The Future is Hyperlocal: How Downsizing the Downtown Core Can Future-proof Ecommerce Distribution

Inner-city congestion and rising delivery costs. Increasing demand for instant fulfillment. Skyrocketing prices for conventional distribution center real estate. The rise of e-commerce. The four horsemen of the retail apocalypse have come together to give logistics managers a real nightmare.

How do you fulfill customer orders in this environment while still maintaining an acceptable profit margin?

Here's a hint. You don't always do it by continuing distribution operations out of remote, gigantic DCs. Over the past couple of years, logistics managers desperate to conquer the last-mile challenge have been trying out a new model that turns the old fulfillment model on its head.

Hyperlocal fulfillment is the concept that is emerging as a remedy to the challenges that are making order fulfillment increasingly di­cult. It relies on small, numerous fulfillment centers, located in urban areas – either right downtown or close to the core – to stock and ship out goods for e-commerce orders.

By bringing the product closer to the customer, then creating and dispatching orders, those orders can be fulfilled faster, on a smaller footprint and can employ innovative final mile delivery solutions.

This paper will…

• Look at the challenges giving rise to the trend, and why they must be addressed
• Explain how hyperlocal fulfillment (also known as micro-fulfillment) works
• Look at the logistics implications, and detail the benefits as well as some of the risks

This white paper aims to provide a better understanding of whether it might be a solution for your operations.