With consumers slowly migrating to online marketing, the world is becoming more available at the click of a button, more precisely, within seconds. E-commerce websites are struggling to keep up with the demand, and the recent pandemic has only helped increase it further.
2. 3 Retail Trends That Increase Demand For Micro
Fulfillment Centers
3. With consumers slowly migrating to online marketing, the world is
becoming more available at the click of a button, more precisely, within
seconds. E-commerce websites are struggling to keep up with the
demand, and the recent pandemic has only helped increase it further.
Keeping a customer interested in your offer is getting challenging. What
adds to this equation is that most warehouses are situated outside
cities, making it difficult to keep up with the accelerated demand.
Thus, there is a need emerging for businesses to change the way they
run their stores and fulfill orders, and thanks to perks like same-day
delivery services with the help of micro fulfillment services, it’s
achievable.
This article discusses the concept of micro fulfillment centers, including
their work and the top three trends that are increasing the demand for
these centers.
4. What Is A Micro Fulfillment Center?
An MFC or a Micro Fulfillment Center is a highly automated mini
distribution center. It can be set up in an area as small as 2,000 sq. ft. and
can go up to a large area like 50,000 sq. ft. An MFC can deliver about
5,000 orders a day, and that’s just where it starts. QuickShift is ahead of
the curve and has one of the first micro fulfillment centers in India.
The MFCs are located closer to the customer inside the city. If managed
properly, they can enable deliveries in under three hours and are a fraction
of the cost of full-sized warehouses. They are essentially dark
stores and retail facilities that are not open to public customers for
consumption.
The micro fulfillment centers focus on last-mile delivery, which is the last
step in the order fulfillment process. It involves delivering the package
from the nearest shipping hub to the customer using the fastest and the
most cost-efficient method.
5. How Do MFCs Work?
Most micro fulfillment services use advanced goods-to-person
automation technologies. This includes mobile robots and shuttles
for extremely accurate and quick order picking. For
example, QuickShift Rapid, one of the fastest same-day delivery
services in India, can easily keep up with the demand because of
highly automated and advanced MFCs.
Through the use of warehouse execution software, MFCs all over
the city can communicate with each other and enable real-time
order management. Thus, enabling all micro fulfillment centers in
India to function efficiently and, most importantly, profitably.
6. 3 Retail Trends Fueling The Need For Micro Fulfillment Centers
For businesses already running with the support of micro fulfillment centers,
it’s impossible to imagine the fulfillment procedure without them. The
purposes they serve are numerous and extremely beneficial to not rely on
and leverage them to the fullest.
However, in the world of retail, there are three major trends that call for the
adoption of these MFCs without giving a second thought. These are as
follows:
1. Optimization Of The Last-Mile Deliveries
Last-mile delivery is the last step in the delivery chain, and it is normally the
most expensive one. By getting MFCs in the city, you cut down on the last
step in the delivery process by the amount the parcels have to travel and the
time it takes to make that final delivery.
With warehouse execution software, MFCs can help direct online orders to
the optimal fulfillment location with the best efficiency. Through the use of
automation, not only will your daily overheads drop significantly, but so will
the error margin, thus achieving same-day delivery effortlessly.
7. 2. The Booming Culture Of Dark Stores
Dark stores are a major part of the QuickShift Fulfillment strategy. These
tiny locations scattered throughout the city ensure increased accessibility
to the products and their fulfillment.
The surging need for dark stores is also leading businesses and retailers
to open MFCs within them. By installing urban logistics and retrieval
machines, they can quickly turn a part of their dark stores into a micro
fulfillment center. This helps save space and expenses that would
otherwise be pretty high, given the rates for renting or buying
warehouses.
3. Meeting The Uniqueness In Product Assortments
The changing or ever-expanding product assortments often pose a
challenge- tackling the diversity of the product mix and getting order
fulfillment right at all locations.
Through predictive analytics, the MFC technology understands what sort
of goods are in high demand in certain areas, thus benefiting you with
hyper-localism.In addition, they allow the retailers to store perishable
items and track their shelf life to avoid losses.
8. Conclusion
QuickShift Rapid is the future of retail management. It is the
best way to get products delivered to the doors within the
same day of order placement. Cheap, efficient, and the future
of warehouse management, QuickShift Fulfillment offers
numerous micro fulfillment services in India to your brand to
scale up and enrich customer experience.