Amazon - a force to descend on Australian Shores.

Offline retail is a tale of woe, but online retailing is going from strength-to-strength, with shopping online doubling in two years and Forrester’s tipping continuing growth1. The news that Amazon is coming to Australia by setting up a data centre for its web services business 2 and actively assisting Australian retailers to sell on Amazon.com, good or bad news for online sellers?

The Professional eBay and eCommerce Sellers Alliance (PeSA) predicts that it is a little bit of both for Australian online retailers.

“Retail is really moving into a multi-channel phase, with more paths to market representing more opportunity for online sellers. A new major market-place like Amazon ensures the dominant player here, eBay, will be sure to keep up their seller support services. All this is good news for online retailers and competition.” Says Shaun O’Brien, PeSA Australia President.

“The challenges is that major market-places bring more international sellers into the Australian market, most of which can sell at extremely competitive prices” Continues O’Brien. “Yet Quantium.com.au report that only 25% of online sales are offshore, keeping 75% here. That’s a massive opportunity for existing, and future, Australian online retailers.”

To ensure online retailers keep ahead of the game, PeSA run an annual Internet Conference event. 2012 will be the sixth year of the event, with an expected 600+ delegates.

There are over sixty content sessions, with keynote speakers from eBay, PayPal and Australia Post, plus leading online Australia entrepreneurs including:

• Ruslan Kogan – Founder and CEO of Kogan.com.au and Australia’s wealthiest entrepreneur under 30.
• Gabby Leibovich – Co-founder of Scoopon and Catch of the Day.
• Paul Greenberg – Co-founder of DealsDirect.com.au

The PeSA Internet Conference runs May 31-June 2 at the Gold Coast Convention Centre. Registrations for the 2.5 day event are priced from only $495. A full exhibition accompanies the Internet Conference.

Full details at InternetConference.com.au

Cellnet Logistics Expands into Online Retail

The way in which Australian retailers utilise fulfilment and logistics has changed significantly over the past 12 months.

As a result, third-party logistics provider Cellnet Logistics targets the e-commerce industry. Read more...

BACKGROUND

Originating in New Zealand and later transitioning to the Australian market, online retailer “The Nile” has grown to become one of the most successful online book retailers in the Asia Pacific region today. Founded in 2003 by Jethro Marks and his co-director Mark Taylor, the pair pioneered through the early online days to create what has proved to be a very successful online business model.

In late 2010, Jethro Marks approached Ben Watts, Manager of Cellnet Logistics, for advice on possible online business models with an intention to broaden their offering from Books, DVD’s & CD’s to the world of Fashion. Jethro visited Cellnet Logistics’ Brisbane headquarters with his Operations Manager, David Prichard, working through scenarios of how Cellnet Logistics could potentially warehouse product and provide backend support for their new initiative. Nile Fashion’s main objective was to limit their capital expenses and continue to professionally service their customers, all whilst allowing them to ‘test the water’ as they moved into new market territory with the expansion into this new category for the business. A flexible third party logistics (3PL) solution was deemed the perfect option for Nile Fashion to achieve this. As a result Jethro explored the options available in the market that specialize in online fulfillment with B to C delivery capability and experience, and hence ignited a partnership with Cellnet Logistics as their preferred 3PL supplier.

STRATEGY

For The Nile's new venture, the business model was not to be a traditional supply and replenish situation. Instead it would be based on the acquirement of a large quantity of fashion goods, and then utilizing their existing eCommerce expertise and knowledge they would market and sell through the goods in a short period of time, ideally a few months. Jethro’s vision was to obtain a professional warehouse and logistics solution to partner with and support the unpredictable and surging sale of the goods, in order to avoid Nile Fashion implementing permanent infrastructure and the related costs that come with in-house warehousing and distribution.

Cellnet Logistics and Nile Fashion together had no history to work with or case study to design the solution around, so Ben and Jethro worked together to gather the available information and combined this with some assumptions to design a model that would mutually benefit both parties. The primary aim was to implement a professional warehousing and fulfillment solution quickly and efficiently in order to have Nile Fashion trading in a short space of time.

The result was a simple FTP data sharing model which leveraged Cellnet Logistics infrastructure and expertise to manage and move Nile Fashion’s inventory. In addition, a cost/charging model was developed and negotiated to suit both parties.

EXECUTION

Nile Fashion's warehousing, distribution and fulfillment solution via Cellnet Logistics was built and tested over the 2010-11 Christmas holiday period. Goods physically arrived during the months of January and February into Cellnet Logistics warehouse, the large volumes handled professionally and efficiently by their experienced inbound department. Within a period of two weeks, all goods were received and able to be allocated for sale.

It was decided not to integrate too in-depth on launch, and instead communicate via FTP as this avoided integration delays suiting both parties. Customised delivery dockets were designed with Nile Fashion’s logo and details, along with packaging options that suited the broad range of product in stock. The ‘soft’ launch of the operation took place in February and resulted in sales flowing through the system with all communications and procedures operating seamlessly.

The pressure test came in March when Nile Fashion executed a large-scale marketing campaign through eBay. It was forecast that 100-150 orders per day would result from the initial marketing push. After 70 orders places in the first hour, Day 1 saw in excess of 2,000 orders in the first day. It is fair to say the scalability of the 3PL solution was tested (and succeeded) without a hitch! Although this initial surge subsided, the orders continue on a daily basis, and Nile Fashion are rest assured that they are prepared in any situation. Cellnet Logistics proved their partnering capabilities and continue to distribute goods on behalf of Nile Fashion today.

OUTCOMES

One of the more hardened pioneers of online retail, Jethro Marks is elated at the success of Nile Fashion and its 3PL solution and partnership with Cellnet Logistics. In a space of less than four months from his initial contact with the provider, Cellnet Logistics had not only customised a 3PL solution to suit their new business need, but received in excess of 350 mixed pallets of goods, integrated their I.T systems, tested the communication and reporting, and survived an onslaught of orders!

The key to the success of the project has been flexibility. Both parties were open to customizing the solution and this fluidity meant that small issues did not fester or remain unresolved for long. Nile Fashion benefited from Cellnet Logistics infrastructure and economies of scale, not only to cater for order fluctuations through scalability, but also by saving considerable dollars through subsidized freight rates across the country.

This project was by no means the most technically difficult Cellnet Logistics had taken on, but it did showcase their flexibility and scalability - something many 3PL companies claim, but often fail to display under pressure. There is no substitute for experience and tested backend warehousing and fulfillment solutions.

Today Ben and Jethro maintain consistent contact in conjunction with the greater Nile team, and are currently in discussion to utilise Cellnet Logistics New Zealand premises along with additional further projects in Australia. Both parties see a long and successful association together!

Cellnet Logistics partners with Power Retail to reach the cream of the online retailers in Australia

Power retail customers were the first to see the new branding for Cellnet Logistics online. The appearance coincided with the launch of the brand new website in May this year. Cellnet Logistics are currently looking to engage online retailers wanting to outsource their logistics and warehousing operations, so naturally powerretail.com.au was the first port of call.

Cellnet Logistics' Manager 'Ben Watts' on the panel at PESA 2011

Ben Watts has a passion for efficient, cost effective logistics. Throughout his career Ben has worked in a variety of senior logistics and operational management roles across the pharmaceutical, information technology, consumer electronic and telecommunications industries. A common theme of all roles has been supply chain efficiency and increasing the speed of goods to market, while reducing the associated operational costs.

In 2011, Ben will present at the annual PeSA Summit. The Summit provides a chance for online retailers to meet and learn about new developments from major players, including eBay, PayPal, Australia Post and many more. The PeSa Summit is also designed to build your online marketing skill-set and leave you inspired and energised! 2011 is the fifth year for PeSA Summit, and the Gold Coast will host this years event on 21-22 July.

PESA Expo 2011 - July 21 and 22 at the Gold Coast Convention Centre

Join us at PeSA's 2011 Internet Conference if you want to ignite your online sales and leave energised and inspired. Over 200 delegates have already registered to attend! Now in it's fifth year this two day event, staged by the Professional eCommerce & eBay Seller's Alliance, is simply the best value online conference in Australia. Featuring over 30 international and local speakers (including Cellnet Logistics!), across four streams, there are insights for both expert and novice sellers alike. There will be over 600 delegates at PeSA Summit 2011, so there will be unbeatable networking opportunities. The exhibition runs for the entire two days, so you can meet vendors to help you grow your business. Be sure to visit Cellnet Logistics!

Cellnet Logistics now offer Web Services

Cellnet Logistics now offer the convenience of our ‘Web Services’ facility for all of our 3PL Customers. Web Services enable you to connect your back-end systems directly to ours in a secure way via the internet, 24/7*.

We offer the following functions via Web Services:
· Place Orders to ship your stock to your customers
· View the status of your Orders
· Access any of our 3PL standard reports:
· Stock In
· Stock Out
· Stock On Hand
· Back Orders

Web Services allow you to stay up-to-date and informed, the perfect real time communication, designed to integrate seamlessly with your existing infrastructure. Contact us to find out more.

*24/7 except for one maintenance period per month of 6 hours.).

Cellnet Logistics form alliance with Neto

Cellnet Logistics and Neto have recently been discussing a strategic alliance. We are integrating Cellnet Logistics 3PL solution with the Neto eBay Manger (www.neto.com.au) software solution that is eBay certified. This will create a very powerful 'end to end' offering that will manage eBay sellers stores, take payments and send orders to our warehouse facilities for pick/pack and despatch.

Acting as middleware between your inventory and eBay, the Neto eBay Manager allows you to easily list and manage any item from your inventory to be sold or auctioned on eBay. Completed eBay orders are then passed through to our warehouse for fulfillment and buyers are notified of their shipping and tracking details while being left eBay feedback automatically. By streamlining the eBay listing and order fulfillment process while accurately updating eBay listings with actual stock availability,  our customers will experience increased operational efficiencies, higher conversion rates, improvements in order and shipping accuracies and an overall reduction in costs.

Essentially we have a service that manages your online business end to end, whether you are an established online retailer or a traditional retailer looking for an online presence; this is a cost effective way to grow your online sales and enhance your customers experience.

Both Cellnet Logistics and Neto are owned and operated as individual companies, but have decided to join forces to create this powerful offering. This streamlines online business and offers a completely scalable model, with no growth limitation! Please contact us to find out more.