What is meant by Proximity Logistics and what added value does GEL Proximity offer to eCommerce Logistics?
eShoppingAdvisor discussed this in a special in-depth article on their blog dedicated to our commitment to more efficient and sustainable eCommerce Logistics. “GEL Proximity: the challenge to make eCommerce Logistics more efficient and at the same time more sustainable.”
We reproduce the full text below.
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More and more realities, whether small or large, are present online with their own eCommerce sales channel. In Italy, according to the latest survey by the eCommerce B2C Observatory Netcomm – School of Management of the Politecnico di Milano, in 2022 the penetration of online on total Retail purchases will in fact exceed 11% and product purchases will undergo a growth of +10% on 2021.
Faced with this scenario, it is increasingly clear that, even for small businesses, being present online with their own eCommerce channel is no longer just a choice, but a real necessity. In this context, even neighborhood stores must adapt to the new and ever-growing needs of consumers. This is why neighborhood commerce takes on a new, very important role.
Since the value of “sustainability” is inscribed in the DNA and mission of eShoppingAdvisor, we can only be pleased to tell you about Gel Proximity’s proposal for e-commerce logistics.
What is meant by proximity eCommerce?
When we talk about “proximity eCommerce,” we mean the digitization of small neighborhood stores that can thus offer their regular customers all the advantages of shopping at their trusted store with in addition the convenience of online services.In other words, imagine being able to buy products from the trusted baker’s store below your home, but ordering them online and paying conveniently via your smartphone, then receiving them directly at home or with the option of picking them up at the store ready and packaged.
This is a need that arose especially during the lockdown to allow customers to continue shopping in their trusted stores despite the restrictions and in total safety, but especially to allow small neighborhood stores to survive the frenzy of online shopping. Suffice it to say that according to Vidra data in the second quarter of 2020 alone, more than 1,500 small local businesses opened their own online sales channels, mainly in the Food & Beverage, Fashion (shoes and clothing), Sports and Wellness sectors.
The impact of urban logistics on the environment
As eCommerce grows, however, so does the number of vehicles dedicated to last-mile deliveries, that is, deliveries made directly to the end user. This is where so-called urban logistics, or last-mile logistics, comes into play. The latter, however, also has a major impact on the environment. In fact, it is estimated that freight traffic contributes between 20 and 30 percent to air pollution in urban areas. Last mile delivery vehicles account for nearly a third of total traffic in cities. Vehicles that often travel half-empty and on average return to the warehouse with 10 percent of their goods undelivered. For each unfinalized delivery, therefore, the trip will be double, as will the CO2 emissions. In other words, the last mile is the stretch that impacts the environment more than the entire logistics process. But how to make it more sustainable?
First of all, it is necessary to know that the so-called “home delivery,” i.e., delivery to one’s home, which to date is still the preferred option for more than 60 percent of eShoppers globally (source: Cross-Border E-Commerce Shopper Survey 2021, International Post Corporation – IPC), is actually the least sustainable delivery mode.
Considering that global shoppers have now surpassed 3.78 billion (source: Casaleggio Associati, eCommerce Report 2022), it is easy to imagine how delivering products ordered online to one’s home generates a huge impact on the environment. In fact, it is estimated that the urban logistics sector generates 300 to 400 freight vehicle trips per 1,000 people per day and 30 to 50 tons of goods per person per year.
Solutions for more sustainable last mile logistics
Fortunately, there is no shortage of sustainable solutions. Lockers and Pickup Points, for example, are a valuable green – as well as practical and flexible – alternative. In addition to guaranteeing 100 percent delivery, in fact, they enable a reduction in the number of trips and therefore air pollution, with significant benefits for the end user as well, who could then organize the delivery in the most practical and convenient way for him, choosing the place and time of pickup.
And that’s not all. Enjoying the benefits of these delivery modes is not only the environment, but also eCommerce itself. In fact, offering more flexible delivery solutions is also a huge benefit for consumers, who can thus enjoy a better experience during their shopping process and, consequently, reduce the rate at which goods are abandoned in the shopping cart during checkout. In other words, the eCommerce revenue itself is also positively affected.
The benefits for eCommerce channels
Summing up, then, the main benefits to be gained from integrating flexible and sustainable goods delivery and return solutions on your eCommerce channel are:
1. Reduced shopping cart abandonment rate. Users need more delivery choices during checkout, and eCommerce stores that offer more delivery solutions today have on average lowered the abandonment rate by -20% and improved the User Experience of their users.
2. Savings on shipping. Using merchandise delivery and return options such as Locker and Pickup Points incentivizes the mode of collecting parcels under management to couriers, which, by also zeroing in on storage and undelivered costs, allow for improved shipping prices.
3. Warehouse savings. These solutions allow flows and inventory to be ordered according to aggregative logic, resulting in savings in space, time and resources.
4. Facilitation of the return process. The solutions mentioned above also make it easy and inexpensive to manage returns due to the same logic of aggregation and fewer runs. 53% of 16-24 year olds even say they would like to receive packages with included materials to make returns.
5. Eco-sustainability and traffic calming. Fewer rides mean less CO2 and fewer trucks on the roads, thus a social and environmental benefit, but it is also a business issue. In fact, buyers are strongly influenced by the positions that brands take on social and environmental issues. This is an important aspect that every eCommerce should begin to consider.
How to implement these solutions in your eCommerce?
Thanks to GEL Proximity, the first technology in the world that places Last Mile Logistics at the center of the purchasing process by directly managing the relationship between the checkout and the Proximity solution chosen for the pickup or return of a package, you can immediately offer your customers a Network of over 45 thousand Pickup Points already active throughout the country. In fact, the Proximity Network consists of newsstands, stationers, post offices, Lockers, tobacconists, stores and gas stations enabled to both receive parcels and send returns. Integrating GEL Proximity to your sales channel is super easy: just download the module from your eCommerce software’s marketplace or use our dedicated libraries and APIs.
