Managing e-commerce logistics and fulfillment isn’t a simple task, ensuring high accuracy in online stock availability, fulfillment accuracy, and speed, and providing tracking and ensuring no thefts during deliveries. All of these put quite a lot of pressure on online stores.

While the increased popularity of e-commerce brings many opportunities for businesses, it also makes it tougher to keep up with customer expectations.

However, not everything is dark and gloomy. Here are 5 common struggles you can overcome before the end of the year with the help of RFID technology.

Online stock availability

One of the common pain points for every online business is stock accuracy, especially their transparency to customers. Stock availability is crucial for the customer experience. When a client sees your ad with a product they liked only to enter and see that almost all sizes are sold out, it makes them disappointed and feels defrauded.

Or worse, if they already make a purchase and later receive an update that the item is out of stock, this makes customers furious and makes them feel that your brand is not trustworthy.

While managing inventory isn’t a simple task, it doesn’t have to be that hard. By tagging all items with RFID tags and equipping the warehouse with readers, you can have accurate stock tracking in real-time that updates your system when items leave or enter the warehouse. This will ensure that the stock presented to the customer is always updated, and as a result, you will experience a surge in sales.

Demand for fast deliveries

In the highly competitive landscape, customers expect a fast reaction and fast delivery. Once they've made the purchase, it’s like a race against time until they start to feel impatient, and when there are so many competitors, you can’t disappoint customers.

So how can RFID help? Well, with RFID, you can cut down the time needed for pick and pack and increase pick and pack accuracy to ensure that the process is as quick as possible. With RFID, the warehouse employee can utilize a handheld device with RFID software that leads them right to the item's location.

In addition to that, RFID can also help improve the sorting process for items to go out for deliveries based on destination locations and improve fulfillment operations, which results in faster last-mile deliveries.

Real-time tracking

Another important factor for online shoppers today is real-time tracking. Once the customer has made the order, they want to know the status and location of their order at any given moment, which allows the customer to feel more in control and hence feel relaxed knowing that their order is taken care of.

You can use RFID technology to automate tracking updates and customer statuses. For example, if the item has left the warehouse or entered the truck. That way, the customer can follow their package in real-time, and you can reduce the effort of managing those updates.

Reducing thefts

Another concern faced by online businesses is theft by warehouse staff and by truck drivers. This is because the staff has access to all the stock and packages, and because there are so many of them, it’s easier to take advantage and steal.

When a package leaves the warehouse for delivery, it’s vulnerable and can be easily taken by the driver, who can then blame it as an innocent loss. This issue adds up to a big revenue loss for the business but also leads to bad customer experience and loss of future business opportunities.

By integrating RFID, online stores can firstly reduce the amount of theft simply by the fact that the employees now know that every single item and package is tracked. Secondly, the items can be tracked exactly when they leave the warehouse or the van, making it very easy to identify the responsible individual and take the necessary actions.

Handling Returns

Unfortunately, some sales end up in returns. While returns are an essential part of the e-commerce landscape, they often present logistical challenges to online stores.

With RFID technology, however, handling returns becomes much easier. By using RFID tags, businesses can track returned items.

Automated workflows enabled by RFID further enhance efficiency, ensuring that returned items are swiftly reintegrated into inventory or routed for refurbishment. Ultimately, using RFID technology for returns management enables online stores to streamline operations, reduce costs, and enhance the overall customer experience.

But isn’t RFID complicated and expensive?

Actually, not at all! We've got you covered every step of the way to ensure your RFID transition is seamless. Leveraging our extensive global partner network, we craft a customized solution tailored specifically to your business's unique requirements. We prioritize cost-effectiveness to ensure you're getting the most value for your investment. From inception to implementation, we guide you through the entire process.

By taking action now, you can overcome these challenges in just 6 months.

Welcome to a world of 99.8% accuracy, reduced shrinkage, decreased operational costs and time, and best of all, a 7-12% boost in sales thanks to improved stock availability and enhanced customer experience!

Our dedicated team is ready and available for consultation or to address any questions you may have. Don't hesitate—reach out to us today!