March - 2018 9logisticstechoutlook.comsometimes opt for an in-store experience. In tandem with our strategy of knowing customers and connecting with them, we look to anticipate our customers' next move or intent about what their next purchase might be. To get ahead of customer expectations, we take heavyweight delivery one step further by offering more high-touch services that eliminate pain points that the customer may not have even considered. We deliver to the room of the customer's choice, provide assistance with assembly or installation, and assist in unpacking the delivery and removal of the packaging in an environmentally friendly way. We don't want customers to worry about the truck double parking, reserving appropriate elevator access, or having enough people to carry their delivery inside. By leveraging technology to optimize routes and services, we are bringing the flexibility of making simple online purchases into heavyweight e-commerce. We are already seeing the benefits of our optimized routes and pricing. Our green quotient has increased as the trucks are not making the same trips twice. As customer expectations for full service continue to grow, we will continue to bring on new technologies to maintain our high level of service and customer experience. Autonomous vehicles will grow in scope as analysts have predicted that there will be a shortage of drivers in future. This will cause a pivot in the industry as we see the infusion of technology in the final mile of the delivery. Delivery will be a much simpler task to streamline and operate the heavy e-commerce cargos and shipments. Ushering an Era of OpportunitiesHistorically, supply chains have been the focus area of technology firms and now there will be an impetus on product development that is oriented towards supply chain management. I realized early on that the best companies in the world are the ones that have the best supply chains. Amazon and Walmart are at the top due to their efficiencies and facilitated supply chain services. Supply chain being a great driver for any business organization, I would encourage people to directly look at how supply chain and technology work together to enhance their businesses. forward-looking data model, you can ensure that inventory will be in the right place at the right time, significantly increasing the likelihood of customer conversion.Integrating New FeaturesLike most online retailers and marketplaces, we've taken one or two cues from the evolution of Amazon's logistics operations and Amazon Web Services (AWS), which were built to support their marketplace. Of course, we had to make a few modifications to their lightweight delivery model to suit our heavyweight needs.Inspired by the ease of ordering and delivery of lightweight goods, we're determined to replicate the peace of mind Amazon customers feel knowing they can track the entire journey of their package to their doorstep. When it comes to heavyweight goods, this process is a little more complicated and piece-meal. Instead of a single book being transported on a single truck, from a single warehouse, directly to a delivery address--fulfilling and transporting heavyweight good orders requires orchestrating numerous moving parts and inventory from many different warehouse locations. That being said, the customer should never bear the brunt of these complications. In fact, we believe they shouldn't experience any complication at all. We firmly believe that contractors ordering 1,500 lbs of decking online to their job site in Missouri, or a hotel GM ordering 10,000 lbs of commercial flooring to their hotel for a renovation, should be just as easy as ordering a semester's worth of books to a dorm room in New York.Streamlined OperationsIt is a challenging task for heavyweight e-commerce companies to cope with customer expectations in the wake of changing customer preferences such as online buying. While at the same time, people like to touch and feel the product, and Supply chain and logistics is not just moving some box from location A to location B
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