Margins are being squeezed across e-commerce; that’s why many retailers have adopted third-party (3P) commerce models such as dropshipping or launched marketplaces to sustain profitable growth. But retailers are still expected to do more with less and continue growing their channels to keep pace with evolving consumer demands – such as providing more accurate and precise delivery promise dates – all while their budgets remain the same or, in some cases, decrease.
To add to the challenge, ramping up new operations to keep up with the pace of growth is often time-consuming. It is also critical for retailers to minimize returns to maintain healthy profit margins, operational efficiency, and customer satisfaction.
According to Appriss Retail and the NRF, for every $1 billion in sales, the average retailer incurred $145 million in merchandise returns in 2024. Online sales see a higher return rate at 17.6% or $247 billion in purchased merchandise being returned online.
Rithum has recently rolled out two new products to help retailers solve these challenges while they continue to expand their business: Rate Shopping and End-to-End Monitoring.
Rate Shopping
Rate Shopping allows a retailer to find the best price for delivery with a shipping provider without compromising its delivery date with the customer.
It uses existing dropship integrations to get the best delivery rate by leveraging supplier warehouse info and inventory locations. Rithum then helps the retailer determine the best warehouse to fulfill the order.
On average, Rate Shopping results in 7-9% savings on shipment costs without needing to build new integrations, according to Rithum data. Additionally, this tool increases supplier compliance by staying on top of how, when, and from where suppliers are shipping by bringing together the entire lifecycle – from click to doorstep – in real-time.
End-to-End Monitoring (E2E)
End-to-End Monitoring (E2E Monitoring) provides retailers with operational insights that help prevent late shipments, simplify the order management process, and unlock new opportunities for retailers.
- Real-Time Visibility: Retailers can monitor the status of every order from pick, pack, and ship to final delivery.
- Proactive Late Shipment Alerts: Alerts can protect the customer experience by identifying late shipments and deliveries before they happen.
- Robust Historical Reporting: Historical reporting can uncover new opportunities with KPIs like on-time performance and time-to-deliver. It can also provide insights unique to Rithum, such as ship method compliance, geolocation data, and more.
In early testing, E2E monitoring provided one major retailer with the goal of “no late express shipments” for the 2023 holiday season with 99% on-time delivery rates, compared to 95% the year prior.
Integrated commerce solutions are the future of e-commerce
As peak season approaches, retailers are increasingly challenged with managing product returns that significantly impact both operational costs and customer satisfaction.
By leveraging advanced technology and proprietary network data, Rithum’s delivery solutions are tailored to address these challenges. This allows retailers to maximize operational efficiency and cost savings across their supply chain. Rithum’s centralized solutions are reshaping the future of e-commerce by supporting unified inventory and operations management, allowing for smarter fulfillment and delivery, improved restocking, and product listing accuracy.
“With peak season just around the corner, it’s important for retailers to manage their operations effectively during the busiest time of the year. They need to keep their customers happy and help their bottom line. Rithum’s Delivery Solutions can help retailers manage this easily and effectively with Rate Shopping and End-to-End Monitoring,” said Ellie Williams, VP of Product Management at Rithum.
Rate Shopping and E2E monitoring are now available globally.
Learn more about how these products can help you be prepared for peak season. Schedule a demo/book a meeting here.