What You Need to Know about Micro-Fulfillment for E-Commerce

30 Jan What You Need to Know about Micro-Fulfillment for E-Commerce

Micro-fulfillment will be the most important supply chain and logistics asset in satisfying the end consumer’s demand for quick, sustainable deliveries in the coming years. The idea of micro fulfillment establishes a hub-and-spoke-like distribution model for the companies where the regional Delivery Centers (DC) act as hubs and Micro Fulfillment Centers (MFCs) work as spokes placed within the proximity to urban population centers. Micro-Fulfillment Micro-fulfillment is a strategy that places small-scale warehouse facilities in densely populated urban locations closer to the consumer to improve delivery times. It offers flexible, faster, and sustainable delivery for both e-commerce and local store pickups. Link of Micro Warehouse and Micro-fulfillment Micro-warehousing is a similar concept to micro-fulfillment in that it focuses on using space outside the traditional warehouse walls. It’s about moving inventory closer to the customer for faster, more efficient fulfillment. Micro-warehouses take advantage of high-density space to reduce the footprint for greater efficiency and lower costs. What led to the rise of Micro Fulfillment? E-commerce growth As more and more consumers are migrating to online platforms to buy everything online from household items, groceries, accessories, etc., E-Commerce sellers need to support direct-to-consumer delivery as well as fulfillment. Expanding Product Portfolio The cut-throat competition among the brands with the unlimited expansion of product varieties largely affects fulfillment complexities and even the established e-commerce players struggle with them. However, fulfillment automation has proven to be a very effective tool to address these situations, and especially for the grocers that have the added disadvantages of managing foods that are either dry, refrigerated, or frozen. Essentials Going Online The aftermath of a widespread pandemic has pushed a lot of leading grocery and essential brands to an unfamiliar territory of online retail. The need for a cost-effective and optimized home delivery fulfillment model that meets customer expectations is the immediate sustainable option.