The ecommerce supply chain encompasses a variety of moving parts that all work together to complete the fulfillment and delivery of customer orders. Without a doubt, the efficiency of your supply chain management (SCM) is a determining factor in your company’s growth and longevity. However, building a strategic (and functional) supply chain takes a solid understanding of the individual stages and key metrics that define and measure this process from start to finish.
In the following article, we’ll take a deeper look at exactly that: the six stages of the modern ecommerce global supply chain, the most important metrics for you to track, and how to design the most effective supply chain for your unique business model.
The ecommerce supply chain comprises a series of logistics management processes, including procurement of raw materials, manufacturing finished products, warehousing, fulfillment, inventory management, and last-mile delivery. In addition, an ecommerce supply chain typically oversees supply and demand, inventory tracking, and various distribution schedules.
The primary goal of ecommerce supply chain management is to ensure quality products and consistent product offerings, maximize inventory investments, and guarantee customer satisfaction with every order.
It’s next to impossible to understand how well your supply chain is performing (and where you have room to improve) if you’re not actively tracking critical metrics, key performance indicators (KPIs), or supply chain analytics. That said, your business's most valuable metrics can be divided into three distinct categories: diagnostic metrics, predictive metrics, and prescriptive metrics.
Diagnostic metrics are used to analyze supply chain issues and ‘diagnose’ the cause behind these concerns. Essentially, they catalog supply chain challenges and events to evaluate why something happened and inform where improvements can (and should) be made. Implementing diagnostic metrics often includes processes like customer surveys, data mining and/or data discovery.
Predictive metrics help forecast what’s likely to occur within your supply chain in the future. More specifically, they feed historical data into a machine learning (ML) model to examine key trends and buying patterns. This information is then applied to current inventory data to help determine what’ll happen next, like a surge in sales following a new product marketing campaign.
Prescriptive metrics recommend specific actions your business can take to affect its predictive outcomes. Once you have an idea of future happenings within your supply chain, prescriptive metrics can easily suggest a course of action to navigate these events. If you anticipate an increase in sales, these metrics ensure you have enough stock to meet consumer demand.
Extensiv’s solution for brands is an all-in-one platform designed specifically for the needs of modern online retail merchants. The Extensiv system is renowned for its ability to unify, automate, and grow your business in this new age of retail so your store can deftly handle all its incoming orders, synchronize orders across channels, and cost-effectively upgrade its supply chain management.
Extensiv's platform supports everything and everywhere you sell, thanks to its unified dashboard that clarifies every stage of the supply chain. In addition to uniting your operations within a convenient database, Extensiv also assists with inventory tracking, minimum order quantities, and production lead time across every supplier. This way, you gain greater visibility into your inventory levels to make more data-driven supply chain decisions.
Extensiv’s inventory management system capabilities include numerous automations to drive productivity, lower costs, and amplify business intelligence. Additionally, by automating your order management across all channels rather than relying on error-prone manual processes, you can easily improve the efficiency of your supply chain functions. Extensiv's multifaceted automations track your order status, monitor counts and availability to sell throughout your warehouse, and source real-time data on your inventory.
Extensiv has the warehouse, order, and inventory management tools needed to power (and grow) your ecommerce success for years to come. With Extensiv's innovative demand forecasting features, your business can increase its profits across each of your warehouses and channels, all the way down to SKU-level accuracy. Plus, retailers can continually track savings and acquire the relevant insights they need to encourage more informed decision-making and to better serve their end customers.
Interested in learning more about Extensiv's solutions for brands? Request a demo today!