As shopping online becomes a necessity, e-commerce logistics is yet again gaining in importance and is rightly regarded as one of the industries well-positioned to survive and even thrive in the post COVID-19 world becoming a centre of innovation and investments.
Surprisingly, e-commerce logistics still create opportunities and niches for new and incumbent members of the supply chain, particularly 3PL logistics companies and freight forwarders. How?
There is still a need to connect, say, hundreds of Asia-based mid-size and small online platform retailers with last-mile delivery service providers in Europe. In fact, connecting can imply many things, from focusing on e-commerce transit volumes at airports´ hub to building delivery channels via postal networks or, if they are disrupted like now, via global or local express service providers. In other words, there is a niche to provide and ensure flexibility and overhaul in e-commerce logistics.
Provided they have the right modern software for the new role, 3PL and freight forwarders can not only provide flexibility to the e-commerce logistics sector but also tap into new data flows thus laying the ground for diversification of own business models.
