Increasing importance of logistics 4.0 in e-commerce
A new study commissioned by GLS Austria shows the latest developments in e-commerce. 62 percent of the study participants said they shop online at least once a month. Last year its was 37 per cent. The number of so-called “frequent shoppers” who shop online several times a month, has doubled to 40 percent. “Regular online shopping has become normal for Austrians,” points out Mag. Thomas Schwabl, CEO of the polling institute Marketagent.com.
Nearly 88 percent of study participants find logistics 4.0 very useful in e-commerce. This enables customers to digitally access the delivery process. More than 71 percent are convinced that this will be even more important in the years to come. “Even today, GLS lets consumers determine when and how they want to receive their parcel” says Dr. Axel Spörl region manager GLS Austria and Portugal. The parcel receiver is able to change the delivery date and the destination address using the FlexDeliveryService – even if the parcel is already on its way.
For 65 percent of the polled, easy returns handling is very important. “Moreover, on Saturday, more than 80 percent of GLS parcel shops are open,” says Axel Spörl. “This is ideal for working persons who wish to return their order,” he adds.In the poll women deemed simple returns solutions as more important than men.
GLS Austria is a subsidiary of GLS, General Logistics Systems B.V. (headquartered in Amsterdam). GLS provides parcel services for over 220,000 customers in Europe, complemented by logistics and express services. Through wholly owned and partner companies, the group provides a network coverage of 41 European states and is globally connected via contractual agreements. 41 central transhipment points and more than 700 depots are at GLS’ disposal. With its ground based network GLS is one of the leading parcel service providers in Europe. About 14,000 employees handle 431 million parcels per year. Every day around 20,000 vehicles are on route for GLS. In the financial year 2015/16 GLS achieved revenues of EUR 2.2 billion.