The operations of electronic commerce have become a global factor in a decisive factor for companies, taking advantage of the advantages and technology offered by the Internet service and its great capacity to respond to final consumers in real time. Logistics becomes a critical success factor for companies that market their products in the network, it is an adequate logistics, with the purpose of effectively operating the goods and services to final consumers, generating competitive advantages, profitability in the business and satisfaction of customer expectations.
Due to the rise of e-business on the Internet, companies that sell their products virtually to their consumers via e-commerce are becoming aware that the sale is only consummated when the product comes physically into their hands of the final customer and satisfies the promises to final customer service and satisfy the promise of established service, if an adequate distribution logistics is used, the profitability of the business diminishes and generates problems of credibility and dissatisfaction to the final customer.
The traditional transport and storage companies are not prepared for the demands of e-commerce, for this to work properly, it is necessary to manage a totally new structure focused exclusively on the characteristics of “delivery”, that is, frequency-intensive distribution. of shipments, small volumes and at a low cost, ie the e-logistics, this new concept will have two major challenges: deliveries in less time possible and high efficiency to maintain competitive prices, transport companies that achieve excellence in those points will take an essential step in the war of electronic commerce.
The distribution function becomes a critical success factor in the companies that market their products in the network, which must select a transporter or distributor adapting the logistics variables of the orders (cost, price, volume), and in this way negotiate a freight that does not affect the margin of profitability of the product, especially if they are trading high volumes of merchandise that allow rates to be lower than those of the market.
In Colombia, the cost of transporting cargo is one of the most costly in Latin America and our companies are still not prepared to face the challenge that lies before them, especially in the area of information technology, which is the key to connectivity between the client, the transporter and the virtual company, fortunately, a better panorama is visualized in this sense due to the alliances between national and international logistic operators that combine efforts to reduce the delivery times of merchandise anywhere in the world.
The companies that evolve first in the development of technologies of data capture and information in real time, generate competitive advantages in their sector and will be the ones that best adapt to the new demands of the clients, who need to know in a timely manner the status and tracking your orders, either through Internet access or with colts electronic devices available in the market.
Author: Luis Aníbal Mora, Manager of High Logistics
