Interview with Logistiic | Logistics automation revolution saves time, manpower and operating costs

In addition to cash flow, the biggest headache for cross-border e-commerce sellers is logistics and returns. In addition, Amazon adjusts logistics-related fees and policies every year, and in 2024, it will drastically increase many "extra fees", such as penalties for too much or too little inventory!

This episode of "Selling Billions, Not Voice" Podcast invites Jimi Feng, who was once an Amazon seller and CEO of an agency company, and is now in the logistics industry, to share his experience, the problems encountered by cross-border e-commerce sellers in logistics, market trends, and the Logistic system that improves logistics management efficiency.

• Traditional logistics companies rely on manual quotations, which are slow and opaque in price comparison.
• Now that the AI ​​industry has entered the Amazon business landscape, sellers can use AI to help themselves improve efficiency on the logistics side and establish logistics management with higher CP value and more time-saving and labor-saving.

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How will the US election affect Amazon sellers?

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1. Traditional logistics providers rely on manual quotations, which are slow and opaque.
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   During the interview, Jimi mentioned that since the US presidential election will be held at the end of 2024, judging from the current situation, Trump's support and voice seem to be overpowering Biden. Trump advocates a more severe trade blockade against China. However, many of the products sold by Amazon sellers are made in China. Even if they are not made directly in China, most of the downstream industrial chains and parts of the products have the participation of Chinese manufacturers.
   So, in summary, if Trump wins the US presidential election at the end of the year, there is a high possibility that he will impose a stricter trade blockade on China, which will definitely affect Amazon sellers.
   Therefore, Amazon sellers that ship products from China and have Chinese manufacturers manufacture their products should not only pay a little attention to the US election process, but also plan their own supply chains in advance.
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   • It is recommended to gradually transfer part of China's supply chain to Southeast Asia or other countries with greater logistics advantages.
   
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2. Risks of shifting industry chains
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   Jimi mentioned that in fact, when Trump was still the US president a few years ago, China and the US had already gradually "decoupled". At that time, many large companies, such as Nike and Apple, were trying to transfer their downstream supply chains to surrounding Southeast Asian countries, and even Africa and Mexico.
   But unlike those large companies with strong financial resources, small and medium-sized sellers on Amazon will definitely face some challenges in the early stages of "transferring positions", such as language, culture, transaction risks and other issues.
   Previously, the supply chain was in China, and one of the biggest advantages for Taiwanese sellers was the language advantage. However, if the large companies mentioned above move their supply chain to Southeast Asia, the local trading habits and language will become challenges for sellers.

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Why should sellers use AI technology to establish a comprehensive warehousing and logistics system?

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1. Amazon's new policy: Sellers split warehouses, penalties for too much or too little inventory
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Starting in 2024, Amazon will provide multiple warehouse locations (4+ warehouses) for sellers using Amazon Logistics FBA.This means that if the seller originally wants to ship a container of products to warehouse A, without adding additional fees, Amazon will designate this batch of goods to be distributed to A, B, C, and D based on the back-end system, which may be in different states. Different warehouses, even more warehouses.In addition, Amazon will also charge additional fees for sellers with too much or too little inventory.
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   Further reading: What is Amazon's old inventory fee (long-term storage fee)? How is the fee charged?
   What is the new low-volume inventory fee in 2024?
   
   The reason is also very simple: Amazon is a "consumer"-centered platform that allows consumers to receive goods from the warehouse faster. After all, they have a fast service of 2-day delivery through Amazon Prime membership; at the same time, Amazon also It is necessary to do a good job in its own inventory management to reduce the cost of logistics, transportation and distribution of goods, so that the warehouse can be used more efficiently and the inventory turnover rate can be faster.Of course, although this is good for Amazon itself and consumers, for sellers, if they do not plan carefully, re-plan their shipping plans, calculate the additional costs of subdivision, and adjust their sales strategies, they will definitely suffer in logistics. Costs increased significantly.
   Further reading:Detailed analysis of 2024 new Amazon warehousing configuration service fees
   
   
2. Traditional logistics model is inefficient
   
   As an old seller on Amazon, if I still go to logistics companies one-on-one to inquire about prices and ship goods as before, not only will I not necessarily find the best price, but efficiency is also a big problem.
   First of all, the biggest problem of the traditional logistics model is "people" - the window that connects with sellers for logistics information is full of human employees. I believe that many sellers have had the experience of waiting for a week at the window before getting a quote. Many times, the goods are ready, especially in the peak season, but after a week, the opportunity for hot sales is gone. Another big problem is that the sellers' information is not transparent.
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   Jimi also shared from past experience that some small sellers are unaware of some of the unspoken rules of logistics companies.
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   For example: Logistics companies also offer two types of services, "ordinary ship" and "fast ship". It sounds like the fast ship should arrive earlier than the ordinary ship. But in fact, both types of ships have sailing cycles. If the shipping time happens to miss the previous shipping cycle of the fast ship, you have to wait for a week for the fast ship to arrive. If you choose an ordinary ship at the same time, the seller's goods may catch up with the ordinary ship that is about to sail, and the arrival time may even be faster than the fast ship. In this process, not only does it affect the seller's shipping efficiency, but it also makes the seller have an unnecessary expense. All of this is caused by the lack of information transparency of logistics companies.
   
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3. Logistiic uses AI to change the way logistics is played
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   Because Jimi himself had been a seller and had experienced the hardships of logistics and warehousing, and he happened to have a professional background as an engineer, he decided to start working on a logistics tool "Logistiic" that would be more suitable for sellers and for the future.
   
   Straightforward operation mode, easy to use

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Simply put, Logistiic operates like the "Uber of logistics."

Simply enter the following information:

• Shipping warehouse
• Arrival warehouse
• Product category
• Quantity

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In as little as 30 seconds, the system will automatically generate the shipping time, recommended logistics solutions, and even help you calculate the logistics cost of each item.

The whole process is as simple as ordering an Uber. With just a few clicks, you can get a transparent and clear estimate of the delivery time and the logistics cost composition of each item. Therefore, sellers no longer need to waste time waiting for quotes or spend extra money on inefficient logistics solutions.

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• AI helps you plan your peak and off-season and logistics strategies in advance
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  In addition to being simple and transparent, Logistiic also uses AI to learn sellers' product demand and shipping frequency, observe the off-season and peak season of products from the market, and proactively recommend warehouses and logistics solutions suitable for sellers, making arrangements for sellers' hot sales in advance. Even if the market scale of the seller's products is not very large now, through Logistiic, sellers can also understand the warehouse locations that are more suitable for them, and calculate more reasonable shipping time and shipping locations.
  From the perspective of long-term business decisions, transfer their own sources of goods and supply chains to more cost-effective warehouse addresses.
  Jimi proposed a real case: before, sellers would uniformly replenish goods in China and then ship them to North American consumers. However, from the perspective of logistics costs, setting up a new warehouse in Mexico can speed up the replenishment frequency of North American bases, which is a more cost-effective option. This is the logistics solution recommended to sellers through the Logistiic system.
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• Next step: “human-free” e-commerce management
  
  2024 is the year when the chaos of e-commerce in North America begins. In addition to Amazon, Walmart, TikTok, Temu, and SHEIN all want to get a piece of the pie in the large and mature e-commerce market.
  Therefore, Jimi mentioned that Logistiic is also preparing to deploy a multi-platform warehousing management system, which will make it more convenient for sellers to manage warehousing and logistics on multiple platforms in the future.
  However, Logistiic's vision does not stop at logistics, but also hopes to help sellers fully rely on automation, such as one-click operation of product listing, copywriting, and updating of product information. Let sellers focus on "maximizing revenue" while being more efficient and continue to grow their Amazon revenue!

*The above interview is reproduced from Transbiz Blog

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Wonderful interview video
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