E-Commerce Berlin 2024: eCommerce expo and fulfillment solutions

On February 22, 2024, at STATION Berlin, the next edition of the E-commerce Berlin conference dedicated to the retail industry above took place. The event was attended by experts worldwide, providing opportunities to exchange experiences, followed by the latest innovations in the eCommerce market. This was a real retail innovation conference expo, where we could hear more about eCommerce trends and eCommerce growth.

As a software development company, what was most essential for us was to focus on logistics software development solutions dedicated to the eCommerce and retail industry. We discovered many gaps and struggles in today's eCommerce market, where the lack of solutions like digital document management can cause tremendous delays in international deliveries and beyond. This can also damage retail and eCommerce brands' position on the market. As we are more oriented towards outcomes than outputs in our business strategy, please see our event review.

What's new in the eCommerce conferences market for 2024?

The E-commerce Berlin conference was expected to be attended by nearly 11,000 people. According to the event organizer, 71% of the visitors to this World Retail Congress were local, while 29% were international visitors from outside Germany. In essence, nearly 60% of the eCommerce professionals were from C-level or management positions from online retailers, indicating that over 50% of those eCommerce experts present were directly involved in the decision-making process.

The top visiting industries in this retail innovation conference included fashion, health & beauty, toys & hobbies, home & garden, among others. However, for us, the most critical sectors of eCommerce business from global retail space belonged to automotive & industrial, logistics fulfillment, electronics & media, and software solutions, where AI strongly influenced business operations in the eCommerce world.

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Article by:

Iryna Stepchenko

Get closer to online retail industry leaders. Discussing pain points

Following the core of our focus, during the event, we observed a growing demand for better data collaboration and evaluation among eCommerce from retail sector companies to provide more accurate search results and better match customer expectations. Companies and eCommerce entrepreneurs are on their way to achieving milestones through the use of artificial intelligence and thus improving their performance.

However, there are still a vast number of areas that are highly neglected in the eCommerce market. Many companies, especially those gaining experience in eCommerce, don't understand the value of partial business operations, such as document management and logistics. 

By seeing the struggles of eCommerce at the event, here are the main pain points of today's online retail industry:

Insufficient documentation management in the eCommerce sector

Not many are aware. However, 60% of internationally shipped goods are held due to incorrect shipping documents or undervalued shipments, below 150 euros from Europe to the US market to avoid customs duty. Moreover, invoices are often wrong and get stopped in customs.

These issues are so frequent that the eCommerce market is losing millions of dollars due to returns. Therefore, effective document management should be at the top of the list for each eCommerce business, especially considering that the market is highly saturated and requires a simple management process for a wide range of customers. The lack of a Document Management System (DMS) can result in costly penalties and errors.

Poor logistics and transportation solutions in the eCommerce space

Delivery is crucial for eCommerce, and a bad service provider that doesn't completely fulfill the needs of eCommerce delivery can lead to significant issues, including late deliveries, damages, loss of goods, and a host of other problems.

Inefficient fulfillment services eCommerce ecosystem

Many companies offer full-fledged services covering logistics, warehousing, and shipping goods in eCommerce. So-called fulfillment services often overpromise their value, leading to the risk of eCommerce businesses losing customers due to ineffective management of operational processes. It begins from the order stage and extends to poorly managed warehouses, among other issues.

Effective document management in eCommerce

We would like to focus on a specific area within our business expertise because there are too many problems we can address and find solutions for in eCommerce. As a custom software development company, we concentrate on transportation, logistics, and supply chain software development solutions, which are crucial for today's eCommerce growth one of our areas of expertise is document management, which can enable smooth operations in eCommerce.

Well, let's at least take a look at our blockchain solution for the eTEU company. In our case, which we worked on together with the customer’s team, the main task was the management of paperless documentation in shipping companies. There was also a strong focus on processes that ensure safety, compliance, and operational efficiency.

DMS system for the eCommerce industry

Document management was also one of the topics mentioned during the event in Berlin. During a presentation given by Chris Hodge, the eCommerce marketing manager from FedEx, we learned about today's issues in the eCommerce market. As FedEx is a well-known logistics provider, Chris shared many issues faced by today's eCommerce.

Major problems stem from inaccuracies in document management, causing tremendous problems in international trade with markets such as the US and Europe. It's revealed that a massive number of returns in eCommerce, as registered by FedEx, come from incorrectly handled documents. Of course, this is not the only statistic, but it gives a direct view of where eCommerce companies should focus more.

Nevertheless, this problem arises because companies in eCommerce, particularly those experiencing growth, often lack sufficient experience in logistics operations, whether in international trade or locally. Logistics, in many cases, is one of the biggest failures in eCommerce despite the effectiveness of its marketing operations.

DMS system that supports the eCommerce sector

The solution to this problem is implementing an effective document management system seamlessly integrated with logistics operations and the online store. We're not just talking about a system that generates invoices but a comprehensive solution that manages all your document flows in the business. It includes generating simple invoices, managing carrier documents, shipping documents, contracts, Proof of Delivery (PODs), and many more. It is a sneak peek at the range of documents that must be handled in eCommerce.

Here is where document management can help in eCommerce:  

Efficiency in eCommerce space

The DMS streamlines document handling processes and reduces the time and effort required to manage documentation related to orders, shipments, and other transactions.

Accuracy

DMS offers centralized document storage and retrieval. It ensures easy access to accurate and up-to-date information.

Regulatory compliance in the eCommerce ecosystem

Many industries have strict document storage and data privacy regulations. DMS helps to stay up to date with the remaining changes.

Cost savings

DMS is decreasing paper consumption, streamlining workflow, and, at the same time, minimizing errors. Simply put, a DMS can lead to cost savings.

Improved customer service

Faster access to accurate information allows eCommerce companies to respond faster to customer inquiries and resolve issues. It leads to increased customer satisfaction.

Scalability eCommerce industry

Along with the growth of eCommerce businesses, the number of documents they need to manage also increases.

Risk mitigation in eCommerce business

DMS provides secure storage and backup functions. It reduces the risk of data loss due to accidents, theft, or hardware failure.

Final takeaway: driving changes in the eCommerce world

We want to emphasize that not only the marketing side and online store are essential in eCommerce. If your business has faced unprecedented growth, you must focus on your backstage management, where logistics, transportation, and supply chain are the most important. Suppose you want to be a leader in eCommerce, such as some marketplaces like Alibaba.com, Allegro.com, and eBay.com, some of which were present during the E-commerce Berlin event. In that case, you should consider that these companies became leaders by focusing strictly on the essentials of their business.

Best eCommerce conferences are about promoting digital marketing and the purpose solutions for the eCommerce strategies in your business. They are talking about eCommerce and digital marketing, timely delivery, the latest eCommerce technologies, how importance of no issues with documents, and many others. To address this problem, you should consider deploying systems for smooth data and document management. The E-Commerce Berlin eCommerce conference was one of the most attended eCommerce conferences this year.

We're Adexin, and we understand the struggles of today's eCommerce market. With a proven track record of implementing custom software solutions, we're equipped to address your business's challenges. We're visiting top eCommerce conferences and supply chain events to stay up to date with the latest trends and talk to business leaders and industry experts about the most recent challenges in the eCommerce industry. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help improve your business.