Distribution and logistics

Delivering products to distributors or customers when and how they expect and managing the logistics of the delivery is a vital part of many businesses. A website can be used by the sender (the owner of the website) and the receiver (the customer) to:

• track the whereabouts of a parcel and make the information available to customers - eg FedEx
• record and report on shipping and account details
• keep records of stock and inventory and then control what customers are able to buy as well as manage their expectation of delivery time and date
• automatically send re-stocking orders to suppliers when inventory reaches a pre-determined minimum level
• promote the sale of premium delivery services and insurance deals
• store and distribute, via the Internet, products or services such as documents, games, tickets and information.

What to do

To determine the most effective and cost-efficient way to use the Internet to manage the distribution of products and services, and the logistics of stock and inventory control, undertake the following:

For products and services that can be ordered but not delivered over the Internet consider the following.

• Ask your customers if they want more information about availability of products and services, delivery times and method of delivery - eg an email telling them that the product they have purchased has been despatched and confirming the time and place of delivery.
• Determine if the updating procedure need only be a simple exercise or whether it requires a sophisticated solution. A simple solution would be one whereby at a given time (eg every Friday) one staff member accessed the website and updated the product details. This would typically apply where there are few products, their price does not change often and availability is not a problem.
  
  At the other end of the scale is an automated system, suitable for businesses that have hundreds of product items and where prices and availability are variable. For businesses where this is the case, it may prove cost-effective to move the whole stock and inventory system online, whereby staff, distributors, suppliers and customers all interact with the one inventory and stock control system that resides in the website (ie there is no stock and inventory system on a hard disk in the office, it is all on the website). This complete solution is particularly appropriate for businesses where having one database of products online and one offline would be inefficient and where the sheer size of the product listing makes updating the website time-consuming, difficult to coordinate and where quality control would be at risk.
• Investigate with your staff, distributors and suppliers if there is a cost-benefit in using the Internet to gain more information about, and control over, customer orders, stock levels, and availability - eg would the likely cost of incorporating distribution and logistic controls into a website be justified in terms of such things as improving customer relationships and minimising lost sales due to being out of stock.