Key Trend in the Supply Chain: Increasing Product Diversity

With the immense growth of online retail, there has been a huge impact on the supply chain. Not only has the supply chain become even more important to eCommerce, it has also become incredibly nuanced with constant innovations. Since efficient and effective supply chain management is a critical part of the eCommerce customer experience, there are several trends emerging from this part of the logistics landscape. Here’s one of the top trends impacting the supply chain right now and what you can do about it.

Increasing Product Diversity, Static Standards

Massive retailers have long dealt with supply chain issues related to carrying a variety of products that are not easily packaged and shipped together. But now smaller-scale retailers in both the B2B and B2C marketplaces are adapting and accepting the need for a diverse inventory to accommodate consumers’ increasing demands for variety from their online store. Numerous businesses have made the move from stocking inventory, to utilizing drop-shipping to guarantee fulfillment. What does this mean for smaller retailers who need to deal with the strict standards for shipments upheld by carriers? Since carriers’ terminals were designed to handle specific freight types, retailers are often forced to use a variety of service providers to ship the diverse range of goods their stores now carry—introducing a large amount of complexity into the average supply chain. To learn about the other trends impacting the supply chain and how to proactively react to them, download our white paper Five Trends Changing the Supply Chain Landscape as We Know It