e-Commerce is growing fast. The UK market has doubled since 2013 and is expected to exceed £76 billion in 2019.
Black Friday is seen as the market’s zenith, where retailers have the opportunity to boost sales at hitherto unseen rate. The discount day, however, puts huge stress on logistical systems, effecting speed and efficiency of delivery.
For e-Commerce providers, the digital holds the key to success. On the horizon is an industry that is vastly more efficient and cost-effective.
The supply-chain industry generates vast quantities of data, much of which remains siloed, leaving operators hungry for insight and visibility. By leveraging geospatial technology, the industry is able to ingest and provide context to huge quantities of data to capture data on measurable aspects such as location, weather, emissions, fuel usage and journey route and times.
In today, hyper competitive environment, success depends on businesses continually improving their service, while finding cost savings. Customers demand ease, transparency and simplicity, wanting instant real-time updates – integrating data using geospatial technology provides exactly this, while the journey is optimised.
Geospatial data helps by tracking movement, speed and route. Think of Google Maps, where the app tells users the fastest and most efficient route out of all possible routes available, but on an industrial scale. Additional data sets, such as retail customer information, can be combined with spatial data sets to analyse, for example, successful delivery attempts versus unsuccessful delivery attempts and identify patterns that can improve service levels moving forward.
Geospatial technology is the key to unlocking the potential of e-Commerce. To fully harness its true power, businesses must understand more isn’t necessarily better – operational efficiency can be achieved simply by leveraging geospatial technology. Spatial data should be seen as the fuel to navigate the demanding waters of delivery services – the last and most important mile in any e-commerce journey.
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