Our visit to the eCommerce Expo 2014, London Olympia

Our visit to the eCommerce Expo 2014, London Olympia



Here at Navigator Solutions we were lucky enough to visit the exciting eCommerce Expo recently in London, and what a day we had. With over 180 exhibitors offering a plethora of services and products all connected to the World of E-Commerce (or as we like to call it, WoE!), there was much to see and do.

As we arrived at London Olympia, there was a great buzz about the exhibition hall regarding e-commerce, e-fulfillment, omni-channel or whatever current buzzword phrase it is known as by the industry press at the moment. The stands were extremely varied and included services such as:

• Marketing solutions
• Various platforms for different services
• Payment systems
• Delivery and logistics
• Customer service
• Plus more generalist topics affecting the overall ecommerce and multi-channel strategies.

In more specific terms, there were:

• 93 different eComms platforms
• 35 digital marketing solutions
• 32 delivery and logistics options
• 24 CRM products (Customer Relationship Management)
• 24 warehouse management systems
• 21 customer service products
• 20 database and data management software and services – and that was not even the half of it.

So this got us thinking, if we were a retailer setting up to trade on the internet, or have already begun to do so and are fast growing with ever changing needs, or perhaps we were too busy to take the time out to work out what exactly what we need and who can provide it where would we go?

This issue is also borne out by an article we recently read in the “Supply Chain Standard” – here is a short quote:
“The good news for retailers is that going over to an omni-channel approach can boost sales by up to 20 per cent.
The bad news is that getting it wrong can expose the business to serious risks.

In fact, over a third of retailers that claim to be omni-channel have seen an increase in customer complaints, according to a study, “The Omni-channel Dilemma”, by LCP Consulting.

It argues that retailers that focus only on the front end of the process and fail to back it up with the necessary back-end systems risk damaging their reputations with customers.
Adopting an omni-channel approach is not trivial. Systems and facilities have to be restructured to serve both in-store and online customers – or any combination of the two. For example, a customers may browse products at home, compare them in the store, order on a mobile phone – and then decide to collect from another store.”

The full article can be read here:

http://www.supplychainstandard.com/2014/09/good-channel-bad-channel/

Then there is one of our own clients, a bespoke couture jewellery maker, selling from a single store in London’s Knightsbridge since 2006, and now starting out with a range of products from their own newly developed e-commerce website, and just about to go live. They came to Navigator Solutions to help decide and implement their e-fulfillment solution.

Does this sound like you and your business? If so, please do get it touch and let us remove that headache from you – by removing the WoE, and putting the WoW back in for you, your business and your customers. Take a look at the Navigator Solutions website to find out more.

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