Latest
-
Articles Data & Technology
How to Bring Your Supply Chain Into the Digital Age
Originally published on Database Trends and Applications, Ware2Go CEO Steve Denton examines the flexibility of digital sales channels and the need for an equally flexible supply chain to support them.
— 11 min read
-
Articles Warehousing & Fulfillment
Shop Small Sentiment Is on the Rise: Tips for Success on Small Business Saturday
The COVID-19 pandemic has inspired more consumers to shop small this holiday season. These tips will help merchants make the most of Small Business Saturday, leveraging excellent customer experiences to drive brand preference and increase sales year-round.
— 6 min read
-
Articles Warehousing & Fulfillment
Thinking About Amazon Multi Channel Fulfillment?
This overview of the services and business outcomes of Amazon Multi Channel Fulfillment outlines important considerations for Amazon sellers launching a new sales channel. Explore alternative options for streamlining a multichannel fulfillment strategy and understand the true impact of fulfillment and delivery on brand and customer satisfaction.
— 8 min read
-
Articles Warehousing & Fulfillment
3PL vs 4PL Essentials: 5 Questions to Ask When Selecting a Provider
Understanding the benefits of a 3PL vs 4PL is the first step to finding the perfect outsourced logistics partner. This overview will help you set your priorities as you vet potential partners.
— 8 min read
-
Articles Warehousing & Fulfillment
Multichannel eCommerce A to Z: A Complete Guide to Growing Your eCommerce Business
Looking to diversify your ecommerce sales channels? This guide to multichannel ecommerce covers everything from marketplace recommendations to multichannel fulfillment strategies.
— 10 min read
-
Articles Warehousing & Fulfillment
4 Advantages of Outsourced Order Fulfillment
Merchants report that outsourced order fulfillment gives them faster, more reliable fulfillment and simplifies their day-to-day operations. In spite of these benefits, 21% of merchants would like to outsource their fulfillment but still manage it in-house. Find out why nearly 82% of merchants choose to partner with a fulfillment provider for at least some of their fulfillment operations and how merchants of all sizes can benefit from these kinds of partnerships.
— 7 min read
-
Articles Warehousing & Fulfillment
Multichannel Inventory Management Simplified
Tracking inventory across multiple sales channels may seem daunting, but it is not only manageable for businesses of all sizes, it can become a strategic part of your multichannel growth strategy. A streamlined and integrated inventory management system can mean the difference between feeling like you’re always struggling to stay one step ahead of demand and leveraging inventory for future growth, even with limited investment in fixed assets.
— 5 min read
-
Articles Warehousing & Fulfillment
Redefining Fast Shipping for 2020 Consumer Expectations
Ware2G0's 2020 merchant survey reveals that consumer expectations for fast shipping continue to evolve, and merchants are tailoring their fulfillment models to meet the growing demand.
— 5 min read
-
Articles Commerce & Sales Channels
Beyond BFCM: How to Drive Sales Throughout the Holidays
BFCM (Black Friday/Cyber Monday) may get all the media attention, but it's really only the beginning of the holiday shopping season. These tips will help you drive sales through the entire holiday season.
— 4 min read
-
Articles Demand & Inventory Planning
Tips for Effectively Managing Seasonal Inventory
Long before the winter holidays arrive, seasonal suppliers are already prepping their supply chains to handle the uptick in demand. But without a warehousing and fulfillment strategy that is tailored to fit seasonal requirements, companies lose out on significant portions of their revenue due to year-round storage and inventory management costs. With this in mind, how does on-demand warehousing and fulfillment enable seasonal suppliers to avoid unnecessary expenses while still capitalizing on their peak season?
— 7 min read
-
Articles Commerce & Sales Channels
The Importance of Multichannel Selling
Multichannel selling is the surest method to expand market share and eliminate single points of failure in your sales strategy. Ahead, we'll unpack the unique characteristics of each channel and why today's retailers should consider all channels working together to feed a single omnichannel approach.
— 8 min read
-
Articles Demand & Inventory Planning
Change and Cheese
Ware2Go’s CEO Steve Denton explores how the Coronavirus pandemic not only accelerated ecommerce sales but expanded the types of products consumers expected to have shipped to their homes. These changes mean that traditional retailers and ecommerce merchants alike will need to enhance both in-store and online shopping experiences while building a flexible supply chain to support evolving sales strategies.
— 6 min read
-
Articles Commerce & Sales Channels
3 Predictions for the 2020 Holiday Shopping Season
Above all else, this 2020 holiday shopping season will be a tricky one for merchants and supply chains alike. These three predictions point towards a successful peak season for merchants who prioritize flexibility and scalable technology.
— 8 min read
-
Articles Commerce & Sales Channels
An Ecommerce Seller’s Guide to Building an International Customer Base
As ecommerce and fulfillment technology evolves, the global marketplace grows smaller and merchants’ growth opportunities grow larger. This guide outlines first steps to launching an international sales channel.
— 8 min read
-
Articles Commerce & Sales Channels
COVID-19 Flipped the Script on Ecommerce vs. Brick and Mortar
The growing trend towards in-store fulfillment and staggering growth of grocery delivery illustrate a changing dynamic in retail prioritization of ecommerce vs. brick and mortar sales channels. Ahead we’ll discuss how SMB’s are uniquely positioned to leverage this new dynamic for multichannel growth.
— 7 min read
-
Articles Warehousing & Fulfillment
Growing Revenue and Retention with Multichannel Fulfillment
With each new channel you add to your multichannel selling strategy comes added complexity in supply chain and order fulfillment. Outsourcing your fulfillment to a single partner not only simplifies your end to end supply chain but through automation, integration, and insights, makes fulfillment a growth driver across all sales channels.
— 6 min read
-
Articles Data & Technology
Does Your Business Need a Multichannel Selling Software?
The key to effectively managing multiple sales channels is automation and integration. As with any tool your business employs, it’s important that your multichannel selling software simplifies your operations and supports your long-term business goals. This overview highlights the functionality and practicality of some of our favorite multichannel selling softwares.
— 7 min read
-
Articles Demand & Inventory Planning
Flexible Partnerships Empower Creative Solutions
Like many merchants, O2 pivoted quickly in response to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ll examine how their unique community-first response to the pandemic and flexible end-to-end supply chain grew their business by five fold in a time when many businesses struggled to stay afloat.
— 7 min read
-
Articles Demand & Inventory Planning
From Sales Tax to Inventory Tax - The Complete Guide for eCommerce Businesses
The nuances of sales and inventory tax may not be top of mind for many merchants, but the impacts of factors such as where inventory is stored and for how long as well as state-by-state economic nexus can make a significant difference when tax season rolls around. We’ve put together a high-level overview of some of these important considerations for merchants to keep in mind as they expand their sales channels and their fulfillment network.
— 8 min read
-
Articles Warehousing & Fulfillment
4 Logistics Best Practices
Merchants often spend time, capital and resources on perfecting their sales and marketing practices but often don’t realize the impact efficient logistics practices can have on their business outcomes. We’ve outlined a few logistics best practices to help you turn your supply chain into a revenue driver for your business.
— 5 min read
-
Articles Commerce & Sales Channels
Announcing Ware2Go’s Integration with Google Free & Fast
Fast Shipping Matters More Than Ever
Google has recently taken a deep-dive into behavioral research to understand what really drives the decision-making process for online shoppers. Their research clearly indicates that “The Power of Now” contributes significantly to a consumer’s decision to purchase one product over another, confirming that speed of delivery is a major competitive differentiator for merchants jockeying for position in the marketplace.
— 4 min read
-
Articles Commerce & Sales Channels
From eBay to Amazon: Multichannel eCommerce Starts with Marketplaces
There are endless marketplace options for merchants to choose from in today’s highly digitized economy. We’ve overviewed five of today’s top players to help you start thinking about what qualities to look for when determining which marketplaces are the best fit for your products.
— 9 min read
-
Articles Warehousing & Fulfillment
Amazon Doubles Down on Seller Fulfilled Prime Requirements
As Amazon doubles down on fulfillment requirements for sellers enrolled in SFP, Ware2Go is enabling merchants to do more than simply comply with the new policy. We’ll examine how “The Amazon Effect” has shaped consumer preference for 2-day shipping and anticipate the ways these new policies may shape the future of eCommerce fulfillment.
— 7 min read
-
Articles Demand & Inventory Planning
Could Walmart and Target Closing on Thanksgiving Open a Door for SMB’s?
Walmart, followed closely by Target, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Best Buy and Kohl’s, announced that their stores would be closed on Thanksgiving this year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. While none of the retailers have announced detailed plans for Black Friday, most have outlined plans to extend holiday shopping deals and enhance online ordering and curbside pick-up options. All of these changes beg the question, what will the historic holiday shopping day look like this year?
— 5 min read
-
Topics Demand & Inventory Planning
Welcome to the New Supply Chain
Ware2Go’s CEO Steve Denton explores how the Coronavirus pandemic has accelerated a shift in consumer shopping patterns and how supply chains must adapt to meet new customer expectations for their digital shopping and delivery experience. The demands of the new supply chain require businesses to adopt the concepts of Acceptance, Flexibility, and Acceleration to thrive in this new era of logistics.
— 5 min read
-
Topics Commerce & Sales Channels
How to Sell on Multiple Marketplaces
Often the first step to building a successful multichannel selling strategy is listing products on multiple online marketplaces like Amazon and Walmart Marketplace. Choosing the best fit marketplaces for your brand and automating internal processes where possible will allow you to think strategically and leverage this multi-channel approach for rapid growth.
— 7 min read
-
Topics Warehousing & Fulfillment
Fulfillment for Good
Ware2Go’s partnerships with its merchants and warehouses went beyond delivery speed and a flexible fulfillment model as they worked together to provide vital support to America’s frontline workers. Together they offered essential supplies and some much-needed pick-me-ups, delivering them all with record speed.
— 6 min read
-
Topics Commerce & Sales Channels
Which eCommerce Platform Is Best for Your Small Business?
Taking the time to choose the best eCommerce platform for your small business will allow you to focus on the aspects of running your storefront that are most important to you. Whether you’re ready to dive into hand-coding your own solutions or prefer a simple drag and drop editor, there is an eCommerce platform out there for you.
— 9 min read
-
Topics Data & Technology
Shopping Trends for a Socially Distanced Summer
As summer is heating up, so are sales for some of our merchants, and while fluctuating seasonal demand isn’t new for many of these businesses, data shows some distinct trends in summer sales this year with select merchants experiencing over 300% spikes in sales in the months of May and June.
— 7 min read
-
Articles Commerce & Sales Channels
Rethinking Your Seller Fulfilled Prime [SFP] Strategy
In light of Amazon’s recent announcement regarding the changes to its Inventory Performance Index threshold and quantity limits, many Amazon sellers are weighing alternative fulfillment options. The announcement comes mere weeks ahead of this year’s postponed Prime Day (currently scheduled for the week of October 5th) and just as many sellers are gearing up for the busy holiday shopping season.
— 7 min read
-
Articles Warehousing & Fulfillment
Why SLAs – and True Partnerships – Matter When It Comes to Outsourcing Fulfillment
By Chris Domby, Vice President of Supply Chain at Ware2Go Companies that outsource fulfillment can considerably reduce their capital expenditure, mitigate risks, and increase their operational speed-to-adapt. Even more, outsourcing logistics allows brands to focus on revenue drivers such as product innovation and growing sales channels. As described, the business case sounds compelling. Why wouldn’t you want to reduce risk and increase top line growth?— 7 min read
-
Articles Warehousing & Fulfillment
Top 3 Trends of Today’s Supply Chain
In this new economy small to medium-sized businesses are facing challenges and levels of uncertainty they’ve never faced before. With rapidly changing rates of sales, inventory shortages, and shifting consumer habits, business owners are looking for ways to transform their operations in order to stay relevant to today’s consumers. Ware2Go’s CEO Steve Denton said in a recent interview about the effects of COVID-19 on the retail industry, “A lot of our customers who relied on traditional sales channels struggled early on because they didn’t have fully optimized digital channels. Those that did have fully optimized digital channels were able to make that shift quicker.” Denton identified 3 major trends that are defining this new age of commerce and ways that businesses can succeed in an ever-changing market.
— 7 min read
-
Articles Commerce & Sales Channels
Can Your Shopify Store’s Supply Chain Meet the Demands of Walmart Marketplace?
Walmart has announced that for the first time it will partner with a commerce platform specifically tailored to small to medium sized businesses in an effort to expose its customer base to a wider selection of high-quality merchants and further establish itself as a leader in the online retail space. Its partnership with trusted eCommerce platform Shopify comes on the heels of Walmart’s record-breaking first quarter online sales as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. Rather than holding out hope for brick and mortar sales to catch up to pre-pandemic levels, Walmart is jumping on this opportunity to expand its Walmart Marketplace offerings and emerge even stronger in the new reality of the post-COVID economy. Ready to finally knock Amazon out of position as the number one online marketplace, Walmart has set its initial onboarding goal at 1,200 new merchants before the end of the year.— 6 min read
-
Articles Warehousing & Fulfillment
Today's Realities and Retooling Your Supply Chain Risk
Even during good times, business risk is everywhere. This is particularly so for small- and medium-size firms, which face constant pressure from all sides, whether challenged by upstart competitors or established players. As if that weren’t enough, the coronavirus pandemic has dramatically shifted purchasing channels and driven unprecedented online shopping demand.
— 4 min read
-
Articles Warehousing & Fulfillment
How Ware2Go Is Ensuring Smooth Fulfillment & Distribution Coverage for Merchants During These Times of Uncertainty
As the situation surrounding coronavirus (COVID-19) within the U.S. continues to evolve, many businesses continue to face new and unique supply chain challenges. In light of all that is happening, we feel it is prudent to offer a timely review of how our on-demand fulfillment model is built to accommodate supply chain disruptions of this kind. Although it is widely known by now that both state and federal governments have designated that certain “essential services” (including warehouse, transportation, and logistics providers) remain operational throughout this period, our intent is to offer clarity beyond these designations and showcase specific ways that our on-demand warehouse network can help mitigate risk and offset uncertainty during these periods of disruption.
— 5 min read
-
Articles Commerce & Sales Channels
From Amazon to Shopify: Why Multichannel Fulfillment is Key to Solving E-Commerce Complexity
Unless your business is brand new, chances are your sales are occurring across more than just a single channel. For instance, today’s leading brands are likely selling directly to consumers across e-commerce marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, and Wayfair, as well as through their own websites via platforms like Shopify or WooCommerce. Targeting this array of channels makes sense because if you truly want broad market exposure, you have to go where your customers are. The challenge? For each new sales channel you add, a new layer of order fulfillment complexity is introduced.
— 11 min read
-
Articles Data & Technology
The 5 Data Sets You Need to Effectively Leverage 3rd Party Logistics & Fulfillment in 2020
In 2020, the 3rd party solutions available to merchants for optimizing their logistics and fulfillment workflows are as accessible and affordable as ever. However, for these new-age logistics models to function as they’re intended, merchants must be able to provide a range of data related to their product set, sales channels, and order volumes. By capturing these data sets, merchants enable their 3rd party provider to determine how much inventory should be stocked, how often new inventory should be restocked, and what the most efficient delivery options are.
— 8 min read
-
Articles Warehousing & Fulfillment
How to Achieve Affordable Nationwide 2-Day UPS Ground Shipping
As merchants seek to provide faster and more affordable shipping options for customers, many discover that building an efficient delivery network is more complicated than they first anticipate. Often times, the standard ground shipping options offered by major carriers are too slow to reach customers across the country. However, the high costs associated with air delivery make this option too expensive to afford long-term. But given these constraints, how can merchants develop distribution networks that guarantee 1-2-day delivery speeds for all their U.S. customers without having to pay expensive shipping fees? One answer may lie in Ware2Go's on-demand warehousing and fulfillment network.
— 11 min read
-
Articles Data & Technology
UPS Drones, Uber Freight, & the Rapidly Evolving Field We Call Logistics
In today’s fast-paced economy, customer demands for faster and cheaper delivery are continually pushing businesses to develop more efficient distribution networks. And as business leaders recognize the extent to which supply chain efficiency impacts customer satisfaction, companies are toiling to lead the charge for the fastest and most cost-effective delivery structure. Resultantly, an abundance of investment across the logistics landscape in recent years has yielded some highly innovative solutions. Learn more about these developments by reading the full story.
— 8 min read
-
Articles Warehousing & Fulfillment
10 Things to Know About Ware2Go’s Nationwide Warehouse Network
Since Ware2Go’s founding, our analysts have held conversations with thousands of merchants regarding their warehousing and storage requirements. By categorically documenting the focal points of these discussions, we have assembled a list of the most common questions that merchants have about our warehousing services. Now, in order to provide the highest degree of transparency back to our customers and potential customers, this Q&A-formatted list is offered as a comprehensive resource that analyzes the scope of our warehouse network, the breadth of functionality we offer, and the costs that are tied to leveraging our facilities.
— 14 min read
-
Articles Warehousing & Fulfillment
Why So Many E-Commerce Providers are Building Their Own Fulfillment Networks
In recent years, Amazon's same-day and next-day delivery services have set the standard for all other businesses that sell online. As a result, other e-commerce and logistics providers are under pressure to develop and upgrade their own distribution networks to keep pace. But as new providers enter the e-commerce fulfillment landscape and look to duplicate what Amazon has established, many of the solutions have focused specifically on small businesses. Why is this?
— 7 min read
-
Articles Warehousing & Fulfillment
CBD Spotlight: Navigating the Logistics Challenges of a Budding Industry
In order to shed light on the obstacles confronting CBD suppliers within the logistics space, Ware2Go conducted interviews with two U.S.-based CBD brands. Each brand is focusing on a unique segment of the CBD market and is operating at a different stage of business growth. The stories and experiences of these two brands are provided here in order to paint a vivid picture of what the logistics challenges surrounding the CBD industry look like today, and how companies are working to successfully navigate them.
— 3 min read
-
Articles Demand & Inventory Planning
How Strategic Inventory Financing Enables Small Business Growth
If your business is built around providing physical merchandise or products to customers, you know how important it is to always have enough inventory on hand to meet demand. However, as operational costs pile up, investments in areas like marketing, R&D, or sales might suddenly dominate your budget in one month or quarter. As a result, you may find that maintaining enough capital to always afford sufficient stock is harder than it sounds. This is where inventory financing comes into play.
— 12 min read
-
Articles Warehousing & Fulfillment
Why E-Commerce Fulfillment Is Just As Important As Sales & Marketing
Whether you're a large enterprise jump-starting a direct-to-consumer sales channel or a start-up just beginning to sell your products, developing a robust e-commerce strategy should be at the top of your priorities list. But before companies dive too deep into their online marketing and sales efforts, it is important to take a step back and consider all the steps involved with building a sustainable, long-term e-commerce strategy.
— 10 min read
-
Articles Warehousing & Fulfillment
The True Impact of On-Demand Warehousing for SMBs
For small businesses dealing with high shipment volumes or complex (heavy or bulky) products, having to personally pick, pack, and ship every new customer order can quickly become overwhelming. This is especially true as the rise of e-commerce gives businesses access to a broader base of potential customers. But given their limited resources, how can SMBs upgrade their fulfillment workflows without depleting their budget or overwhelming their staff? For a growing number of firms, the answer is on-demand warehousing.
— 9 min read
-
Articles Demand & Inventory Planning
How Inventory & Order Fulfillment Challenges Can Hinder Start-Up Growth
Today, many small businesses dream of a scenario where they have so many clients, they can't keep up with demand. But while this scenario sounds nice, the operational challenges that arise from small business growth can actually do more harm than good. To combat the risks associated with unchecked growth, how can small businesses support an expanding customer base without adding excessive costs or overwhelming their staff?
— 10 min read
-
Articles Data & Technology
5 Ways Large Enterprises Can Use On-Demand Warehousing to Drive Logistics Innovation
Today, many of the established but increasingly cumbersome logistics models of large enterprises are struggling to handle a new age of customer expectations. An increasing number of traditional 3PL providers are falling behind the curve as well. And as their inefficiencies grow more pronounced, enterprises are looking for new ways to foster innovation and drive improvement across their supply chains without introducing excessive risk or adding costs. Along this front, on-demand warehousing and fulfillment models have proven effective in providing large businesses with an alternative distribution network that allows them to quickly respond to new industry trends, test demand in new markets, and deliver expedited shipping to customers.
— 7 min read
-
Articles Commerce & Sales Channels
How Customized Packaging & Seamless Delivery Create a Memorable Customer Experience
Competition among businesses to win over new clients is as high as it’s ever been. Given that U.S. companies collectively spent $220 billion+ on media advertising in 2018, how can merchants with limited budgets stand out above the noise to create lasting impressions on their customers? In a world where e-commerce shopping is on the rise, combining personalized packaging with a seamless delivery experience may be what ultimately differentiates your brand from competitors.
— 6 min read
-
Articles Commerce & Sales Channels
Top 11 Shopify Apps to Grow Your E-Commerce Business
Although Shopify’s core e-commerce platform is already robust, there are thousands of “add-on” applications available that can be used to enhance site owners’ pages. These apps can perform all manner of functions from running sales promotions and developing marketing campaigns to tracking and managing online orders. To help you determine which of these apps are best for your business, this article highlights 11 of our favorites.
— 8 min read
-
Articles Warehousing & Fulfillment
Overcoming Trade Conflict Through On-Demand Warehousing
As recently as January 2019, a U.S.-based survey of over 300 corporate and banking professionals (1) revealed that trade conflict was not a top concern domestically. At the time, there was still uncertainty over various U.S. trade agreements, but efforts between all involved parties looked to be progressing in a favorable manner. However, the climate can change without warning, and the past several months have seen a sudden escalation in several major trade disputes.
— 11 min read
-
Articles Warehousing & Fulfillment
Warehousing & Fulfillment Takeaways from Amazon & Walmart's E-Commerce Rivalry
Who doesn’t love a good rivalry? In the e-commerce arena, the ongoing power struggle between Walmart and Amazon has dominated the recent headlines of most major media outlets and generated significant industry buzz as a result. While competition between major retailers and e-commerce providers is not uncommon, Amazon and Walmart’s battle continues to escalate as each seeks to outperform the other when it comes to speed-of-delivery, customer experience, and overall quality of service.
— 12 min read
-
Articles Warehousing & Fulfillment
How Businesses Can Leverage On-Demand Warehousing & Fulfillment to Drive Growth
We live in an age where efficiency is prioritized. Whether it’s the method by which you transact with your bank, order new shoes, or track a shipment, many processes that were once time-consuming can now be performed at the touch of a button. But as this seamless experience becomes the norm, it is causing a massive shift in what businesses and consumers expect from their partners and service providers. As expectations around efficiency increase, companies are being forced to streamline their operations to meet customer demands. This is particularly true when it comes to fulfilling e-commerce orders.
— 10 min read
-
Articles Warehousing & Fulfillment
3PL Business Basics: Expanding Your Business and Growing Your Customer Base
Third party logistics businesses providers have a unique challenge and opportunity in front of them. The challenge is keeping up with the shipping demands associated with e-commerce. E-commerce sales totaled $2.3 trillion in 2017 and they are expected to more than double to $4.8 trillion by 2021.
— 8 min read
-
Articles Warehousing & Fulfillment
Overcoming the Top 4 Pain Points in Fulfillment
Fulfilling B2B e-commerce orders requires an efficient approach to warehouse management. But sometimes this is easier said than done. Nearly every warehouse manager has run into pain points in day-to-day operations. The question is - how can you take active steps to overcome these pain points?
— 4 min read
