Covid-19 and its resulting lockdown forced 3PLs to improve their f lexibility around omni-channel service offerings, especially in the FMCG space, according to Paul Lawrence, managing director Tigers South Africa.“This sector has realised that changes have to be made to keep up with the demand of online shoppers. The sector now needs to revise the traditional brick-and-mortar model and adjust to cater for a multi-channel offering to satisfy the needs of an ever-growing online customer base,” he explained. “It also needs to scale existing operations and implement a B2C model with the required systems and technology to support the demand and operational requirements.”The FMCG market is driven by high volume with quick turnaround times while keeping costs at a minimum. Managing and keeping track of KPIs to see if expectations are being met, and if not, analysing and plugging the holes, have proven to be some of the biggest challenges for logistics operators.According to Lawrence, seamless integration between client, warehouse and final-mile partners are key to overcoming these associated challenges.“These are exciting times for the industry which needs the ability and f lexibility to plug into a whole new market for shoppers, which is made possible by e-commerce logistics. Clients want the choice of making an instore purchase or buying the product online. With the available technology out there, the question should not be ‘why?’, but rather ‘when’?” Lawrence said the ability to move from a traditional brick-and-mortar solution for FMCG to an online multi-channel service offering had proved highly successful for many customers.“At Tigers our omni-channel solution plugs into our customers’ existing ERP or e-commerce system. Technology is at the forefront of the changes and we have a dedicated IT team and infrastructure to develop, manage and support the demand.”He told Freight News it was essential to have strong systems and processes to cater for return merchandise authorisation while analysing the data was critical for decision making and forecasting.“Automation and artificial intelligence should be on any logistics company’s shortlist to prepare and address the changes coming in the future to reduce touch points and help manage associated costs,” he said, indicating that the FMCG market was one that needed to be considered sooner rather than later.Keeping track of KPIs to see if expectations are being met, and if not, analysing and plugging the holes, have been the biggest challenges.– Paul Lawrence“
