The coronavirus not only cripples our social life, but also has an undeniable impact on our economy. Several stores and businesses had to close pre-emptively without any further notifications. Sales through familiar physical channels came to a halt or are under severe pressure.
While much of the world has slowed down, e-commerce seems to be making its way with exponential speed. However, there are also some challenges that make us rethink sales strategy.
Drastic measures taken by Amazon during COVID 19
A few weeks ago, Amazon temporarily disabled all inbound shipments from the US and EU for Fulfilment by Amazon, except for a few key categories.
In addition, all B2C shipments of non-essential products to Italy and France were banned. It was the company's response to the escalating coronavirus situation in these regions. Now Amazon is fully utilizing its logistics capacity for the essential products that are in high demand.
From a social and business standpoint, there is certainly some degree of understanding. After all, you have to make a choice when your capacity is strained. However, such decisions put the companies that rely entirely on FBA in a difficult situation.
How to keep your sales on marketplaces running smoothly
Fortunately, there are still opportunities to keep your business running at full capacity with an alternative logistics approach.
Together with our partnerChannelEngine.com, we offer our customers to use their store or back end system to sell around the world. By creating a seamless integration between businesses and marketplaces, we enable them to automate and maximize their sales potential.
They can use a single stock point for all online sales channels and can process orders according to their specific requirements.
ChannelEngine.com is responsible for your connection process with the marketplaces and we take care of processing and shipping.
The 3 benefits of using an outside fulfillment agency
Although it is far from your ideal operational decision during the normal business cycle, external fullfilment can offer you many valuable benefits today:
1. The ability to reach new audiences in marketplaces without depending on their logistics operations.
2. The ability to personalize your logistics flow to fit your brand experience and meet your strategic objectives. For example:
- Multiple picking processes for different online/offline channels.
- All kinds of logistical added value (such as leaflets, giveaways, etc.).
- Different carrier solutions so you can optimize your transport and we can communicate with the carrier in case of problems.
3. The ability to go international and avoid complex logistical constraints.
No matter if you sell pans with a ceramic non-stick coatingor hair products, there is an ultimate approach to optimize your sales.
Let's turn these challenging times around to step back, realize your options and take advantage of new short- and long-term opportunities. Let us and ChannelEngine.com make your marketplace orders run smoothly.
