All aboard the ecommerce train

A staggering 17.2 million Brits have turned their attention to online shopping in recent times and it’s a trend that shows no signs of slowing down.

At Stratford Storage and Distribution (SSD) we have seen a significant increase in enquiries and new customers in the Ecommerce space. It’s an exciting time, for new and existing online sellers, but the complexities and jargon can also feel like a blocker - luckily, we are here to keep it simple!

WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?

Opportunities in Ecommerce, also known as electronic commerce or internet commerce, have never been greater yet in other ways more complicated - including the confusing Brexit import and export red tape and the rising costs and limitations to using fulfilment centres, such as Amazon.

THERE ARE 4 MAIN TYPES OF ECOMMERCE:

B2C (Business-to-Consumer)B2B (Business-to-Business)C2B (Consumer-to-Business)C2C (Consumer-to-Consumer)

Product:

If you’re just starting out, the first step is knowing what products you want to sell and it’s quite easy to feel like you’re in a ‘sweet shop’ but there’s a few key questions to ask yourself, to ensure you create a product offering that’s timely, relevant and meaningful:

- What products, niches or industry are you particularly passionate about or interested in?

- What products, niches or industries are your friends passionate about?

- What pain points do you have in your own life?

Storage:

Start-up’s in particular often don’t factor in storage, both in terms of cost and capacity (often your living space!) You’ll need to think about where your product is being taken once it has been dispatched to you from the supplier – your home, office, lock up or unit? All of these options have overheads and may also not be the most secure option.

For existing sellers, planning to ensure you can scale quickly for your business is key, to ensure you have greater capacity for both permanent or intermediary space between your product arriving and going to a fulfilment centre, such as Amazon.

Fulfilment:

What does fulfilment mean? In essence it’s the process that ensures your orders leave where they are stored, in the way that fits with your offering. It’s important to think about using a partner who understands your fulfilment needs - via an easy process, on time, in great condition and presented in a way that represents your brand. If you are existing seller make sure your provider is able to easily integrate with your existing platforms; at SSD the Mintsoft platform meaning sellers can check their stock in real time, customise their brand and reporting.

Distribution:

The most important outcome is that orders are delivered on time, whether it’s to a fulfilment centre or directly into the hands of your customers.

If you are a start-up you might have already spent time queuing at the Post Office - not ideal if you want to grow the business and get the best rates for distribution! Make sure you work with a partner who gives you great accountability, with full tracking and proof of delivery; we think this is absolutely key to ensuring that your customers get a great service, and you get peace of mind.

For those operating on a larger scale, from platforms such as Amazon, QVC and Ebay, SSD are able to ‘Fulfil By Merchant’ (FBM) to your customer.

Our experience means we know the areas that sellers, new and existing, can get stuck on. Our approach means we can flex and work with you on your journey, to grow, scale and everything in between!

Talk to us about how we can support you, so you get your products into the hands of your customers in time, cost effect and stress-free way – you can also download a copy of our Get Started In Ecommerce Guide HERE.

April marked our 5th Birthday – join us over on our social channels to celebrate!

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If you want more information about SSD, you can visit the website:

www.ssd.uk.net | 01789 777 905 | office@ssd.net.uk