Ecommerce enjoyed huge growth in 2020 as retailers were compelled by enforced change to consumer shopping behaviour. Despite what the American based SaaS platforms say in their marketing, setting up an online shop is only one part of ecommerce. Many retailers are finding out that picking, packing and shipping packages to customers is not easy, especially in markets where there is not a highly developed postal system or address conventions.
Retail Logistics has become a business critical part of the online supply chain. Early online retailers in the MENA region found that the fulfilment of packaged goods was difficult enough – let alone fresh groceries.
So there is a lot to talk about and a lot of learning and insight to be had from a regional retail logistics event. Home Delivery MENA – will be run on the 23rd of March, 2021, with some of the market’s biggest players – from Deliveroo and Talabat to Noon and Jumia addressing issues like sustainability and digitisation.
Christina Ioannidis, CEO of Aquitude will moderate two Keynote Panels – Redefining the Customer Experience in the New Normal, including speakers from Noon, Lulu and Careem. Christina will also be involved with ‘Delivering Smiles Through Last Mile Excellence in the new normal – key imperatives for ecommerce industry‘
Aquitude’s Chief Digital Officer, David Fuller will interview Apoorva Kumar, Group Senior Vice President Logistics of Jumia Group about ‘Innovating each step of the logistics journey with data, digitisation and advanced tech.’
Home Delivery MENA – The Retail Logistics Event
There’s never been a better time for the region’s supply chain leaders to come together to share their expertise and navigate the new normal. Home Delivery MENA will bring you insights from 35 of the world’s expert leaders across a series of live presentations, live interviews and live panel debates. Join in live from wherever you are, or watch the sessions on-demand.
The Ecommerce Myth
There is an industry of Ecommerce influencers who shout the virtues of Shopify and Drop Shipping via their YouTube channels and tell you that selling online is easy. From their developed world markets with sophisticated payment gateways and shipping algorithms, these self appointed gurus focus on ‘Getting Your First Order’.
What these ‘get rich quick’ schemers never tell you is that once you get your order, you need to fulfil it. You need to get it from a warehouse, into the hands of the customer. The order needs to be right – the items in the box need to be what was on the order. The items need to be undamaged. Not broken or spoiled by heat or cold. The order needs to arrive within the timeframes that the customer expects. And then there are returns!
It’s not just smaller stores that find the fulfilment of online orders a challenge. The supply chain changes completely. The value chain changes completely.
Let’s take something simple. If you are selling fruit and vegetables online, the people picking the order need to know their fruit and vegetables. They need to know that lemon-grass and spring-onions are not the same thing, even though in the picture they might look similar. They need to know what a tomato that is past it’s best looks like and not send it out.
Customer Experience is a River… – It has a source and a destination. Converting your Instagram audience into an order is just the start of the journey.