"Successful eFulfillment: The last Mile in eBusiness"
(April 2000)

SYDNEY: Australian etailers are failing to efficiently handle product returns from consumers who buy online with return rates reaching up to 30 per cent according to a new study released today by, APT Strategies, titled "Successful eFulfillment: The last Mile in eBusiness".

A major recommendation of the "Successful eFulfillment: The last Mile in eBusiness" report is for etailers to partner with service stations and convenience stores to overcome this major eBusiness obstacle.

According to Anthony Rosenberg, Principal eBusiness for APT Strategies and co-author of the report "the after hours accessibility, convenience and location of service stations and convenience stores provide an excellent opportunity to capitalise on the efulfillment revolution".

Of the 8,438 Australian online respondents who were polled and had shopped online in the past 12 months, 26% of them most frequently visited Shell service stations, 20% BP and 18% Mobil.

This report details how etailers are racing to develop online front-end strategies and implementations without sufficient consideration into fulfillment, logistics, customer service and returns processes and systems.

"Our research indicates that efulfillment is an afterthought driven into the forefront when crisis occurs. We recommend that the traditional retailers continue to reconstruct their logistics and fulfillment processes or segregate their bulk delivery systems from their one-to-one Internet channels to compete with dotcom rivals," says Paul Koffler, eBusiness analyst and co-author of the report.

As the Internet's one-to-one marketing model is forcing conventional and Internet businesses to change the way they deliver products to customers, APT Strategies has identified 5 components to efulfillment that augments the one-to-one marketing model.

Mr. Koffler has developed the 'Warehow' methodology which is designed for pure play etailers, click and mortar and direct sell online businesses. The etailers have been segmented according to their current infrastructure, resources, capabilities, experience, and brand strength. Each model or a combination of models accounts for the etailers strengths and weaknesses.

According to Kevin Benson, Director of 3D Computing, a Sydney based software company specialising in efulfillment systems, "many traditional companies' systems are rigid and of a proprietary nature. These systems only allow for bulk storage, pick, pack and shipping. The reluctance of management to implement new systems is a stumbling block to achieving direct-to-consumer fulfillment. However, companies can change the scope of their operations without affecting the integrity of its systems. Companies can replicate and then restructure certain modules of the database. This together with a physical restructure of the warehouse will provide a perfectly integrated warehouse, able to handle shipments to stores or distributors as well as to Internet customers."

Copies of the 30 page report are available from Mr Rosenberg and Mr Koffler.

About APT Strategies Pty. Ltd.

APT Strategies is one of Australia's first online research firms established in 1994. Since 1994, over 200 Internet research and electronic commerce studies have been conducted for leading Australian and international companies as well as pioneering online research of over 100,000 online consumers. APT Strategies' consulting division delivers innovative yet practical efulfillment solutions, from concept through through implementation and measurement.