple sources also provides e-commerce businesses with the ability to accurately track inventory. In addition, Synder supports multicurrency payment synchronization that allows users all around the globe to work with all types of currencies conveniently. Furthermore, the Synder smart rule engine allows users to fill in missing gaps in their books based on indirect conditions, for example, to automatically set tax based on the location or apply a category based on the product name. And last but not least - the rollback feature is
Helping Businesses Move Online When asked about the impact of pandemic on businesses, Michael opines that the pandemic has made it hard for some businesses to move to the online model in the changed reality. A lot of companies did not even think they could exist as an online business. That is why, Synder puts a lot of effort into helping them find a solution to successfully move their business processes, including accounting, online with minimal resources.
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a win that is designed to constantly keep the books safe, if they want to change or re-sync the sales.
Michael highlights that Synder has amazing expansion plans for the coming future! The company is planning to strengthen its positions in the US, UK, Canada and Australia markets, as well as to extend the list of features to cover all needs and pains of e-commerce and Saas businesses. Michael says, “Synder makes the data flow of your business as easy as possible. And we’re sure we can do more in the future!”
Jaime Punishill Chief Marke ng Officer
Lionbridge
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The 10 Fastest-Growing E-Commerce Solu on Providers
Bridging the Communication Gap by Translating and Localizing All Content in the World
Lionbridge has the skills, expertise, and global scale to provide end-to-end support to help firms efficiently, maximally, and quickly grow in multiple markets. Jaime Punishill is the Chief Marketing Officer at Lionbridge. Jaime is an innovative marketing, channel, and product executive. He has a proven track record for finding blue ocean strategies and delivering scalable business operations. He is expert in operationalizing design thinking, translating new concepts and trends into workable business plans and operations, and delivering pragmatic innovation within a large enterprise. Redesigning and Supporting Localization Workflows Lionbridge can help firms optimize their global experiences by redesigning and supporting their localization workflows, helping them set up and operate their content and digital tech stack to produce multilingual and multimarket content and experiences, and helping them leverage linguistic AI to produce even more content and experiences for more
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languages, more customers, more markets, on more devices. Through its world-class platform, Lionbridge orchestrates a network of passionate experts across the globe who partner with brands to create culturally rich experiences. Relentless in its love of linguistics, the company uses the best of human and machine intelligence to forge understanding that resonates with the customers of its clients.
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Our vision is to support the digitization of the universe; the digitization of content and the way people consume native content through digital media.
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C
onnecting the dots or bridging the communication gap is one of the most essential pillars of expanding business globally. It is essential for successful businesses to build bridges to connect with larger audiences. Global expansion is at the heart of strategic plans of most organizations to grow revenue. At the same time, companies are leaning into the value of their brand and with that, ensuring brand consistency and compliance; creating a high quality, consistent cross-channel customer experience; and focusing on digital transformation. Lionbridge partners with brands to break barriers and build bridges all over the world. For 25 years, it has helped companies connect with their global customers and employees by delivering translation and localization solutions in 350+ languages.
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translate and localize all the content in the world. While it's been a slower journey than perhaps anyone thought 25 years ago, the emergence of AI, other technological developments and the globalization of consumer behavior bring it closer to that reality than ever before. Harnessing Technology for Scale-based Global Experiences Lionbridge provides more services, in more verticals, in more markets than anyone else. That breadth of experience and its capabilities are among its key differentiators. Companies come to Lionbridge when they need to get the exact target content quality with the speed and scale that today’s global digital economy demands. Not only was Lionbridge founded on the innovative idea of melding translation and multimedia and software production processes, but it also has the utmost experience with AIpowered translation technology and how to harness that technology for scale-based global experiences. From supporting multimarket content optimization to multilingual virtual events, to omnilingual and omnichannel customer support, Lionbridge is known worldwide as the partner that supports every element of companies’ global customer experience journey. Supporting Globalization of E-Commerce With Evolved Localization Services
Facilitating Business in Native Language Lionbridge has evolved to become one of the world's largest, most experienced, most trusted translation and localization partners. That was its founder Rory Cowan’s vision. He saw that the world was going to become more digital, and that this change would lead to an explosion of content creation and digital experiences. But that content and those experiences wouldn’t be accessible by most people without a quantum change in the translation business, both in its scale and a pivot from translating words to capturing experiences, or what is now called localization. Lionbridge believes that every consumer should be able to conduct business in their native language. Its vision is to
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Jaime states that the localization business stands to benefit as the world continues to drive more global commerce. He says that it is a great time to be an entrepreneur in this business. There are tremendous advances in the technology that undergirds how one localizes, what one localizes, how fast one can localize and how well one can localize. And, many companies are at the beginning of their journey. As more companies become global, the need for their services will grow. Jaime adds, “It’s a fantastic time to look for new ways to power localization and to support the globalization of e-commerce and commerce.” Building Strong Localization Ecosystem Platform Lionbridge is a key part of the localization ecosystem. It is attuned to the linguist community’s health, from helping linguists upskill to finding ways for them to participate in key activities. For example, it is a longtime supporter of Translators without Borders, which helps provide language services in places that don’t have a lot of commercial or governmental translation capabilities or translation assets. It
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has supported many organizations that are like that over the years, and it will continue to support them. The industry has been built as a series of old-line, closedlooped systems. Lionbridge spends a lot of time thinking about pivoting its systems into a platform that can connect and integrate a lot of different providers who can add value and contribute to the translation and localization of everything for its customers. Building Future of Localization Business Lionbridge is well-situated competitively to see the key challenges facing the most cutting-edge and fastest-growing companies in the world. They push Lionbridge to do things better, faster, cheaper and different. It is proud of its partnership with them to bring about great developments and build the future of the localization business. In upcoming years, Jaime sees Lionbridge on a mission to grow significantly. Lionbridge’s goal is to grow organically and to be as big as some of the other companies that have grown inorganically. Jaime believes they will once again be the largest language provider in the market within the next five years. Implementing Efficient Language Translation Workflows “So many campaigns launched at the same time, which would not have been possible with our previous set up.” — Volvo Cars, on its move to make translation a centralized process and its work with Lionbridge, who now completes all their translations for all languages “The technology Lionbridge brings to the table helped us to implement an efficient translation workflow. The account team has been excellent. They are always ready to jump to support our goals.” — Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. “Our partnership with Lionbridge enables us to serve patients, CROs (Contract Research Organizations) and sponsors faster and more accurately.” — Clincierge
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Personalized Approach
W
hile progressive growth of the e-commerce industry was observed before times of Covid19 pandemic, this industry witnessed a huge growth during the unprecedented times of pandemic. The rapidly spreading Coronavirus radically changed consumers' behavior, which forced e-commerce companies to speed up their digital services. Many stores were off during the pandemic, and consumers were also locked during their homes in the pandemic. During the times of pandemic, many consumers shifted their purchasing habits. They shifted to online purchasing as it was the most accessible and safe option for them during the pandemic. Pandemic accelerated the adoption of E-commerce as consumers worldwide started being more reliant on ecommerce for purchasing everything from basic goods to holiday gifts. Online shopping is growing as more consumers are becoming comfortable and habituated with online purchasing after a year of pandemic lockdown experience. Consumers are experiencing the convenience in online shopping. Many consumers realized the benefits of online purchasing, and thus, the e-commerce industry is growing rapidly than before. As internet connection is getting easily available to many people, geographical location has become less relevant. With e-commerce services, people from anywhere can order whatever they want, and they can receive it without visiting anywhere and without wasting their precious time, which can be utilized in their constructive work. During the pandemic, e-commerce giants experienced huge growth. Small businesses that were not having an online presence were hit hard during lockdown times. They realized that the e-commerce business would be their lifeline in the future. SME owners also increased their online presence during the times of pandemic, and now they are also open to trading in the larger part of the world and are not limited to just their shops. The increased online presence of both business owners and consumers is resulting in the exponential growth of the e-commerce industry. This trend will continue to grow and increase in the future as the world is becoming more digitalized.
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Many technologies like machine learning and Artificial Intelligence are playing a huge role in shaping the future of the e-commerce industry. Online shopping gets real with the use of these technologies. Those retailers who leverage these technologies efficiently and effectively will be able to build a huge reputation and brand loyalty from consumers for the years to come. Artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies enhance the capabilities of retailers and business owners and increase the conveniences of consumers. The e-commerce industry is helping small retailers thrive in the post-pandemic world. Those with a well-established online presence will be able to thrive and grow larger in the coming times. As the e-commerce industry is going to increase rapidly, there will also be pressure on retailers to provide a greater customer experience. E-commerce companies in the future will have to increase transparency around checkout processes. They will need to provide user-friendly websites and applications, an accessible approach, free shipping, and faster delivery of products. Moreover, e-commerce companies should also protect the private information of consumers that is available with them. They should facilitate secured payments as well as a simple and quick refund policy for consumers. E-commerce platforms will have to be prepared to handle the increasing number of online consumers. These platforms should be user-friendly, easy to navigate, and intuitive. Organizations will have to be more innovative and creative in optimizing consumer experience by creating outstanding shopping platforms and enhancing the consumer experience. The domination of e-commerce is inevitable in the future since online shopping is becoming a norm all over the world. Companies should invest in e-commerce development for the purpose of delivering revolutionary services to consumers in the rapidly growing digital world.
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The Future of E-commerce After the Pandemic
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Tech Commerce
The Trendsetters of Industry S
ince the foundation of e-commerce, we see companies reaping the benefits of it globally. And the results have exceeded the expectations of the business owners who had started their company from scratch. The reason is, it connects companies to a worldwide network – everything from one place, at one click. It is the perfect fit for the needs of everyone. For example, if you want to buy shoes, you can order them right away, and the next thing is it gets delivered to your doorstep. E-commerce is a big world where everyone has equal opportunity to come up with their start-up idea. Companies like Amazon, Alibaba, and eBay are the leading examples of it. Even the consumers want services online as it becomes accessible for them in today’s busy schedule. Through advanced technologies like AI and Cloud, the e-commerce industry is building a network of passionate solution providers across the globe. The world is becoming more digital, and thus the shift from traditional businesses to digital is now part of the transformation, which will bring them closer to the global world. With this shift, companies can provide more services in more verticals and in more markets than other mediums. It is not just the innovation behind the foundation of ecommerce but also its power to reach customers in the rarest part of the world that is captivating.
full-fledged business. The platform allows customers to customize it according to their needs. It provides a range of options to customers from diverse products – color, sizes, pre-sales, and post-sales solutions. Many organizations have understood the potential of e-commerce and are adopting it in their business models A year of an unprecedented pandemic where physical shops struggled, e-commerce filled that gap with significant results. Where other companies and business owners suffered hardships digitally, e-commerce companies made their mark. The e-commerce industry continued to stay ahead of the competition. Though, there were some restrictions, as only essential products were allowed to ship, but looking at the overall scenario, we can consider that ecommerce is here to stay, and customers expect more. Moreover, e-commerce is the solution to catch up with such a large population's growing needs. So, while we take a big leap with the changing times, e-commerce should also take a step forward in sustainability, reducing carbon emissions. The energy-efficient process throughout the e-commerce functioning like e-vehicles and environment-friendly products should be followed. Ecommerce will continue to dominate the industry, growing and looking for new ways to reach customers. The world will be a lot more interesting place within in the next few years, looking at the rate of transformation we are going through.
E-commerce is a key part of the business ecosystem, helping entrepreneurs upskill and build their careers to a
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The 10 Fastest-Growing E-Commerce Solu on Providers
Enabling Returns Management Seamlessly
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t doesn’t come as a surprise that eCommerce has become widespread globally. Every day, millions of products are bought and shipped, and consumers are spending more time browsing online than ever before. It’s essential for online retailers to keep track of their sales efficiently and effectively if they want to tap into this global demand. Yet despite the surge in online shopping, one part of the eCommerce journey still causes a pain point to many retailers — managing their online returns. ZigZag Global provides a SaaS platform to help eCommerce retailers manage returns both domestically and globally. The company understands the importance of strong communication in the returns process to retain loyal customers and grow sales revenue.
Al Gerrie, the Co-founder and CEO built ZigZag Global after 20 years of experience as a retailer. He knows the issues and challenges faced by retailers managing their online returns first-hand. Mapping the Outline ZigZag Global was founded in 2014. Since its inception, it has become a global leader in returns management, providing software solutions to help eCommerce retailers manage returns all aspects of the returns journey providing full transparency and data insights for global retailers. The ZigZag platform connects retailers to a global network of 220 warehouses and more than 450 carrier services in over 130 countries — all from a single integration. The company uses predictive analytics to understand the most cost-effective and energy-efficient route to calculate if a retailer should hold and resell returned products in local markets or bring them back via consolidation.
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ZigZag delivers the best technology and service to transform the returns experience globally. The mission is to reduce the cost, waste, and friction associated with returns, boost customer loyalty, and make retailers more profitable and sustainable. Staying Ahead of the Competition ZigZag's online retailer-branded portal now allows users to exchange any item in the inventory they wish to return with another from the retailers’ catalogue. The platform will provide the customers with various appropriate replacement options, ranging from diverse colours and sizes, which the retailer has in stock. After the customer has selected their most convenient carrier service, the chosen exchange can be sent immediately following the first scan from the post office, drop-off location, or courier service collection. It is estimated that around £600m worth of products bought over Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the UK was tied up in return loops by the middle of December, highlighting the issue of missed revenue by not having items in stock when needed. The dynamic exchanges functionality will directly target this issue. As ZigZag's returns process is digitised, retailers can know what, when and where stock is coming back, and the platform can use this information to generate exchange options. ZigZag is also developing a solution to promote customer retention by offering a refund to gift card option. Returning to gift cards also has the added benefit of discouraging those online dine and dash fraudsters. It's far harder to prove a customer has been intentionally fraudulent if they rarely use the same retailer twice. Returning to a gift
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Al Gerrie Co-founder & CEO
ZigZag Global
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(eMarketer), with 49% of consumers saying they shop online more now than ever before (Forbes). As the effects of the pandemic continue to recede, it's clear that the retail industry needs to continue to innovate. For retailers that were the kings of online pre-pandemic, other brands have started to make their mark. They must now continue to invest in digital and customer experience to stay ahead of the competition. Whether it's personalisation, faster delivery promises, more straightforward returns, or augmented reality apps — the new level of eCommerce looks here to stay, and consumers will start to expect more.
card can allow you to offer a generous returns policy, keeping loyal customers happy while discouraging the individuals who try to take advantage of the online system for fraudulent gain. The Good, The Bad, The Pandemic 2020 was undeniably a challenging year for physical retail worldwide, however the closure of stores gave online retail a massive boost. Faced with unprecedented demand, online retailers may have struggled to cope initially, but those that expanded capacity reaped significant benefits — and will continue to do so. Those with a robust online presence and a strong reputation for delivering and fulfilling orders were naturally boosted by the flock of new customers from bricks and mortar to online. Some significant trends became hugely popular during the lockdown, such as increasing sales in loungewear, sportswear and home study products. “As a business, we encouraged all employees to work from home, giving them the tools and resources to do so seamlessly,” says Al Gerrie. A Wave of Digitalisation According to Al Gerrie the pandemic forced retailers to become more digitally capable and flexible to meet and exceed their customers’ expectations. Many brands evolved over the last year, ramping up capabilities, offering personalised experiences and discounts, and providing more delivery options. Unsurprisingly, collect from home was a lot more popular. In fact, 87.5% of the UK population are now digital buyers
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Sustaining Nature in Energy Efficient Way Sustainability has been at the heart of ZigZag's business since its conception. The returns solution allows retailers to take a greener step forward from promoting the circular economy to reducing carbon emissions. The company partners with marketplaces worldwide to allow returning goods to quickly be resold in local markets, ensuring they take more energy-efficient routes back through the supply chain and keep them out of the landfill. ZigZag's paperless solution also removes the need for retailers to provide labels in the box in their outbound orders. Using an online paperless portal, such as ZigZag, ensures that consumers do not throw away unused return labels with satisfactory orders. Those who do need to return can instead use the paperless option, which prevents the need to print out big A4 sheets of paper at home, reducing paper wastage by around 60% for retailers. In the Foreseeable future In conclusion, Al Gerrie expresses that online returns will continue to dominate the landscape. eCommerce grew by around 50% over the last year, and that new level looks here to stay. Naturally, returns are an inevitability of shopping online as the bedroom takes on the role of the fitting room. The company’s recent Retail Returns Study 2021 found that 79% of people check the returns policy page before purchasing, with 42% abandoning their basket if they don't like what they see. So, there will always be a need for a returns solution in the modern retail world as they continue to impact purchasing decisions. ZigZag started in the UK and has spread its wings globally. The recent acquisition by Global Blue will continue to help the company grow internationally. A vast area for expansion will be the US. ZigZag already sees huge volumes coming through its platform from the US, and it has the potential to be its biggest market within the next few years. www.insightssuccess.com
Leader’s Viewpoint
ON-DEMAND
DELIVERY APPS x Types of Apps & Their Role
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he on-demand delivery app is a new business offering that is rapidly gaining traction across the world. Entrepreneurs compete all over the world to give nonstop solutions for any doorstep service using the app built for their company. On-demand delivery applications provide a plethora of opportunities for both users and company owners.
People have 24/7 access to a wide range of professional services and commodities because of on-demand delivery applications. Food, clothing, maids, and dog walkers are all just a click away. Furthermore, user penetration of ondemand delivery apps has reached 9.5 percent, and expenditure on these applications is increasing across sectors. What Is On-Demand Delivery App?
On-demand delivery applications have made our life easier and more convenient than ever before. For quite some time, they have served as the foundation for a wide range of businesses ranging from taxi dispatch applications to home care services. So, we'll go through their fundamental categories, benefits, and more. On-demand delivery services are experiencing a surge in popularity. During the pandemic, on-demand delivery companies such as Uber, Bolt, and Lyft have more than doubled their revenue. Platform-to-consumer delivery revenue is currently $70,741 million, according to Statista.com. Experts predicted a yearly increase of 8.2 percent even before the coronavirus.
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On-Demand Delivery App refers to the app that serves as an interface between the client and the service provider for all doorstep services. The term "on-demand delivery platform" or "software" refers to a set of technologies that enables a company to accept an online purchase and provide rapid delivery of its items via a highly efficient transportation system. It enables the client to sign up for the app, search for the desired goods, pay online, and place an order. The program then starts processing the order by searching for and matching delivery persons who can complete the delivery in the lowest amount of time.
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It allows the consumer and the company to follow the driver's exact position and gives the customer the chance to review their entire delivery experience. All of these tasks are completed on a single, integrated platform.
Types of On-Demand Delivery Applications
Benefits of On-Demand Delivery Apps
On-Demand Food Delivery Apps
Some of the benefits of on-demand apps follow:
On-demand food delivery apps solutions are one of the most popular applications among people all over the world. This software allows users to order meals from any of their favorite restaurants at any time and place, and have them delivered right to their home. These applications allow the customer to pay for their order online when ordering or paying upon delivery.
Fast In comparison to traditional techniques, on-demand applications make the entire process of obtaining a service faster. With the touch of a button, you may search for a service, book one, and pay for it! Convenient The on-demand apps are really a lot more convenient and easy to manage. They are a perfect platform where the users can track the status of their orders, make payment through the means they are comfortable with, and get their service delivered much quicker. Cost-Effective As a consumer, on-demand applications allow you to save a significant amount of money. How? Customers may select from a variety of applications available on the market to choose one that provides the service at a low price. Running a business through an app also saves a lot of money for business owners. You don't have to invest in logistics, maintenance of vehicles, etc. Transparent Customer transparency helps to build confidence. Ondemand delivery apps are outfitted with feedback systems to provide transparency and develop confidence. Feedback systems can allow providers to identify and correct performance shortcomings.
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The following are some of the most prevalent types of ondemand delivery applications.
Food delivery is the most profitable segment of on-demand delivery, with a focus on speed and convenience. Swiggy and UberEats are two of the most popular on-demand food applications. Uber-like delivery services are anticipated to generate $161.74 billion in revenue by 2023. In recent years, UberEats has grown by 64 percent. This is due in part to its global market share and exclusive agreements with well-known eateries. On-Demand Grocery Apps This type of on-demand grocery apps solution enables users to purchase any of their necessities online that we need in our daily lives. Users may use the app to buy all of their goods and choose a delivery time. This app provides a safe online payment option for users to pay for their orders. The market for on-demand grocery delivery mobile apps is very competitive since there are several applications available. According to Statista, “the US online grocery business produced sales worth around 14.2 billion US
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dollars in 2019, with revenues expected to reach 29.7 billion US dollars by 2021.” According to CNBC, online grocery sales will account for 20% of the industry by 2025. On-Demand Courier Delivery Apps Customers may schedule their package or parcel delivery slot with a single click, to be picked up and safely delivered to the receiver, using on-demand parcel delivery apps. The software has user-friendly features and simplifies parcel delivery. You can track and deliver your packages with an on-demand parcel delivery app. However, not all package delivery apps operate in the same manner. Dig deep into the operations of DPD, FedEx, or Uber to see how they differ. Each model has its own set of implications and benefits. FedEx is the most well-known example of a postal courier app. They rely significantly on mobile applications to keep their operations running smoothly. They are capable of realtime tracking and administration, even for same-day delivery. A unique admin panel adds to the numerous benefits. According to Research and Markets, the worldwide courier, express, and parcel (CEP) market reached $330.4 billion in 2019 and is expected to expand at a CAGR of about 6% between 2020 and 2025. CEP firms employ business-tobusiness, business-to-customer, and customer-to-customer (C2C) business models, which they combine with a variety of value-added services. On-Demand medicine Delivery Apps Customers may order medicines from their local pharmacy and have them delivered within a few hours using on-
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demand medicine delivery apps. Apps such as PillPack, an American online pharmacy and a subsidiary of Amazon.com, allow consumers to submit their prescriptions online and purchase their medications appropriately. It also allows consumers to arrange monthly deliveries of medications based on their medical requirements. The e-pharmacy sector had been suffering in several areas, but Covid-19 boosted the fitness and healthcare industries significantly. Online pharmacy systems have seen an exponential increase in demand. According to Zion Industry Research, by the end of 2025, the e-pharmacy market would have grown to USD 107.53 billion. On-Demand cargo Delivery Apps Uber for Trucking and other on-demand Cargo delivery applications enable immediate provisioning of products and services among the different accessible service industries. Logistics and the freight sector are ready for "Uber-like" upheaval with rising costs in the economy. On-demand cargo delivery apps are becoming increasingly popular. These delivery applications connect clients with a variety of service providers, making life easier and more comfortable for them. These applications, which are now ruling the market, are incredibly simple to use, much like renting a cab, private vehicle, or a bike. The freight or trucking business in the United States is now valued at over $800 billion. Trucks are the most popular form of cargo transportation, accounting for 84 percent of overall freight costs. By 2027, the number of goods transported by the trucking sector will have increased by 27%. The ATA also predicts that overall freight tonnage will rise by 35% between 2016 and 2027.
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Wrapping up The on-demand delivery app market is booming in a variety of industries, from healthcare to logistics. You have a competitive advantage over others by developing one. The true scope and potential of on-demand delivery apps far exceed your expectations. It is the most effective way to reach a larger audience and quickly establish your brand name. More and more services are likely to have their own on-demand applications in the near future. But the constantly shifting business environment poses problems that must be properly evaluated. The ideal choice for you is to get started right away by hiring a competent app developer and an on-demand app development firm to do wonders for you and make your on-demand business amazing.
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