The COVID 19 pandemic has resulted in major changes in many aspects of our lives. In addition to the health concerns of the pandemic, many brands have experienced the impact of COVID 19 on their brands, the industry, and eCommerce overall.
Since the onset of the pandemic, many physical stores have closed doors, as lockdowns kept many potential shoppers quarantined at home. To obtain essential items, consumers turned to online shopping. According to data from IBM’s U.S. Retail Index, the pandemic accelerated the pivot from physical stores to digital shopping by roughly five years.
Understanding emerging eCommerce trends has always been important to long-term business success online but has become much more prevalent in the wake of COVID’s unparalleled disruption of all things eCommerce.
Unfortunately, it appears as though COVID still isn’t behind us just yet. Though life may have begun to return to normal, the lasting effects of the pandemic have become the new normal. Looking back at how COVID affected businesses can help us better appreciate why it’s so important to pay attention to eCommerce trends. Should disruptions to everyday life return, this understanding can prepare us for a second round.
Back in 2019, we had no idea what the following year would bring us, but there were people in the eCommerce world who had considered the trends that might emerge. Let’s take a look back at what the state of eCommerce looked like before COVID hit.
Back in 2019, the Amazon Effect was as powerful as ever. Online retailers around the globe felt the pressure to keep pace with the many ways Amazon continued to grow its revenue. Amazon invested billions into offering 1-day shipping to its Prime members at no extra cost. This was after two-day shipping for Prime members helped it rule eCommerce since that offering was implemented back in 2005.
Amazon’s shipping times were already a massive competitive edge, so making them even faster was big news. Not surprisingly, two of Amazon’s biggest competitors, Target and Walmart, countered with similar one-day shipping plans soon after this news was announced.
In hindsight, these developments could not have come at a better time, as many of us would soon depend on these shipping plans once our usual in-person shopping was no longer possible.
Another trend that picked up steam in 2019 – and also just in time for impending lockdowns – was BOPIS (Buy online, pick up in-store). With BOPIS, customers can shop online, make their purchases online, and then go pick up those items without having to troll the aisles and wait in line to check out. The genius of BOPIS is that any local retailer can offer the service. All they need is a website and an in-store pickup extension to convert customers who want their products right away.
Many grocery stores took this a step further and offered curbside pickup, making it even easier for customers to buy from them. On the other hand, many digital brands realized the potential for having a brick-and-mortar presence as well, prior to the global pandemic. Many of these online companies tested the concept with popup shops, while others jumped right in with legitimate brick-and-mortar stores.
By the end of 2019, there were more than 1,700 stores owned by digital brands all over the country. But once again, this is the kind of business decision that no longer needs to be complicated or expensive.
The first step is to understand how eCommerce can increase efficiency and productivity in your business while also reducing costs. ABCO Systems has years of expertise in the design and development of eCommerce solutions that can make your eCommerce goals to happen. You know your product – we know distribution design. Let us help you bring your product to the eCommerce market.
ABCO Systems offers design engineering expertise to provide custom solutions for material handling and distribution system design for their customers. This requires a team of professionals who understand the intricacies of the modern-day distribution center, and the right strategic partners to meet and exceed the goals of our customers.
We are excited to highlight our partnership with Fetch Robotics, a pioneer of on-demand automation. Intelligent automation can be the workforce multiplier needed to accelerate throughput and productivity. Automation reduces congestion in aisles, limiting interactions between workers and potentially hazardous heavy loads and equipment, enhancing safety as well as performance and productivity.
Being able to incorporate Fetch Robotics into our design engineering allows us to provide both innovation and resilience to personalize each design to the unique needs of the customer. To learn more about ABCO Systems Solutions with Fetch Robotics, contact us at 201-429-0580 or at [email protected]. We look forward to providing you with your custom design solution with a unique blend of efficiency and resilience.
ABCO Systems – Solutions engineered for today’s challenges and tomorrow’s opportunities.
Warehousing as we know it evolved from the granaries of early civilization that were built to store surplus food for future consumption. This process was further evolved by the Romans who built the Horrea Galbae which was the precursor to the modern-day warehouse where goods are stored for import, export, and distribution.
Horrea Galbae
The Horrea Galbae itself was located on the Tiber River and contained over 140rooms within its 225,000 square feet of space. The structure housed the public’s grain as well as other imported goods. These structures were strategically located near seaports to make it easier for imported goods to be transferred from ships to the structure for housing and distribution. In later years, these warehouses would similarly be located near rail depots as railways became more popular for moving goods from one place to another.
The term “warehouse” was first coined in Britain in the 1300s, its meaning being “a structure or room for the storage of merchandise or commodities.” So, your “wares” were stored in this “house”. At this time in history, Britain was focused on expanding its territories across the sea and these “warehouses” were constructed in port cities all over the world, expanding global trade routes for import and export across the globe.
It was during the industrial revolution that the word “warehouse” was changed to a verb as goods were now “warehoused” for sale and distribution and the purpose of the warehouse shifted from static storage to the movement of goods. As mass production in factories grew, the need for more storage and efficient movement of goods became a vital aspect of trading.
the rise of the railroad for transportation led to more warehouses being built at these transportation hubs; allowing manufacturers to move their goods faster and farther than ever before. This expansion created new markets a swell as transformed small towns into bustling cities.
The Second Industrial Revolution took place in the late 1800s and was powered by electricity which further expanded the reach of manufacturing and distribution. It was during this time that
The Sears & Roebuck Chicago distribution complex
Sears, Roebuck & Co., became the “Amazon” of its time. The Sears catalog brought thousands of items into the hands of people across the country. From clothing and toys to appliances, medical supplies and so much more. This merchandise was housed in the huge Sears distribution complex in Chicago which covered 3 million square feet. Handwritten orders were received all year long; these were fulfilled by workers who searched endless aisles for the right product, size, color, etc. The need for automation was there, but the solution would not come fast enough for the weary warehouse workers.
The 1900s brought machine-driven factories that offered mass production of goods and new forms of transportation that gave manufacturers an even farther reach. Goods were now moved by land, sea, and air to reach more consumers and wherever these goods were shipped there was a warehouse to store and distribute them.
Assembly Line Mass Production
Larger items were now easily mass-produced on assembly lines. Cars, appliances, and other items now required the use of hand trucks or motorized carts and forklifts to move the heavy parts from one place to another during the manufacturing process.
It was in the 1950s that the first automated guided vehicle (AGV) was introduced to carry heavy loads in factories ad warehouses. The AGV was akin to a tow truck that did not require a driver or rail system. It was navigated with a track of wires embedded in the floor that generated a magnetic field. The AGV became an integral part of the manufacturing process as it moved heavy materials along a defined route and removed repetitive and dangerous tasks previously performed by workers and allowed the workers to focus more on other tasks.
ABCO Systems prides itself on delivering custom solutions to our customers. As a result, an integral part of our solutions relies upon having the right partners who align with our high standards in supplying the right products for each design solution.
One of our long-standing partners is Western Pacific Storage Solutions (WPSS). WPSS brings over 30 years of Systems experience and evolution of their product offering focused on solutions and customer satisfaction. WPSS provides an optimized flow of products and services across all value streams in addition to Lean manufacturing that offers innovative, cost-effective products, strengthening the customer-supplier connection. Incorporating WPSS products into our design brings reliability and extreme value to our customers.
Our turnkey approach is a perfect match for WPSS systems whose highly skilled design engineers maximize and combine their talent with the ABCO Systems team to develop the ultimate solution specific and customized to fit the unique needs of the customer.
To learn more about ABCO Systems and Western Pacific Storage Solutions contact us at 201-429-0580 or [email protected]. We look forward to helping you increase efficiency and productivity with the material handling solutions that work the best for you.
ABCO Systems is excited to announce our partnership with Deposco; bringing their cloud-based order management and fulfillment applications to our solutions. This impelling partnership combines Deposco’s suite of advanced technology solutions with ABCO systems’ exemplary customer service, proven engineering design, and implementation capabilities to heighten the level of solutions we can offer our customers. Let us show you how we can transport` your warehouse automation to the next level and provide you with a customized solution to fit your needs by bringing together ABCO Systems’ experience and Deposco’s innovation.
Deposco is a cloud-based, omnichannel fulfillment software provider offering a suite of advanced solutions to small, midsize, and enterprise-class businesses. The company has supported over 120 million package orders to 35 million consumers worldwide while processing approximately $10 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) through its platform. From order orchestration and advanced warehouse management to dynamic sourcing, business forecasting, and synchronized e-store applications, Deposco empowers business leaders to adapt, transform and lead their organizations to achieve unified commerce excellence in direct-to-consumer (DTC) and business-to-business (B2B) environments. To learn more, visit www.deposco.com.
As your material handling system partner, we are committed to bettering your business. We provide a wide range of solutions from e-commerce to full-fledged automated warehouse design and implementation.
To learn more about ABCO Systems and Deposco contact us at 201-429-0580 or [email protected]. We look forward to helping you increase efficiency and decrease labor costs with the material handling solutions that work the best for you.
