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Supply Chain Management ■
He says: “Infrastructure is one of the biggest Hewitt. Being a company at the forefront of Returns will grow too
headaches rapid growth will generate; renting this sector iForce offers a good example of If Aunt Agatha doesn’t like her vase, chances
warehouse space on a five-year contract deal how the impressive growth of its clients was are she’ll want to send it back. The growth in
while experiencing such speedy growth places accommodated. online retail is inevitably linked with an
an online retailer in the precarious position of During 2006, iForce packed over seven escalation in returned goods and this,
either outgrowing a property early on or million individual items into parcels for its according to Mark Hewitt, should also be a
paying for empty space in the short term on retail clients, dispatching them to their focus for online retailers.
the assumption that it will be filled at a later customers within the time frame promised on “Handling incoming returns is as
stage. Companies using existing facilities the clients’ web sites. On an annual basis, specialised a process as handling outgoing
geared around palletised distribution may find iForce has seen its existing clients grow by a fulfilment. Outsourced fulfilment companies
themselves regularly reconfiguring their total rate of 50 per cent in terms of the orders offer the added benefit of specialist
warehouses.” it has handled through 2006, on a like-for-like capabilities in reverse logistics, which should
A further issue to contend with is that as basis. When the effects of new clients are be a further important consideration for any
online retail sales grow rapidly, so will factored in to the equation, iForce has been online retailer,” he says.
customer expectations and the consequences able to deal efficiently with an increase of “Without the space, processes and means of
of not meeting these. That is unless the around 180 per cent in terms of the volume of dispersal for returned goods online retailers
business has the means and tools for ensuring orders it dealt with in 2006, when compared will fail to regain significant value from the
service levels do not dip as the growth to 2005. returned goods, which can also clog up their
continues its relentless ascent. “This ability to scale our business to such facilities by occupying valuable space. Online
an extent is one of the keys to our success and retailers looking to handle high growth rates
Outsourcing the headache placed us in the position of leading service will therefore require suitable reverse logistics
Outsourcing fulfilment for online retail to an provider in this marketplace,” says Mark solutions also.”
expert is the most effective way to not only of Hewitt. www.iforcegroup.com
remove the headache but to ensure that
service levels keep pace as growth continues. iForce is one of the UK's leading e-fulfilment and returns logistics businesses, offering end-to-end
Outsourcing also enables the retailer to solutions to its clients’ business challenges. Founded in 1998, iForce has pioneered the
concentrate on what it does best, ie, sales, development of traditional fulfilment skills, processes and technologies for the e-commerce world.
marketing and – if they sell their own goods - iForce's other services include strategic planning & consultancy for e-retailers, e-analysis, stock
production, to ensure the growth is sustained. management, customer service and logistics. iForce has approximately 400 staff and over 1.2
“Utilising the scale of its infrastructure, million square feet of warehouse space in seven UK locations serving the UK and Continental
processes, experience and capabilities, an Europe. Clients today include: John Lewis Direct, House of Fraser, Boots.com and Great Little
efulfilment company can happily handle an Trading Company for e-fulfilment, Tesco and House of Fraser for Reverse Logistics and Green King
online retailer’s rapid growth,” says Mark and Bentley for Direct Marketing.
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June 2007 ShD 27
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