Day: January 9, 2023

Ecommerce fulfillment Singapore: Challenges, solutions, models and effective strategies

Posted on by hello@scuti

When launching your ecommerce business in Singapore, one of the top concern you should focus on is ecommerce fulfillment. In this article, we will discuss challenges, solutions, effective models of Singapore fulfillment and state strategies to tackle the problems.

Definition of ecommerce fulfillment

The aspect of your online store where your products are delivered to clients is called ecommerce fulfillment. Your ecommerce fulfillment procedures consist of a number of steps, take place after a customer puts an order. In other words, the fulfillment model includes picking and packing orders, shipping, and delivering to customers.

Challenges and solutions for Singapore ecommerce fulfillment

Generally, Singapore’s ecommerce business has seen retail shopping become more and more competitive. We provides vital statistics that illustrate Singaporeans’ digital behaviors and states strategies to tackle the challenges as below.

1. The issues of last-mile delivery

Last minute delivery in ecommerce fulfillment in Singapore

The final and most important link in the ecommerce process chain is the complete process of the parcel leaving the courier service and arriving at the customer’s doorstep. According to a McKinsey & Company analysis, the last-mile delivery charges make up about 50% of the overall shipping costs.

The following are the main difficulties Singapore has currently encountered with the last-mile delivery:

      • – High prices for delivery.

      • – Deliveries of packages were either missing or delayed.

      • – Ineffective method to deal with customers’ special request. There was no method for customers to ask questions. Ordering and waiting were the only choices.

      • – Incomplete transparency and poor packaging

      • – The size of the delivery worker fleet did not correspond to the capacity of the orders, which fluctuated.

      • For the convenience of delivery routes and management, smart technologies like artificial intelligence and data analytics were not integrated.

    Solution

    Planned delivery route

    To assist in optimizing their delivery routes, businesses have turned to last mile software.

    By enabling businesses to respond to any last-minute changes in the plan, the software helps them prevent delivery delays and so increases productivity.

    An efficient transport management system aids in optimizing the use of the fleets that are available in comparison to the orders that must be delivered, which reduces total expenses.

    2. Exorbitant real estate prices

    Singapore is renowned for having exorbitant real estate costs. It is exceedingly challenging for investors or even well-known Singaporeans to set up a sizable multipurpose warehouse. This business model is probably not going to benefit from the time and rate of ROI (return on investment).

    The following drawbacks of centralizing warehouses in a location like Singapore are also presented.

    High Outgoing Costs

    Singapore offers remote access to shopping centers and stores. A product must travel more to reach shops in a centrally located setting. As a result, shipping and other outgoing expenses go up.

    High Shipping Time

    The longer it takes for a product to go from a central warehouse to a store and then to the client, the more expensive and time-consuming the entire process is.

    As a result, the geography and consumer market of Singapore are best served by a decentralized warehouse planning model.

    Solution

    Distribute multiple small warehouses

    Setting up multiple small warehouses across different areas of Singapore is a probable solution

    3. Ineffective inventory and management in ecommerce fulfillment

    Inventory management in ecommerce fulfillment in Singapore

    Inventory distortion is a significant issue in the global ecommerce business as well as in Singapore. Only roughly 63% of accuracy is even accounted for by retail inventories. One example of the poor inventory and management is that Singapore experienced a terrible egg scarcity when the epidemic hit in 2020. The need for necessities surged suddenly. In order to fulfill the increased demand, shops had to place more and more egg orders. It was stated that once the demand was met, the distributors had to discard 250,000 eggs in June of the same year.

    – The following are some of the main causes of poor management:

        • – The centers frequently encountered stock-out or overstock problems

        • – The registered data on manually updated sheets did not match the actual inventory.

        • – The management and warehouse workers had trouble adding and removing items from the inventory.

        • – The processes and return-orders associated with it were not adequately integrated.

      Solution

      Smart inventory management

      Inventory management helps prevent business from selling out-of-stock items and alert when business need to place an order or produce more of goods. If you build your ecommerce website on Shopify, you may set up inventory tracking, monitor your inventory, and modify your inventory levels in Shopify’s Inventory section. For products and variants whose inventory is being tracked by Shopify, you may also check the history of inventory modifications.

      Learn more about Singpost delivery time and shipping here. 

      4. Order management across omnichannel

      Only when clients had numerous touchpoints to place their orders did order management become difficult. As of right now, a warehouse or fulfillment facility receives orders from physical stores, social media sites, e-commerce platforms, or other online marketplaces.

      The following are the main order management difficulties the Singaporean ecommerce market confronts:

          • It was challenging to prioritize and keep track of the orders coming from various sources.

          • It was a laborious chore for workers at various same- and different-centers to manage multiple spread-sheets for order records. It was prone to numerous entering and synchronizing mistakes.

          • The center’s procedures, starting with order receipt, picking and packing, batch sorting, and order delivery, could not be tracked using an aligned system.

        Solution

        Automating the process with an Automated Order Management Software is the best way to ensure that an omnichannel order management runs smoothly. With Shopify Plus, business can integrate point-of-sale and ecommerce systems, which helps achieve business’ ultimate goal of being an omnichannel retailer and treating every consumer the same, regardless of where they purchase.

        Learn more about omnichannel and multichannel here.

        Ecommerce fulfillment models in Singapore and effective strategies

        1. Direct order fulfillment

        Direct fulfillment refers to delivering an order to the customer directly. It occurs when your ecommerce business completes D2C (direct to consumer) sales and sends orders to clients.

        Benefits of direct order fulfillment

            • – Lower cost

              • – Customization of packaging and branding

            Drawbacks of direct order fulfillment

                • – Hard to scale

                  • – Waste of time

                    • – Human errors can occur

                  This type of ecommerce fulfillment is best suitable for small online store who has lower than 100 orders per month.

                  2. Third party logistic

                  An associate or service known as a 3PL (Third-Party Logistics) supports online retailers in managing their supply chain. The management of warehouses and inventories, order fulfillment, shipping arrangements, retail distribution, exchanges, and returns are typical 3PL services.

                  Benefits of 3PL

                      • – Simple integration and time-saving technology

                      • – Easy to scale and quick to install

                      • – Viewing sales data to gain useful insights

                      • – Access a vast supplier network and more affordable delivery prices

                    Drawbacks of 3PL

                        • – Loss of control

                          • – Loss of customization

                            • – Fixed storage fee

                          Startups having a shortage of resources and are seeking to grow or concentrate their efforts on product development and marketing should choose this type of ecommerce fulfillment.

                          3. Dropshipping

                          Dropshipping

                          Dropshipping is an order fulfillment strategy where a company doesn’t hold inventory of the goods it sells. Instead, to fulfill orders, the seller buys inventory as required from a third party – typically a wholesaler or manufacturer.

                          Benefits of dropshipping

                              • – Easy to start

                                • – Low overhead costs

                                  • – Easy to scale up the business

                                Drawback of dropshipping

                                    • – Limited margin of profit

                                      • – Customer service not under your control

                                        • – No volume discounts and quicker lead times

                                          • – Hard for customization and branding

                                        This type of ecommerce fulfillment is a great choice for firms that are just getting started, serving as an additional side business with no full-time obligations or risk.

                                        Learn more about dropshipping in Singapore here.

                                        Conclusion

                                        Reasearching about ecommerce fulfillment in Singapore and choosing the best model for your business is one of a must strategy you should have to help your business grow. If you are considering building an ecommerce website on Shopify, this platform obviously offer the best way to tackle challenges related to ecommerce fulfillment.

                                        Want to hire Singapore’s web developers to build your ecommerce website, click here to learn more.

                                        The detailed guide to hire an ecommerce agency in Singapore effectively

                                        Posted on by hello@scuti

                                        Hiring an ecommerce agency in Singapore is a big decision for every business. Due to its complex process and overwhelmed number of agencies, you might find it daunting in finding the right company to help your business. Therefore, in this article, we will provide you a detailed guide to effectively hire an ecommerce agency in Singapore. 

                                        Why should you work with an ecommerce agency in Singapore?

                                        You’ll save a lot of time to see the results

                                        Hiring an ecommerce agency in Singapore helps you see better results

                                        Obviously, compared to hiring new personnel, using an agency is much faster and more effective. First of all, agencies are adept at getting things done right away, whereas you need to teach a new employee. Second, it’s because an agency has a strategic team prepared to assist you in expanding your company. Plus, agencies have experience and expertise knowledge, therefore they can even suggest different methods and applications to enhance your strategy. As a result, you’ll save a bunch of time to observe the outcome of your work. 

                                        Let’s take the scenario when your ecommerce website encounters a challenging technical problem. Your staff members most likely lack the expertise necessary to handle complex technical issues. In this case, employing an ecommerce firm with web developers who can identify the issue and address the problem in less than a day’s work is an ideal solution. 

                                        Another reason could be an ecommerce website needs a lot of integration and security to function well and help you sell your products. Outsourcing an agency will help you to save your time and work on this technical work. 

                                        You gain access to fresh viewpoints

                                        Hiring an agency can provide your business a new outlook if you are out of ideas. This is because they have diverse experience in dealing with various cases and working with such a wide range of clients. 

                                        It can be challenging to recognize chances outside of what you’ve already been doing when you’re running your own firm. Employing an agency provides you with a crucial outside perspective that might expose you to novel strategies and ideas.

                                        You can cut unnecessary costs

                                        Admittedly, outsourcing is not cheap. However, hiring an agency to help your ecommerce business is more affordable than hiring a team or an individual on a full-time basis. You can hire the necessary skills and experience through an agency without incurring the expense or time commitment of a full-time employee.

                                        Additionally, you would need to employ more than one individual in order to establish a  staff that is totally specialized to help you solve your company’s problems. And the sum can swiftly increase. Not to mention benefits, vacation pay, corporate bonuses, monthly payments for your new team, and other expenses. In addition, when outsourcing, you will be supported with 360 degree assistance. Therefore, it is definitely reasonable to hire an out-contracted team to help with your business.

                                        When should you hire an ecommerce agency in Singapore?

                                        You’re lacking necessary in-house talents

                                        You may find your company lacks employees to design your own website, set up an online store, produce content for social media, and other things. Here is where an ecommerce agency will step in. When your business has grown sufficiently to generate regular cash, investing in an ecommerce agency can increase your sales and, over time, put more money in your pocket.

                                        You don’t have much time left to tackle things on your own

                                        Running an online business requires a lot of time.You and your team have a ton of additional responsibilities as the business owner, from order fulfillment and updating product listings to accounting and customer service. In this case, hiring a Singapore ecommerce agency to help you with work should be an approachable solution. 

                                        You notice a drop in sales

                                        You may want to seek outside assistance if you’ve been successfully expanding your company on your own and seeing increasing revenues, but all of a sudden you’re beginning to see a drop or stagnation. 

                                        For a problem like this, you might want to work with a full-service e-commerce agency that can audit your website to check for user experience problems or give consultants in sales tactics. 

                                        What are essential steps to choose the right Singapore ecommerce agency?

                                        Steps to hire an ecommerce agency in Singapore

                                        Determine your goals

                                        Specify your goals and your needs. It’s necessary to specify your budget, schedule, and intended outcomes. The better, the more specific. 

                                        Next, you can seek information about ecommerce agencies who can help you. Do research about them, do their experience and knowledge align with your business’s strategy. 

                                        With this knowledge, you may eliminate any organizations that fall outside of your budget, have a waiting list, or can’t demonstrate results that are comparable to what you want.

                                        Think about your budget

                                        The majority of your business decisions are dictated by your budget. Your account is crucial in determining your suppliers or, in this case, the agency you’ll be working with.

                                        Search for and contact an ecommerce agency that can either provide service within your budget or whose packages you can afford. Look around and find the best team that can give you the services you require within your price range.

                                        Evaluate an ecommerce agency in Singapore

                                        It is expected of agencies to have websites and social media profiles that showcase their prior work. Review and examine the agency’s portfolio to see if any of the items fit within your sector or industry.

                                        Your compatibility with their methodology and workflow can also be seen in their portfolio. Whether or not their team is flexible is something else to consider. This is a fantastic quality, especially if building your ecommerce website requires a lot of input.

                                        Work with an agency that has experience working with many brands in various industries without hesitation. This implies that they may collaborate with you to identify the best approach to meeting your website and digital marketing requirements. 

                                        Also, you need to assess cultural and personal fit: Are they carefully listening to your needs? Does their way of working fit with yours? Have they ever worked with cases like yours?

                                        Contact with the ecommerce agency and review their proposals

                                        You should contact your chosen agency and arrange a meeting with them. During the meeting, try to find out whether their experience, knowledge and work process fit with your needs. When they send out the proposals, you should check it carefully to make sure it matches with your needs. 

                                        Keep in mind that an agency is there to help and support you at every turn. Find the best agency for your company, then ask them to assist you in achieving your online objectives.

                                        If you are finding an ecommerce agency in Singapore to help grow your business, consider Scuti.

                                        About Scuti

                                        Established in 2015, Scuti with 7+ years has developed into a dynamic, flexible, and quick-moving business that specializes in delivering web development for the ecommerce industry. We’ve created a global presence and work with clients in many different industry sectors. We place a strong emphasis on scope discovery to accurately identify client goals and objectives. We assist our clients in reducing operational complexity and putting innovative ecommerce solutions for businesses of all sizes, from startups, SMEs to large enterprises. Our main areas of specialty include Shopify, Adobe Commerce (also known as Magento), and ecommerce tools. 

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