B2C and B2B fulfilment services

on Friday, April 1, 2022 at 1:28:00 am

By Vishal Desai, Country Head of Anchanto Malaysia

EITN: What is a SaaS logistics technology company? The nature of the business seems very physical as logistics is about moving physical products from one location to another?

Vishal: A SaaS logistics technology company offers software infrastructure that enables supply chain and logistics companies to function smoothly. With the help of this technology, logistics companies are able to offer B2B & B2C fulfilment services for their customers.

The technology is offered as a SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) product, which means that the companies do not need to invest heavily in setting up this technology on-premise or develop it in-house. This also saves them from the pain of integrating with different ecosystem partners, and then maintaining those integrations. Instead, they can simply leverage the SaaS USP of ‘plug-and-play’ for their business.

Indeed, when it comes to the physical aspect of managing a warehouse, a SaaS logistics technology company is not directly associated. All of Anchanto’s offerings are SaaS based, which means we offer technology that enable logistics companies to manage their warehousing and fulfillment operations. Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Brands and distributors can also manage their end-to-end multichannel operations or implement any strategy like omnichannel or Direct-to-Consumer with our technology.

The technology is offered as a SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) product, which means that the companies do not need to invest heavily in setting up this technology on-premise or develop it in-house. This also saves them from the pain of integrating with different ecosystem partners, and then maintaining those integrations. Instead, they can simply leverage the SaaS USP of ‘plug-and-play’ for their business.

EITN: Please share what e-commerce management is and what it entails.

Vishal: When you manage an online selling business while achieving goals of quality product, customer acquisition and customer retention, that is called eCommerce management. There are numerous eCommerce models that brands, retailers, and distributors follow for eCommerce. Also, this management can be for B2B, B2C, and D2C businesses.

Managing all these aspects collectively is referred to as eCommerce management. Given that enterprises sell on multiple online and offline sales channels, all these aspects need to be managed across all the channels- adding to the complexities.

And this is where a need arises for enterprises to manage all eCommerce operations across multiple channels centrally. This significantly outlines a need for technical infrastructure like an OMS that simplifies all the eCommerce operations that need to be performed regularly and across various channels. With an OMS, businesses can orchestrate their orders, sync inventory, enhance and distribute catalogues, generate shipping labels, and run complex promotions, and much more – all from a unified platform. With the right OMS, eCommerce actors get the capabilities, integrations, and agility needed to run multichannel operations at scale.

There are multiple aspects related to eCommerce. Some of these are Catalogue Management, Order Processing, Inventory Management, Pricing & Promotions, Warehousing & Logistics, Partner Integrations, Reports & Analytics, among others.

For fulfilment and last-mile actors or brands & retailers having their own warehouses, eCommerce management involves managing warehousing & logistics to ensure eCommerce fulfilment. For that, they can implement a e-Warehouse Management System.

EITN: What are the top 3 advantages your solutions offer?

Vishal: To begin with, our technology has been developed in parallel while serving enterprises in the region for more than 10 years. We collected every feedback, insight, suggestion and then incorporated that into our SaaS offerings. And all this, after we created these products in the first place after taking the first-hand practical experience of serving multiple eCommerce brands for more than 2 years. This strategic approach really helped us build products that solve actual pain points of our customers.

The first advantage for our customers when they sign up with Anchanto is that they receive a tailored solution that works for their business. It is because we understand that every business is different and faces its own set of distinct challenges.

Companies can launch their core business strategies like Direct-to-Consumer, Omnichannel, Online-to-Offline (O2O), and many others. And all this while allowing business leaders and decision-makers to have control over all the data & analytics so that they can make informed decisions and have a bird’s eye view of their business.

We follow a proven process to create a ‘Solution Blueprint’ for each business. Our product consultants and experts work with all relevant stakeholders to create innovative solutions that enables businesses to optimise and scale their operations. Once we create the blueprint, we conduct a fit-gap analysis before delivering a holistic implementation & training so that our customers achieve their desired business growth.

Next, both our platforms offer ecosystem players to connect with marketplaces, shipping carriers, webstores, ERPs, accounting tools, and POS systems. We are pre-integrated with more than 150 marketplaces and web stores around the world and more than 40 Ready integrations with leading shipping carriers and logistics solutions globally. So, we bring you a technology that connects you to the entire eCommerce & supply chain ecosystem including ERPs, accounting tools, POS systems and more.

Finally, our systems act as the digital infrastructure for launching winning strategies by eCommerce businesses.

Companies can launch their core business strategies like Direct-to-Consumer, Omnichannel, Online-to-Offline (O2O), and many others. And all this while allowing business leaders and decision-makers to have control over all the data & analytics so that they can make informed decisions and have a bird’s eye view of their business.

EITN: What kind of savings/optimisation can businesses expect from your services and Solutions?

Vishal: As mentioned above, our customers are able to save massive investments in building any such technology in-house. They also save on the efforts of hiring & maintaining a technical team to ensure that their in-house technology is synced up with the latest trends at all times.

Specifically speaking, our Order Management System helps businesses to manage the way in which orders are processed, inventory is synced, and catalogues are distributed and maintained. Having the flexibility to build business strategies based on insights allows actors to expand their business and scale across different regions.

Also, with ready integrations across the ecosystem, when using our platforms, businesses can connect with 250+ marketplaces, webstores, shipping carriers, ERPs, accounting tools, and POS Systems. This saves a tremendous budget for developing and maintaining integrations.

Our e-Warehouse Management System allows businesses to actually optimise their warehouse space in a way that they can fulfil both B2B and B2C orders through the same system. This again saves them from making additional investments in hard assets. Not only this, but certain features also allow them to store products safely with specialty storage options like cold storage, hazardous material, high-value inventory etc. Periodic stock takes and automated replenishments enable actors to monitor inventory levels and eliminate stock-out events. Predesigned onboarding templates, custom SLA workflows & data visualisation tools speed up the time-to-market of new customers.

EITN: Please share about the outlook that you have for businesses in Malaysia for 2022.

Specifically speaking, our Order Management System helps businesses to manage the way in which orders are processed, inventory is synced, and catalogues are distributed and maintained. Having the flexibility to build business strategies based on insights allows actors to expand their business and scale across different regions.

Vishal: The next few years will see the current eCommerce boom taking a new shape and businesses enhance their offerings. In Malaysia, more e-commerce players and platforms will be implementing advanced technology to offer omnichannel experiences to shoppers by focusing on their demands and preferences.

To be precise, we believe that one of the next game-changers will be for retailers to be able to build a real omnichannel offer, enabling specific capabilities like click-and-collect, or try-and-buy. The pandemic has not only made people buy online more but has also made them miss buying offline. So, both the channels will continue to co-exist with such capabilities taking the lead.

Next, businesses that already have a warehouse will start serving other eCommerce brands. This is because a lot of brands are looking for enablers within Malaysia, and anyone having the eCommerce fulfilment know-how can monetise this knowledge to maximise revenue.

Also, companies must ensure they can be operationally agile and flexible in responding to shifting market demands borne by unforeseen crisis situations. Leveraging the right technology platforms can enable growth while being cost-efficient and can often be tailored according to the specific needs of the e-commerce business.