This is the second episode of our COVID-19 series that addresses how the eCommerce industry should respond to the Coronavirus global epidemic. On today’s episode, Kunle interviews three experts that serve the eCommerce industry in varying degrees–payment and logistics.

Now that we are at the forefront of a global crisis and an imminent recession, what can we expect from our consumers, suppliers, service providers, and the entire eCommerce space? Are we entering a massive shift in the economy? If so, then what are the changes that we are likely to face moving forward? Most importantly, what are the measures that we can employ to make sure that we can survive this crisis?

To answer these questions, join us today as Kunle and our distinguished panel share with us their expert’s advice, insights, and recommendations on the future of supply chain and online payment channels. Get ready to dive in as we talk about the impacts of COVID-19 in consumer buying patterns, freight logistics, delivery automation, and remote work setting.

Covered Topics:

• The Impact of COVID-19 on Warehousing and Fulfilment Networks Globally
• China’s Recovery
• Building Resilient Supply Chains with Innovative Solutions regardless of the Crisis
• How to Manage the Risk of Chargebacks due to Delayed Deliveries
• How to Brace your Operations for Remote Working

Podcast Show Notes:

• 01:48 – Easily Grow Your Business With A Powerful Marketing Automation Platform! Check out Klaviyo
• 02:55 – What to expect from this episode
• 05:25 – Introducing Our Expert Panel
• 06:14 – Erich Litch from 2Checkout
• 06:34 – Refael Elbaz from Unicargo
• 07:10 – Yuriy Ostapyk from Logistics Plus, Inc.
• 08:04 – Situation Analysis
• 10:26 – Situation Analysis from a Logistics Standpoint
  • Limited Capacity
  • 5x higher rates
• 14:19 – Difference between 3PL vs. 4PL
  • 3PL – transactional type
  • 4PL – outsourced supply chain logistics party
• 16:53 – How are your customers doing amidst this crisis?
  • It’s a domino effect on the global supply and demand.
  • Work from home setups
• 23:14 – Get the easiest way to backup your Shopify or BigCommerce store and undo unwanted changes with Rewind.io… Mention you heard about them at 2x eCommerce Podcast and get a ONE MONTH FREE TRIAL
• 20:48 – Projections in the Payment Industry
  • Massive shift in payment volume from physical location to online channels.
  • Massive shift in payment volume from luxury purchases to essential goods.
  • Plummet in luxury products and vacation-related expenses.
• 25:00 – Challenges in the Logistics Industry
  • Physical Interaction on Deliveries
  • Rising Need for Automation in Deliveries
• 26:21 – Current Situation in Israel
  • Strict measurements are enforced to keep people inside their homes.
• 28:21 – Projections in the Logistics Industry
  • China’s production capacity is recovering.
  • Rising costs and challenges in ocean freight going to the destination country
  • Most of the factories in China will be over 80% capacity by mid-May.
  • We can expect no improvement yet for the air freight sector by May due to the flight cancellations.
  • Massive backlog of goods
• 31:19 – Change in Consumer Buying Patterns
  • Spike in office supplies, medical devices, and household goods
  • Shift in consumer expenses due to layoffs
• 33:35 – Outlook from the conglomerate perspective
  • Possibilities of shut down
  • Lack of supply
• 37:18 – How are your clients communicating the situation to their end consumers?
  • Contingency Plans
  • Information Dissemination
  • Transparency in Communication
• 39:34 – Chargebacks and Refunds
  • Communicate the risks to your buyers and provide yourself some wiggle room given the situation.
  • Open and continuous communication is key.
  • Increase in chargebacks and refunds.
• 41:19 – Remote Working Strategies
  • 24/7 Customer Support Team
  • Setting up remote teams around the world
  • Use of collaboration tools – Skype, Slack
  • Daily virtual team meetings
• 44:08 – Join the 2xEcommerce Facebook Group

Topic Takeaways:

• This type of market also creates certain kinds of opportunities. It allows you to go to your customers and for them to really see your value.
• On the physical goods side on the logistics, I think this will be a wake-up call. You know lots of people are talking about drone delivery and all kinds of automation around that but really, how do you prepare your supply chain and your logistics to be able to be essentially pandemic-proof or global disaster-proof?
• One of the things that merchants should be prepared for is a spike in chargebacks and refunds. And they need to be able to have really robust ways in which they communicate to their buyers and make it clear what the risks are.
• The key to surviving this crisis is proactive planning and being able to create strategies to adapt yourself to the shifts in the market, and ensuring financial stability.

Tweetable Quotes:

The thing is you have to be nimble and kind of reactive and just deal with any situation that is thrown at you.

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