Modern trends in e-commerce logistics

The logistics segment for e-commerce is one of the most dynamically developing, despite all the challenges of recent years. And in the medium term, thanks to collaboration with new market players, growth rates can be even higher.

Current state

According to Fedor Virin, Data Insight partner, the Russian e-commerce logistics market in 2022 grew by at least 85%. Despite experts' forecasts of a gradual return of retail to offline, customers still opt for electronic purchases. The main reason for the continued demand for such purchases is significant time savings. You can place the necessary order, for example, in transport on the way to work, without wasting time going to the shopping center. In addition, many marketplaces provide an opportunity to try on clothes or shoes before buying.

Leading positions (75% of the total number of orders) are occupied by various marketplaces. Among them, Wildberries takes the first place: its share in the segment was 57%. The shares of logistics companies and their own store delivery services do not differ much: 13% versus 17%.

Depending on the type of goods, the type of delivery is also different: to the door or to the pickup point. When it comes to clothes and shoes, about 70% of such deliveries go to pickup points. With food, the situation is reversed: more than 80% of deliveries are to the door.

Promising trends

Expanding Last Mile Partnerships.

The last mile is the place where the client receives his order: a pick-up point, a post office, or a delivery service. In the current environment, a number of large marketplaces and stores are striving to optimize costs and are testing different logistics methods: for example, these can be the largest delivery services or parcel terminals in high-traffic areas (supermarkets and other points of attraction). These options are beneficial to all parties. The seller reduces costs by outsourcing the provision of services, and can also expand its presence in the regions. The delivery service ensures the loading of its employees and points of issue. The client gets the opportunity to choose the most convenient delivery method.

Fast - wins.

Time has become the most valuable resource these days. This fact is also confirmed by the studies of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development: over 10 years, from 2010 to 2020, the amount of free time has significantly decreased. This explains the popularity of delivery: the consumer is not ready to spend hours shopping or getting goods at a remote pickup point, but wants to get all the necessary products and goods in one place or with home delivery. Therefore, the winners will be those companies who will be able to establish logistics and promptly deliver products to customers.

Automation of processes and further introduction of robots.

An effective business cannot be imagined without digital solutions. "Digit" is not just a tribute to fashion, but also a way to optimize costs. Without it, it is impossible to analyze huge amounts of data, effectively distribute orders between performers, not to mention various operational tasks. Given the departure from Russia of a number of software vendors, various solutions for automating work will be in demand.

The most obvious use of robots is warehouse processes: they allow goods to be loaded and sorted for delivery. It is worth noting that there are good prospects for launching joint projects with China in this area: Russian engineers have unique competencies, and Chinese manufacturers have a developed industrial base. Combining efforts to create joint products for the logistics of the e-commerce segment will allow both parties to move to a qualitatively new level.

In recent years, robots have also been used for delivery. In particular, they are used by Yandex and Russian Post.

Development of logistics in the regions.

Now points of issue of orders appear not only in the capitals of the regions and large cities, but also in small district centers. But this is only the visible part of the iceberg. In addition to pickup points, logistics centers and distribution points play an important role, where orders are sorted and further distributed. Of course, it is impossible not to note the role of carriers, which provide fast delivery of products to points of issue. As a result, the regional development of e-commerce logistics is a multiplier effect for a particular area: new jobs are created, tax payments to the budget increase.

TransRussia exhibition - the way to new heights

Now, for players in the logistics market for e-commerce, not only maintaining existing relationships, but also establishing new business contacts is of particular importance. In turn, new participants and suppliers are interested in finding partners in the Russian market. The largest industry event, the International Exhibition of Transport and Logistics Services, Warehouse Equipment and Technologies TransRussia, will bring together the efforts of all parties.

Participation in this exhibition will allow a comprehensive approach to solving key business problems. The main one is the search for new partners. In particular, 434 companies from 22 countries took part in the TransRussia 2023 exhibition, and 27,010 unique specialists attended the event, 69% of which hold leadership positions, and 94% have a direct impact on decision-making. Moreover, according to the results of the survey, 75% of the guests visited the exhibition to find new business partners, and 72% - plan to purchase goods and services after the end of the exhibition.

Note that the "Logistics for e-commerce" section is popular with representatives of both wholesale and retail trade. In particular, following the results of the TransRussia 2023 exhibition, 3,133 (17%) representatives of wholesale companies and 902 (5%) representatives of retail trade are interested in finding new logistics service providers.