How does Amazon do it behind the scenes? They currently sit at $427 billion in market cap. Walmart’s currently at $227 billion. CVS accounts for nearly $82 billion. Costco’s at $75 billion. And Target remains at $30 billion.

How has Amazon, an exclusively online retailer, been able to keep customers so happy? One of their secrets is rapid delivery. If you live in a metropolitan area near one of their distribution centers, you get nearly everything in just a couple days, even if your quoted order arrival date is a week later.

Amazon certainly rocks at distribution. And they keep problems like these to a minimum:

• Staying Proactively Ready for High-Volume Times
  
  You can’t predict all big movements in sales volume. But, some, like certain holidays, you know will come. For example, that could be the rush from November 1st (which typically begins the exciting building for Black Friday) to December 20th.If you sell lots of recreational merchandise, this could be when the weather starts to warm up in spring in the northern states. Or, it could be the coming back-to-school season.
  Is your warehouse or distribution center ready for big jumps in sales volume?
• Finding a Successful 3PL Partner
  
  3PLs can appear like a good solution to help you manage your warehouse. However, they can cause logistical issues of their own.For example, if you’re a tenant in multi-tenant distribution center, the 3PL balances the needs of all tenants, rather than making yours a priority. 3PLs also don’t necessarily have the most robust IT systems available. Finally, 3PLs aren’t always prepared to handle surges in volume, which can lead to an increase in expedited shipping costs for your customers.
• Relying on a Network of Distributors
  
  Some retailer’s e-commerce operations are designed such that they don’t have the physical product on-hand in their own distribution center. Instead, they use a network of distributors to fulfill these customer orders.
• Do you do this?
  
  It’s not necessarily bad. But it can lead to a number of logistical issues involving pricing, paperwork, policy compliance, and delivery times.
• Overseas Manufacturing Is Less Viable Than In the Past
  
  The current presidential administration doesn’t support foreign manufacturing as America has in the past. Public sentiment has also followed to a certain a degree.You may have used overseas manufacturers to cut costs. But how will that change with the current presidential administration’s policy?

With the rapid change in e-commerce distribution, it’s not easy to keep up. Call Pollock at 855.239.5153 to make sure your e-commerce warehouse or distribution center optimizes your revenue.