Scale up your online marketplace with smarter logistics

Learn how an online retailer grew in reach and size while ensuring customer delight.

Key takeaways

A small online retail business started with just a 200 sqm outsourced facility.

Today, it has grown into a multi-country network solution that locally supports key markets - reducing the need for cross-border shipping.

It reliably and cost-effectively fulfils eCommerce orders to 91% of the retailer’s European customers, offering next day or less than two-day delivery.

In this case study, see how GEODIS’s expertise in local markets and logistics processes helped the retailer efficiently scale up, in the face of complex challenges.

Online marketplace challenges

Regular volume fluctuation

The online retailer’s peak season lasts for 3 to 6 months. In this period, there is a strong need for additional capacity, as 40% of the annual order volume must be processed at once.

This means there is a mad rush to scale to 1.000 to 40.000 sqm of warehouse space, within a short 6 weeks, along with proportionally adding warehouse infrastructure, equipment, and labour.

Slow or delayed shipment

Today’s online marketplaces need faster order fulfilment than ever before. And the commitment made by this retailer to its customer is to deliver orders by the next day or within two days.

Stock inaccuracies and unavailability

You have lost out on a sale if any SKU is out-of-stock. To avoid such a scenario, a strong warehouse management system is essential. This ensures the traceability of inventory and increases the accuracy of demand forecasting.

Implemented Solutions

To make sure all of the online retailer’s orders ship on time, GEODIS closely monitors and executes every aspect of the logistics operations.

The retail business grew and scaled quickly with our support in the following supply chain aspects:

Tracking a large set of hourly and weekly KPIs such as pick accuracy, cut-off times, inventory accuracy, and carrier performance.
Planning and demand forecasting to anticipate the correct level of inventory needed for each product within the network.
Managing high order volumes during busy seasons, product launches, and promotional events by quickly deploying pop-up warehouses (spanning thousands of sqm).
Improving shipping speeds and costs by picking, packing, and shipping the orders from warehouses closest to the transportation hubs.