Lightning fast. E-retail is war and so e-logistics or e-fulfilment is also war. A war that is taking place on the labor market (where do we house our migrant workers?), in the cloud (which systems do we link to each other and how?) and in the warehouse and delivery (how do you organize and support physical logistics at the workplace and on the road?).

In principle, logistics follows the wishes of the customer and these wishes are increasingly shifting to individual wishes. The consumer is no longer satisfied with longer delivery times or being in the dark when something is delivered at the door. Individuals want to be able to determine when, at what place and at what time (preferably as accurately as possible) the package will be presented. This now creates the need for same day delivery. While you also have to deal with an increasingly late cut-off.

In other words, supply chains are starting to pinch. e-Logistics or e-fulfilment is a young discipline that can no longer blindly follow the old laws of logistics. Many companies struggle with this. Jeroen van den Berg e-logistics consultant mentions three principles that can serve as a guideline: Think big, start small, scale fast.

Think big: set an ambitious goal. Where do you want to go with your company and your supply chain? This forces growth and the choices in the field of customer service and supply chain strategy that go with it.

Start small: pioneer with several small projects. Because it is unclear in advance what will and will not work, this is a sensible way forward. Make sure that the organization is agile and that the company mentality is change-oriented.

Scale fast: choose an IT architecture in which traditional systems can easily work together with new applications. Traditional are ERP, Webshop, Point of Sale, WMS and TMS. New are PIM (product information management), OMS (order management system), ESB (enterprise service bus), mobile apps and BI (business intelligence). And then choose the specific applications that can grow with you easily and quickly, without limits.

First of all, the difference between Small Data and Big Data. Small Data comes from your own company. You generate this data yourself. Big Data comes from outside, in other words from the entire chain. Is big in the sense of comprehensive and cross-company boundaries.

You must realize that you must first get your Small Data in order. You must be able to collect, transform, store, extract, analyze and interpret. This is also where your biggest profit lies. Your own data reveal their secrets much more easily in the context of your own company. Moreover, you can act on it, take measures that show an immediate effect.

Collecting Big Data and combining it with your own Small Data first requires a Data Science strategy: you need to know in advance what you want to know and why. There is no point in simply collecting, there is a danger that your organization will get bogged down in a huge mountain of data. You should also bear in mind that you can no longer interpret yourself, but that you need the computer that runs the algorithms to be able to analyze and interpret Big Data. Help is inevitable.

Remember that smart is interesting. Big Data is not yet Smart Data. The data becomes smart if you can, for example, answer questions such as: where is the best location to open a distribution center? Or how reliable are my suppliers? Or when should I have orders flown in, by train or in a container by ship?

A final point of attention is the GDPR. Keep in mind that the GDPR rules have been tightened up and you may no longer be allowed to collect the data you collect at all. Talk to a Grensloos Data Science advisor.

Several bottlenecks can arise in your logistics system. Below are a few applications that can lower your inventory costs and increase sales revenue:

You are not yet using forecasting and purchasing software.
If you are able to collect shop data, you as a logistics manager can ensure that the right quantities of products are in the right place at the right time. This requires links to an ERP with inventory management software or supply chain management software (SCMS). Supply chain management software (SCM) helps you manage goods flows and focuses on the planning and communication that is required. In particular, planning the future demand for goods and the required capacity in combination with communication between the parties involved is an important task of SCM software. In this way you can efficiently deal with your own purchasing, inventory management and possible outsourcing of goods. Supply chain management has to do with the flow of goods within a company, but can also be limited to a warehouse (WMS). An important functionality of SCM software is therefore the link with internal ERP, TMS and WMS systems.

Your organisation will perform cross-border e-commerce.
Join forces with an e-fulfilment partner who knows the tricks of the trade. There is a lot to consider, not only are the regulations often different in other countries, but also the mores surrounding the delivery of products to private individuals. . Think of the ways of payment, having a customer service point or a stock and returns location. In addition, data integration is important to be able to offer a smooth shipping system. Postal code data is often different than in the Netherlands, as are the requirements for packaging and the return of products. You can solve this logistical bottleneck with Pluriform software, because the webshops and the customer web portal are an integral part of the Pluriform information system. the most important principles for innovating your logistics and web shops is that all relevant data is centrally registered and managed in one information system. You save directly on the costs of maintaining additional compatible data files. In Pluriform, data is registered once and consistently. It’s that easy. Pluriform provides your webshop catalogs with the correct current information. Think of the online display of extensive product information, with or without current prices, displaying current stocks, in a certain variation, color or size can be put offline/online by means of a tick. Multiple webshops, per target group, are possible as standard. Web orders or quote requests are registered directly in your Pluriform system, with detailed customer data and payment method processed.

Making pressure? Certainly not. Continue to monitor developments and perhaps take the first steps? Most certainly yes.

Blockchain is here and certainly will not go away. In fact, it will continue to grow enormously in the coming years. Just as the internet caused a communication revolution, blockchain will cause a transaction revolution.

Wikipedia: A blockchain is a system that can be used to record data. This can be, for example, transfers such as those that are possible with a regular bank, but can also contain deeds of ownership, agreements, personal messages or other data. The special thing about the blockchain is that this is possible without a central authority, so that falsifying the recorded data is not possible by corrupting one central point.

The blockchain is best known as the central mechanism in all forms of cryptocurrency. A blockchain consists of a chain of data recorded and combined in the computer or on the internet, called blocks.

In plain English:

Now, without blockchain, there are many intermediates in a logistics chain that add, change and delete data with every transaction. This is wrong – and prone to fraud. Blockchain ensures that changing and deleting data is no longer possible. A file of data is recorded for each product from production to distribution to the final consumer without the intervention of intermediates. All data belonging to that one product is a block. These blocks are distributed, ie shared with each subsequent link in the chain. That new data is added back to the block. Blocks cannot be changed or deleted. They are transparent and secure from the moment of production to the final recipient/buyer.

Blockchain increases security, reduces costs, opens up new commercial opportunities and will change the way we do business.

Our advice: orient yourself and try to imagine what possibilities blockchain technology could offer in your logistics chain. Talk to one of the Grensloos advisors: 013-7113308 or send an email to info@grensloos.nl

API stands for: Application Programming Interface. APIs enable systems belonging to you, your suppliers and customers to communicate directly with each other. An example in which an API connection makes working more pleasant and efficient:

Think, for example, of a producer who works together with transporters. The logistics manager is probably used to this by means of a web portal to be informed about the transport/flight information. As a result, he knows exactly the ins and outs about incoming goods. Good in itself, but not very handy to always have to actively search for this, and certainly not when the logistics manager has to request this information from multiple web portals. This can be done smarter, through integration using APIs. Fortunately, every modern application and app can exchange data via APIs these days. This saves time and ultimately much less irritation!

Read more about integration possibilities of contact one of our API developers directly

You can solve these communication bottlenecks on the work floor of your warehouse by using logistics planning software. In case of international purchases or external products, all necessary documents related to the import and transport of goods from any part of the world, are created by Pluriform Logistics software without any problems. The transports of your goods can be optimally tracked. For each order, it is registered with which container and on which boat, truck or train it is delivered where and when.

Logistics and stock management
Stocks are reserved on the basis of entered orders. The delivery times are registered at order line level. Your stock level can be determined in real time at any time. The track & trace module informs you flawlessly about the where abouts of your products. You have access to a container loading plan. This gives you the opportunity to optimally plan and manage your logistics capacity.

Warehouse locations and pallet registration
This module offers the ultimate for a logistics manager. From the transport and logistics planning, standard container unloading lists can be printed for checking orders and receipts. The containers are unloaded at a storage location and you can optionally register the batches on pallets. Via a task, Pluriform Logistics software generates an impact with the free bulk warehouse locations. From orders to be delivered, this module has a task to first have pick locations supplemented from the bulk locations based on orders to be delivered.

Commerce, production and logistics must be able to adapt more and more quickly to the continuously changing circumstances and ensure that they meet agreements on time, increase service levels, reduce costs, enter the market with new products, services and innovations.

Redesigning business processes is the order of the day. The technology of your logistics/supply chain application must therefore be flexible in such a way that it can also be applied to new processes and the wishes of users. In short, it must be able to keep up with the pace of change in all domains. If your current application leaves something to be desired, please contact a Grensloos advisor.

You do this using multichannel integration. This software makes it possible to quickly connect to other e-commerce platforms with standard plugins. Smart multichannel integration does not disable your current systems, but instead integrates with them, your ERP, webshop or PIM will continue to do their job. Customer orders enter your own logistics fulfillment system via the multichannel system so that the order can be processed. Pricing, international invoicing and cross-border digital information provision such as return forms and other customer contact are additional options that are offered.

Time-to-market technology of applications is particularly relevant to be able to implement changes in your software quickly enough.

Mature e-businesses have one thing in common and that is that they use scalable, mobile-friendly and fast time-to-market technology.

Production, logistics and commerce must be able to adapt more and more quickly to the continuously changing circumstances and ensure that they meet agreements on time, increase service levels, reduce costs, enter the market with new products, services and innovations. Given this turbulence and the fact that speed counts, time to market is also an important success factor that must be taken into account in software investment decisions. That is why it is wise to get one central application (or else a few key applications) that have ‘time-to-market technology and its own database’ under the hood. This technology ensures that the period between the idea for a software adjustment or extension and the moment that the software can be used is considerably shorter than with traditional application technologies.

Marketing teams often consist of a limited number of people who have multiple competencies. With the advent of e-commerce, the number of digital competences has grown significantly. Not only the content of the profession is rapidly changing, but the amount of work required to keep webshops working optimally is also increasing rapidly.

One of those tasks is to keep filling the site with relevant product information. Often even in multiple places in the system. Growth can stagnate because it is simply impossible to keep up. In addition, it may be that because the same information is placed in different systems, there is a lack of clarity about the correctness of data, there is no ‘one truth’. As a result, a lot of time is lost because the information has to be checked again for correctness.

There is a solution for this: PIM (Product Information Management).

What exactly does PIM solve for you?
Een PIM systeem is één leidende informatiebron die alle informatie A PIM system is one leading source of information that regulates all information between different systems (think ERP systems, accounting systems, POS systems, web shops, etc.). This creates consistency of data (one truth). For example: if both the cash register system and the webshop of an organization are connected to the PIM system, the information about the assortment will be the same in both places. This greatly reduces the chance that differences will arise between data.

Some applications that a PIM system performs are:

• Import & export of product information in different formats
• Synchronization options with other systems
• Variety in content type (text, image, video, sound)
• Validation of data

Of course, new product information will still have to be entered into the system. This only happens once and consistently via PIM. And this will save you a lot of work and headaches in the future.

The most important thing in tracking your competitors on the internet is to track the prices of the products you offer. It is impossible to keep track of this manually for all products. If you offer the same products as your competitor, you can use a price comparison tool. You can then use this data to automatically adjust your own prices. This ensures that you always come out as the “best” in the test.

There are applications that show all competitors’ prices for your products through an integration in your own web store. This allows you to easily keep an eye on price changes from your competitors and/or your dealers if they appear in the most used price comparison sites such as Kieskeurig, Beslist, Compare and Google Shopping.

In addition, it is good to carry out various tests on a daily basis with regard to your competitors. You can think of measuring positions in the search engines, social media reach, brand awareness, etc… You can process this data in a dashboard so that you can always keep an eye on your competitors in real time.

First of all, think fast, not slow. Innovations will soon cease to be innovations.

Forget about perfection, 95% is good enough: it is better to be first than to be better.

And the third rule: think big not small. So stocking your product in your garage and printing your labels yourself every day and managing your worldwide distribution will not work either. In other words, take action.

E-success stands or falls with the degree to which you automate and therefore with the initial choice of your automation partner and the platform they offer. Both the e-commerce and the logistics part of it. The one is inextricably integrated with the other. Incidentally, that system does not have to cost tens of thousands of euros at the start. As long as the system is scalable, flexible and easily adaptable, you can quickly start automating. Automation is the tool that frees up the time to make a success of your innovative commercial concept, so you don’t do that by sending parcels yourself. Your daily challenge is revenue growth and you need full attention for your webshop and customer experience, without obstacles.

Leave the automation for 99% to your e-IT partner. So that you can achieve your growth ambitions without any obstacles.

API stands for: Application Programming Interface. APIs enable systems belonging to you, your suppliers and customers to communicate directly with each other. An example in which an API connection makes working more pleasant and efficient:

Think, for example, of a producer who works together with transporters. The logistics manager is probably used to this by means of a web portal to be informed about the transport/flight information. As a result, he knows exactly the ins and outs about incoming goods. Good in itself, but not very handy to always have to actively search for this, and certainly not when the logistics manager has to request this information from multiple web portals. This can be done smarter, through integration using APIs. Fortunately, every modern application and app can exchange data via APIs these days. This saves time and ultimately much less irritation!

Read more about integration possibilities of contact one of our API developers directly

In order to really focus on your customer and therefore your customer’s experience on your site, it is necessary to capture all events in one joint customer view. We call this a CDP: a Customer Data Platform. Often companies can register and analyze customer behavior with different tools. The disadvantage of this is that they are all separate applications with their own datasets. So they don’t communicate with each other.

A CDP collects all internal data and enriches it with external data. It builds an up-to-date customer profile. This makes it possible to make communication significantly more relevant and predict customer behavior more accurately. With a CDP, you can better understand what customers are doing and act on them in real time. Subsequently, that behavior becomes predictable and that the most relevant action is taken fully automatically. Grensloos Pluriform can be used as a CDP.