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The world will look and feel quite different in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and nowhere will these changes be more obvious than everyday commerce. Months of quarantine and increased demand for socially-distanced order fulfillment has sped up many of the trends already in swing when it comes to the online sale of products and services. Looking forward, here are four key changes our team at DMW&H are focused on.

Drop Shipping

While many online sales firms have made and will continue to make improvements to their own supply chain and warehouse management systems, some have chosen another route. In the future we are likely to see an increase in drop shipment to fulfill orders, in which a seller acts as a third part between a buyer and a product manufacturer. Like many of the other recent trends in order fulfillment, there is nothing fundamentally new when it comes to drop shipping. Sellers have always acted alongside wholesalers and other vendors to distribute their products, however in the future sellers are likely to offload their physical storage and manufacturing wherever possible.

In-Store Availability

While there is an understandable focus on the push towards entirely online transactions, with orders sent directly to a customer’s doorstep, the future may still need and want brick-and-mortar stores. The pandemic and the last decade’s decline of physical retailers have forced many sellers to rethink their use of physical spaces, with some opting to offer customers in-store pickup for their online purchases. This allows customers to maintain some of the physical interactions that often lead to greater satisfaction for retail transactions, and also reduces an entire web of shipping concerns and logistics. Order fulfillment may look very different in the future, but that does not mean physical stores will disappear. Customer feedback will ultimately decide the fate of brick-and-mortar.

Increased AI

The future of order fulfillment will prioritize the use of artificial intelligence programs and algorithms to improve efficiency. The more that e-commerce firms are able to integrate smart data management programs, the more successful they are likely to be down the road. This means digitizing inventory to spot how fast certain products move, optimizing warehouse organization and shipping logistics, applications that can seamlessly transfer and utilize point-of-sale information, and a host of other changes. Automating a process like warehouse procurement is only going to be as useful as the underlying software allows. Successful use of AI will also free up human employees from mundane tasks, and allow them to concentrate on jobs that benefit from personal connection.

New Networks

When an online order is fulfilled for a customer in 2030, the shipping networks and infrastructure allowing that transaction may look very different than those of today. Ecommerce firms are now assessing the viability of utilizing their own smart vehicles, such as fleets of automated electric trucks, to reduce carbon emissions and decouple from traditional shipping companies. Aerial delivery drones continue to remain in preliminary beta testing for the majority of the world, but will no doubt be used to fulfill online orders for many in the coming years. These new shipping networks will allow e-commerce businesses to rethink their traditional use of roads, fuel, manpower and third-party shipping platforms.