Third party logistics providers help with high fashion

The world is becoming more of an "instant gratification" kind of society than ever before and you can blame it on technology. With the increased use of the Internet and social media, anyone is able to experience immediate results from any action.

The same can be said for the e-commerce world. One of the few drawbacks of shopping online is the wait it takes from clicking "checkout" to having that product delivered to your front door.

This has led many delivery services to start investing in ways to improve or create a same-day delivery process. The USPS has been piloting same-day deliveries in New York and San Francisco (however the practice in the latter has just been suspended due to lack of participation after a year) and Amazon has rolled out the idea of possibly using autonomous drones to take small packages from point A to point B in urban areas as well as creating an "Anticipatory Package Shipping" program that will send users products before they order them based on past shipments.

How a third party logistics firm can benefit shipping speed

Retailers have been hit hard by the growth of online shopping. It has forced many businesses to change their entire operation and as the influence of the internet grows, so too does the need for companies to adjust.

A recent article from RetailWeek took this a step further by profiling the womenswear company N Brown. According to Linda Quinn, the company's trading director, consumers are more demanding and are driving many business decisions. It has caused the business to start investing in everything from quicker response sources to shortened lead times. This is important because in the fashion world where the season cycle can be two months, speed is key to being successful.

Mark Catley, the head of ecommerce development for supply chain management firm Norbert Dentressangle, told the news source that the need for speed in the fashion supply chain has been pushed by the increasing confidence that consumers have for the online platform.

"The consumer is always king, and what the consumer wants drives the industry. Broadband has improved and shoppers have got more and more confident," he says. "The consumer has a level of certainty now that they didn't have previously - you know that once you click that item it's yours. The supply chain does the rest."

This is where a third party logistics firm can come into play. Trying to manage everything that goes into shipping and order fulfillment alone is complicated, now try adding staying in front of the quickly evolving fashion world to the list of daily tasks and logistics can easily be overlooked.

Andy Gulliford, the chief operating officer of property investment and development company Segro, told the news source that delivery to the home is just as important to the customer online shopping as having a good website. No one wants to order a hot new dress for it to be delivered three weeks later when it is out of season because of a poor logistics service.

With a reliable shipping service that can handle warehouse, product fulfillment and timely delivery, any organization can rest easy knowing that this aspect of their business is being handled by professionals and can turn their attention to more pressing matters.