In Focus: DHL Supply Chain's Overcoming Growing Pains Report
Supply Chain Digital takes a look at DHL Supply Chain’s latest research report and observes the key findings.
E-commerce offers increasingly powerful sales and growth opportunity for businesses, but as this continues, DHL has highlighted the need for supply chain strategy changes in its 'The E-Commerce Supply Chain Overcoming Growing Pains' report.
To help B2B and B2C businesses understand the biggest challenges and opportunities in e-commerce, DHL completed a survey with 900 decision makers in both B2B and B2C businesses across the world to discover:
- How far have companies come in building the next-generation supply chain?
- Are companies’ supply chains agile enough to support rapid growth?
- What are the biggest e-commerce challenges facing companies today?
- What types of supply chain strategies, networks and operating models are employed today, and how will these change in the next three to five years.
SEE ALSO:
What did they find?
When asked, DHL found B2B respondents have caught up with B2C respondents. 38% and 31% respectively, have fully executed their e-commerce strategies. However, there is still a high percentage of respondents – 70% (B2C) and 60% (B2B) – who haven’t fully executed their e-commerce strategy.
Responding to e-commerce challenges, respondents highlighted that customer expectation is a challenge in both B2B and B2C businesses and stated that customers base their purchasing on how well companies can meet their demands. As a result, 57% (B2C) and 53% (B2B) rate customer service as being an extremely important factor to consider.
When asked about distribution methods, DHL discovered that no e-commerce distribution method is dominant. Respondents revealed that most companies use at least two methods, with 47% (B2B and B2C) outsourcing part of its fulfilment to a third-party logistics (3PL).
As a whole 70% of respondents rated e-commerce as very/extremely important to their business for volume and revenue and believe that their online revenue will increase by 21% (B2C) and 16% (B2B) over the next three to five years.
DHL Group key facts
CEO of Global Business Services: Dr. Frank Appel
Head of e-commerce solution: Ken Allen
Head of Supply Chain: John Gilbert
Headquarters: Posttower, Germany
For more information on all topics for Procurement, Supply Chain & Logistics - please take a look at the latest edition of Supply Chain Digital magazine or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
