Consumer Preferences: Cheap and Free Over Fast

Despite the race for faster delivery, price and free shipping still reign supreme for most online shoppers over speed. Research shows the top reasons for buying directly from a brand are better pricing and free delivery rather than fastest delivery. Particularly with commoditized products, consumers will opt for longer transit times to reduce costs.

Sustainability concerns also play a role. More customers choose reduced emissions over fast shipping, valuing responsible delivery. The rise of BOPIS (buy online, pick up in store) also demonstrates convenience can trump speed.

Implementing Fulfillment Solutions for E-commerce Delivery Speed

With delivery speed often less critical than expected, online retailers can focus investment on efficient fulfillment:

Warehousing and Distribution
To enable fast delivery across wider geographies, brands open more warehouse locations holding inventory while increasing logistics costs. Assess if this Fulfillment Network Optimization is worthwhile or if you can fulfill orders sufficiently from fewer locations.

Transportation Management

Choosing the right parcel shipping carriers and service levels to balance cost, speed and reliability is key. Leveraging a 3PL can help with Carrier Selection and Management based on Order Tracking and Metrics.

Last-Mile Delivery

While consumers see this final step, optimizing the entire supply chain is important. Using 3PL Delivery Services can improve last-mile speed and reliability without overinvesting internally.

Order Fulfillment Technology

Warehouse Management Systems, Order Management Software, Fulfillment Analytics, Tracking Portals and Inventory Management help orchestrate omnichannel fulfillment while providing inventory visibility and actionable data.

Managing Customer Expectations

Brand trust hinges on aligning marketing with actual fulfillment capabilities. Clearly communicate delivery estimates at checkout based on Origin and Destination, Carrier Speed and past Performance Data rather than arbitrarily accelerating targets.

Highlight other benefits beyond pure speed in messaging, like:

• Free shipping or returns
• Loyalty programs
• Curated recommendations
• Personalization

Adjust delivery targets seasonally based on Order Volumes instead of a one-size-fits-all approach. Be transparent on timing fluctuations for Inventory Availability.

Offer faster expedited delivery as a premium service for urgency rather than making it the norm. Upselling premium forwarding, even at an additional fee, caters to customer choice.

Use Fulfillment Partners Strategically

Comprehensively optimizing e-commerce order fulfillment requires advanced capabilities outside an online retailer’s core competencies. Working with a reputable 3PL provides integrated Instant Scalability:

• Multi-node Distribution Networks positioned near key customer bases
• Mature Transportation Partnerships with discounted parcel carrier rates
• Experience Accelerating Last-Mile Through Higher Delivery Density
• Existing Order Management Infrastructure ready for quick onboarding
• Volume-Based Priority in Downstream Handling Allowing Predictability

This enables small to midsize ecommerce companies to provide consistent fulfillment, competitive transit times and high Order Accuracy without extensive development costs. The expertise and technology infrastructure needed to excel at ecommerce order fulfillment can be gained through partnership.