Logistic models for online shops
When commencing online sales, online store owners must choose a specific model of logistical services, which will ensure efficient and effective deliveries based on clearly defined roles and responsibilities of the logistics operator.
The below diagrams of e-commerce services illustrate some, but not all of the various scopes of services provided by logistics operators available on the market.
Scenario no. 1 - Limited role of the logistics company in online store services.
The simplest model of e-commerce services, where the online store manages its warehouse on its own, ordering wares from manufacturers or distributors that it works with. The logistics company must only deliver the wares from the online store’s warehouse to the end customer.
Scenario no. 2 - Expanded role of the logistics operator.
If an online store decides to expand its cooperation with the logistics company, the operator takes over the operation of the store’s warehouse (or warehouses) where deliveries to end customers originate, using the operator’s distribution network.
Scenario no. 3 - Shortened logistical chain, bypassing the online store warehouse (dropshipping).
Scenario no. 3 involves a logistical services model where wares (usually large-sized products, e.g. larger household appliances, furniture) never pass through the online shop’s warehouse. Based on a request submitted by the online store, the operator collects the cargo directly from the manufacturer’s (or importer’s) warehouse and delivers it to the end customer.
Scenario no. 3A - Distribution of online store’s wares directly from the manufacturer’s warehouse, operated by the same operator.
This scenario is a variant of model no. 3, known as dropshipping, extended by the operation of the manufacturer’s or importer’s warehouse by the same logistics operator who makes deliveries to the online store’s end customers.
