Ruud Reijmerink

BEE Continued…🐝

One thing I've learned from working in fulfilment: The first problem someone describes isn't always the problem that needs solving. A few more questions can save a lot of work later.

More orders are usually seen as good news. And they are. But growth also brings more stock, more exceptions, more returns and more pressure on working capital. Volume is one measure of growth. Complexity is another. #eCommerce

Choosing a 3PL is partly about capabilities and pricing. But it's also about how two organisations work together when things don't go according to plan. That part is harder to capture in a spreadsheet. #3PL

Warehouse automation is fascinating. But technology doesn't automatically fix a poorly designed operation. Before discussing robots, I'd rather understand the order profile, the exceptions and what actually needs improving. #WarehouseAutomation

I wonder how often delivery promises are made by marketing teams before operations have been involved. A promise is easy to communicate. Keeping it, every single day, is where things get interesting.

I've seen fulfilment discussions focus heavily on the price per order. Understandable, but what about returns, exceptions, customer service and flexibility? The lowest rate doesn't necessarily mean the lowest total cost. #3PL

Selling into another country is relatively easy. Serving customers there consistently is a different matter. Delivery expectations, returns, stock availability and local habits can turn a promising market into a complicated operation. #CrossBorderEcommerce

The longer I work in eCommerce and fulfilment, the more I realise how much there is still to learn. Experience doesn't always give you better answers. Sometimes it simply helps you ask better questions. #eCommerce

The cheapest fulfilment option isn't always the most economical. A lower price per order means little if it creates more exceptions, delays or customer service work. The total cost matters more than the rate card. #Fulfilment

The recent IT disruption at Ahold Delhaize raises an interesting question. As eCommerce systems become more connected, are we also becoming more vulnerable? Efficiency and scalability matter. But so does the ability to keep operating when systems fail. #eCommerce #BusinessContinuity

A decision to offer faster delivery might seem straightforward. Until you consider what it means for stock, warehouse operations, transport costs and margins. In eCommerce, decisions rarely stand alone. #Fulfilment

A customer sees a parcel. Behind it sits a chain of decisions about stock, fulfilment, carriers, cost and customer promise. That part of eCommerce interests me most: what happens behind the visible transaction.

𝐄𝐔 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠. But the more interesting question is what they change behind the parcel. As importing individual eCommerce parcels into Europe becomes more regulated and potentially more costly, the impact goes beyond customs and compliance. For non-EU brands, it can fundamentally change the economics of serving European customers from outside the EU. The traditional question has often been: Can we ship economically from our home market into Europe? Increasingly, the better question may be: 𝐀𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐔? Because once regulation, handling costs, customs complexity, delivery expectations and returns are considered together, inventory location stops being a purely logistical choice. It becomes an operating-model decision. A brand can continue shipping cross-border, import inventory in bulk and fulfil locally, use multiple inventory positions, or redesign its European distribution model altogether. None of those models is automatically right. 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬: • 𝐎𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 • 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 • 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐬 • 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐬 • 𝐂𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐭𝐲 Changes in import regulation should therefore not only trigger a customs conversation. They should trigger a broader question: 𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝? 𝑈𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠. #eCommerce #Fulfilment #CrossBorder #EuropeanExpansion #SupplyChain