• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • SCB YouTube
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Supply Chains in Crisis
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • THINK TANK
  • WEBINARS
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » Shifting E-Commerce Landscape Calls for New Look at Network Strategy
ANALYSIS

Shifting E-Commerce Landscape Calls for New Look at Network Strategy

February 1, 2021
Darren Jorgenson, SCB Contributor

The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the growth of e-commerce nearly 10 years ahead of schedule, and many facilities and network designs were built on assumptions that no longer make sense. 

Business leaders looking to create additional volume capacity should start by examining their existing networks. 

Meeting customer expectations like free shipping, fast delivery and easy returns at the lowest possible cost requires complex analysis as part of a strategic network plan. Sophisticated tools are available that use demand data to create and analyze visual network models. They allow you to weigh cost and service alternatives and perform “what-if” analysis to contrast different scenarios, looking for the network with the greatest profitability. These tools help answer questions like:

  • Do you have the correct number of distribution nodes, and are they located in the right places to support new service requirements and minimize costs? 
  • Are capacity constraints in some facilities driving you to incur additional transportation and operational costs to fulfill orders from other nodes? 
  • Do you need different types of distribution nodes to profitably service click-and-collect orders?
  • Are you looking for opportunities for zone-skipping to increase speed and save on costs?
  • In case of sudden disruption, where could you shift volume, and what are the impacts to service and cost? 
  • Is a micro-fulfillment strategy right for you? (Using existing stores' footprint or dark stores and high-density automation solutions to reduce transportation distance and time to customers)

Leading companies will go beyond this one-time review of their networks and make it a frequent and regular practice. As customer demands change, flexibility to pivot will drive revenue. And as service requirements change, so must the distribution network.

Walmart Inc., for example, recently announced it would be “accelerating how often and how fast” it performs supply-chain modeling and network design. Adding: “We’re looking at scenarios that we never contemplated before … turning off different nodes if they’re impacted, and how we’d react to that.”

Market leaders assess their store and distribution nodes regularly because network strategy has a significant impact on supply-chain profitability. The most beneficial results come from reviewing operations within distribution centers alongside network strategy.

Outlook 

Business continuity and profitability depend on flexibility during disruption. To encourage future growth, business leaders will examine their existing networks for ways to increase e-commerce capacity — and they’ll make it an ongoing practice to stay in sync with the retail landscape.

Darren Jorgenson is practice lead of global strategy at Fortna Inc.

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

Logistics Facility Location Planning All Warehouse Services E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
  • Related Articles

    The New E-Commerce Landscape Is Redefining Successful Marketing

    Watch: The Shifting Consumer Landscape

    China's E-Commerce Explosion Calls for Stronger Distribution Strategies and Systems

Darren Jorgenson, SCB Contributor

More from this author

Wake up to live
“Supply Chains in Crisis”
updates and the latest Supply Chain News!

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • INTERIOR OF A CHICKEN FARM, WITH WHITE CHICKENS AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE

    Worst Avian Flu in U.S. History Is Hitting Poultry

    Food & Beverage
  • TWO FINGERS MANIPULATE WOODEN LETTER BLOCKS TO TURN FROM SHOWING THE WORD RECOVERY TO RESILIENCE

    Five Challenges to Supply Chain Resilience in 2023

    Supply Chain Visibility
  • A PERSON HOLDS UP A TABLET COMPUTER IN A WAREHOUSE, SUPER-IMPOSED BY A GRAPHIC SHOWING A COMPLEX WEB OF SUPPLY CHAIN ELEMENTS

    Three Post-Pandemic Actions for Repairing Global Supply Chains

    Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
  • A MAN IN A SUIT SHAKES HANDS WITH A WOMAN IN A HARD HAT, NEXT TO A STACK OF CONTAINERS

    Three Procurement Technology Evolutions for 2023

    Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
  • The blank stare of a child's eye who is standing behind what appears to be a wooden frame

    The Alarming Continued Rise of Modern Slavery in Supply Chains: How Procurement Can Help Reverse the Trend

    Sourcing/Procurement/SRM

Digital Edition

Scb nov 2022 sm

2022 Supply Chain Innovator of the Year

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • New Revenue for Cloud-Based TMS that Embeds Orderful’s Modern EDI Platform

  • Convenience Store Client Maximizes Profit and Improves Customer Service

  • A Digitally Native Footwear Brand Finds Rapid Fulfillment

  • Expanding Apparel Brand Scales Seamlessly with E-Commerce Technology

  • How a Global LSP Scaled its Security Program and Won More Business

Visit Our Sponsors

Orderful Yang Ming Alithya
Barcoding Blue Yonder BNSF Logistics
CoEnterprise Data Capture Deposco
E2open GAINSystems Generix
Geodis GEP GreyOrange
Here Honeywell Intelligrated IFM
Infor Inmar Keelvar
Kinaxis Korber Lean Solutions Group 2H
Liberty SBF Locus Robotics Logility
LogistiVIEW Lucas Systems MCA Connect
MPO Nvidia Old Dominion
OpenText ORTEC Overhaul
Parsyl PMMI QIMA
Redwood Logistics Ryder E-commerce by Whiplash Saddle Creek Logistics
Schneider Dedicated Setlog Holding AG Ship4WD
Shipwell Tecsys TGW Systems
Thomson Reuters Tive Trailer Bridge
Vecna Robotics Verity
Verusen
  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • Digital Offerings
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Data Sharing Opt-Out

All content copyright ©2023 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing