The growing demand for online shopping and convenient deliveries has brought about a new revolution in the consumer goods and retail supply chain. While traditional mom-and-pop storekeepers have started selling products digitally, big-scale retail brands and consumer goods manufacturers have adopted the direct-to-consumer selling model in order to fulfill customer demands. They just have not created a new model but they made us so habitual that before buying anything offline our first thought will be let me check it once on Amazon, Flipkart, or google.
Direct-to-consumer or D2C selling is a fast-track retail model wherein brands sell merchandise directly to consumers through an online storefront, without involving intermediaries such as wholesalers or distributors. Brands sell directly to consumers via in-house fulfillment centers, e-commerce marketplaces, or with the help of third-party logistics providers.
Why are Businesses going for Direct to customer Model?
Going D2C has several advantages.
Where retail brands are stepping up to meet the evolving needs, expectations, and behaviors of the tech-savvy, post-pandemic customers.
By implementing a D2C distribution model, enterprises can save the logistical costs involved in the secondary mile, by avoiding shipping and transporting to wholesalers, and directly shipping goods to customer locations. There are many companies out there who will help you through their Vendor management service (VMS) to distribute globally.
Companies also save the added benefit they don't have to keep the stock.
Safe Doorstep Delivery -
Post the pandemic, consumers are concerned about the quality and safety of the things they are buying and the way they are handled. In D2C distribution, goods are shipped and delivered directly from the manufacturing location to the consumer’s address, minimizing the number of places a package travels to and the number of people who handle it or you have no idea how they have handled it. The customer just wants his product in his hand undamaged.
3 things to understand in brand-consumer Relationship -
- D2C allows brands to offer customers personalized product options, resolve issues quicker, and ensure a satisfying fulfillment experience.
- It allows consumers to know the brand well, share their shopping experiences, product feedback directly with the brand.
- By selling directly to consumers, retailers can build stronger relationships with their customers as well as an improved brand image in the market.
Faster Last-Mile Operations -
In D2C distribution, manufacturers and big retail brands simply take orders online and deliver faster, using their own logistics arms or with the help of 3rd party distributors. By skipping middlemen involvement and wholesaler distribution, enterprises can speed up the last-mile delivery process by shipping goods to consumers directly as and when an order is placed.
What are the Supply Chain Challenges in D2C Selling?
The D2C model has various benefits but there are also some logistical challenges brands must consider:
Supply Chain Visibility - When customers purchase from a brand, they expect complete transparency from the seller. They want to know when their order is shipped, where exactly their order is in transit, and who is handling their delivery. If a D2C brand does not have an efficient delivery tracking system, they might not be able to establish this transparency with their customers.
Last-Mile Delivery Bottlenecks -
A shift to D2C selling comes with an underlying requirement of efficient last-mile delivery. However, many brands may be new to last-mile dynamics and challenges such as delivery route planning, rider allocation, route restrictions, customer address verification, and more.
Competing with e-commerce giants and ensuring timely and efficient last-mile fulfillment, especially during the festive season is a major challenge ahead of D2C sellers.
What’s the Solution?
Digitization is the need of the hour, and Direct to Customer selling is not an exception. It's a must-have thing for your business.
And we feel everyone has to learn the physical-digital hybrid model of the business world. This can be the solution.
Because if you have amazing products at your offline stores and the same products you are also providing at one of your online stores then this will be a deadly combination and difficult to compete.
If you want to learn more about the physical-digital hybrid model of business stay connected we are coming up with a lot of new stuff.
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