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DHL study: 60% of companies yet to implement<br />
e-commerce strategy despite recognizing its importance<br />
OHIO: DHL Supply Chain, the<br />
Americas leader in contract logistics<br />
and part of Deutsche Post DHL Group,<br />
says about 60 percent of companies<br />
admitted they have yet to implement<br />
e-commerce strategy despite<br />
recognizing its importance.<br />
In its latest research report titled<br />
“The e-commerce supply chain:<br />
Overcoming growing pains” on the<br />
evolution of e-commerce supply<br />
chains, DHL said the respondents said<br />
there are several barriers to<br />
implement their e-commerce<br />
strategies, which include changing<br />
customer expectations, pace of<br />
delivery, and limitations in existing<br />
infrastructure.<br />
The new insights are from a global<br />
survey of nearly 900 decision-makers<br />
responsible for logistics or supply<br />
chain management and e-commerce.<br />
Respondents hailed from all the major<br />
industry sectors, including retail,<br />
consumer goods, life sciences, high<br />
tech, auto and engineering and<br />
manufacturing.<br />
The report reveals that 70% of B2C<br />
c o m p a n i e s a n d 6 0 % o f B 2 B<br />
companies are still working towards<br />
the full implementation of their<br />
strategy, even though 70% of<br />
respondents rate e-commerce as 'Very<br />
Important' or 'Extremely Important' to<br />
their business in terms of volume and<br />
revenue.<br />
GLOBAL NEWS<br />
“E-commerce is a primary driver of<br />
business growth. Companies know<br />
they can no longer afford to operate<br />
without a comprehensive omnichannel<br />
strategy that develops a deep<br />
personal relationship with each<br />
individual customer, but many are at a<br />
loss for how to continue to keep up<br />
with customer demands,” said Jim<br />
Gehr, President, Retail, DHL Supply<br />
Chain, North America.<br />
“Both B2B (61%) and B2C (65%)<br />
respondents rated e-commerce as<br />
having the biggest effect on customer<br />
retention and satisfaction, and the<br />
number is only expected to increase in<br />
the next 3-5 years. That is why it is<br />
mission critical for supply chains to<br />
provide greater predictability,<br />
flexibility and speed to continuously<br />
maximize service levels.”<br />
The evolving demands of e-<br />
commerce also mean that in the next<br />
3-5 years over 50% of businesses will<br />
be making material changes to their<br />
distribution strategy. To deal with this<br />
pressure many companies are opting<br />
to partner with a third-party logistics<br />
company (3PLs) to augment their inhouse<br />
resources and capabilities,<br />
enabling them to quickly and<br />
effectively scale to capitalize on e-<br />
commerce opportunities.