348: How COVID Changed Last Mile Delivery Forever, with SEKO

Summary

在这段对话中，SQL物流的首席商务官Brian Burke讨论了供应链在客户体验中的重要性，特别是在最后一英里交付方面。他强调了SQL物流如何作为第三方物流和货运代理，在电子商务领域提供全球服务，包括履行、国际包裹、大型家居交付等。Brian还提到了疫情期间供应链的挑战和变化，以及如何通过提供多种交付选项和增强的可见性来改善客户体验。此外，他还谈到了与客户建立真正的合作伙伴关系的重要性，以及SQL物流在东南亚市场的扩张计划和对电子商务履行中心的投资。

Takeaways

• 🚛 Seco Logistics 是一家全球性的3PL和货运代理公司，专注于电子商务领域，提供包括国际包裹、大件家具和家居配送等服务。
• 🌟 Seco Logistics 重视提供白手套服务，即在送货时提供高质量的客户体验，包括准时送达、良好的服务态度和高可见性。
• 📦 疫情期间，电子商务订单激增，Seco Logistics 面临挑战，需要适应封锁政策和需求高峰，同时保持服务质量。
• 🛍️ Seco Logistics 通过提供不同的送货选项，如次日达、隔日达等，来满足消费者的需求，并提高转化率。
• 💡 Seco Logistics 认为，供应链需要与营销紧密结合，共同打造出色的客户体验，从而促进口碑传播和客户忠诚度。
• 🌐 Seco Logistics 正在全球范围内扩展，包括在越南、台湾和泰国等地开设新的仓库和运营团队，以更好地控制供应链体验。
• 📈 Seco Logistics 看到2023年下半年的积极趋势，包括新产品开发和推出，以及需求的回升。
• 🔄 Seco Logistics 强调供应链的灵活性和准备性，建议客户多元化采购来源，以应对潜在的供应链中断。
• 🔍 Seco Logistics 使用技术提供高可见性的物流服务，包括实时跟踪和反馈，以改善客户体验并减少错误。
• 📱 Seco Logistics 利用智能手机技术，通过提供详细的包裹追踪信息和司机照片，增强了送货的透明度和客户满意度。
• 🌱 Seco Logistics 致力于可持续发展，采用电动叉车和考虑使用生物降解包装材料，以减少对环境的影响。

Q & A

SQL Logistics是一家怎样的公司？

SQL Logistics是一家全球性的3PL（第三方物流）和货运代理公司，专注于电子商务领域，提供包括履行、国际包裹、退货以及大型和笨重家居交付等服务。公司在全球60多个国家拥有150个地点，起源于美国，并在全球范围内设有区域总部。

Seco Logistics在最后一英里交付中扮演什么角色？

Seco Logistics作为SQL Logistics的一部分，专注于最后一英里交付，提供白手套服务，这在客户体验中起着至关重要的作用。Seco Logistics帮助零售商和直接面向消费者的品牌提供高质量的交付服务，包括准时交付、透明度和司机的友好度等。

新冠疫情期间，供应链和零售商的交付体验有哪些变化？

疫情期间，由于封锁措施，许多地方不得不停止室内交付，同时电子商务订单量显著增加，这给供应链和零售商带来了巨大挑战。随着时间的推移，市场发生了变化，零售商和品牌需要重新审视市场动态，提供更好的交付体验来吸引回头客。

Seco Logistics如何帮助客户提高交付体验？

Seco Logistics通过提供白手套服务进入消费者的家中，注重准时交付、透明度、司机的礼貌和友好度等因素。此外，Seco Logistics还利用技术提供实时反馈，帮助客户了解交付体验的质量和需要改进的地方。

为什么说供应链需要与市场营销紧密结合？

供应链不仅影响产品的交付，还影响客户的购买决策和品牌忠诚度。通过提供高质量的交付体验，可以创造口碑，吸引回头客，这是市场竞争中的关键因素。因此，供应链管理需要与市场营销紧密结合，共同提升客户体验。

Seco Logistics在包装和交付体验方面有哪些创新？

Seco Logistics正在从传统的丙烷动力叉车转向电动车队和物料搬运设备，以减少仓库中的灰尘和烟尘，确保发出的产品包装干净整洁。此外，Seco Logistics还在探索使用可生物降解或消费后回收材料的包装选项，以响应消费者对环保的需求。

为什么提供多种交付选项对提高客户满意度至关重要？

提供多种交付选项可以增加客户的选择自由度，从而提高客户满意度。例如，提供次日达或两日达选项，让消费者根据自己的需求选择最合适的交付方式。这不仅可以提高转化率，还可以减少购物车放弃率。

Seco Logistics如何利用技术提高交付的透明度？

Seco Logistics利用技术，如智能手机和跟踪系统，提供实时的交付信息和里程碑事件。这包括提供司机和包裹的照片、预计到达时间以及交付状态更新，从而减少客户的焦虑和提高满意度。

Seco Logistics在未来有哪些扩张和发展计划？

Seco Logistics计划在未来6个月内在东南亚地区进行更多的扩张，包括开设新的仓库和设施。此外，公司还将继续增加新的运输合作伙伴和最后一英里交付选项，以提供更好的全球运输体验。

Seco Logistics如何帮助客户应对供应链中的不确定性和潜在的干扰？

Seco Logistics建议客户采取多元化的采购策略，从多个国家采购产品，以减少对单一来源的依赖。此外，公司强调选择真正的合作伙伴而非仅仅是供应商，以确保在供应链出现问题时能够得到可靠的支持。

Seco Logistics如何利用QR码和定制品牌跟踪门户来帮助客户进行再营销？

Seco Logistics通过在包装和发票上使用QR码，以及创建定制品牌跟踪门户，帮助客户进行再营销。这些QR码可以链接到带有表单的着陆页面，用于转化，并可能展示相关产品的广告，以此吸引客户购买更多商品。

Outlines

00:00

🚚 供应链与客户体验的融合

本段讨论了供应链在客户体验中的重要性，特别是最后一英里交付对零售商的影响。Brian Burke作为SQL物流公司的首席商务官，介绍了公司作为第三方物流和货运代理的业务，包括电子商务领域的履行、国际包裹、退货以及大型和笨重的家庭交付。他强调了公司在全球60多个国家拥有150个地点的业务，并着重介绍了在美国的创新，特别是在最后一英里交付方面。此外，还提到了在疫情期间，供应链如何适应变化，以及如何通过提供卓越的交付体验来吸引回头客和口碑传播。

05:01

🌟 供应链的实时反馈与营销结合

这段对话强调了供应链管理与营销紧密结合的重要性，以及实时反馈在提升客户体验中的作用。讨论了技术如何使供应链能够提供实时的星级评价反馈，这对于改善服务和强化客户忠诚度至关重要。还提到了供应链、贸易融资以及新产品开发等方面的趋势，以及对2023年下半年和2024年的积极展望。

10:02

🛒 供应链准备与策略调整

本段探讨了企业如何为供应链中断做好准备，以及如何重新思考其最后一英里交付策略。强调了多元化采购来源和选择合适的合作伙伴的重要性。通过一个关于行李箱公司的故事，说明了在危机时刻选择坚持与现有合作伙伴合作的重要性。

15:04

🤝 与Seiko合作的重要性

讨论了与Seiko合作的重要性，以及如何通过合作提升客户体验和品牌形象。提到了Seiko在履行订单时对环境的关注，比如使用电动叉车减少污染，以及提供定制化包装选项来满足消费者的需求。还探讨了如何通过创新的方式，例如使用QR码和定制品牌追踪门户，来重新定位市场和现有客户。

20:05

📦 交付选项与消费者选择

这段对话强调了为消费者提供交付选项的重要性，以及如何通过提供不同的交付选项来提高转化率和客户满意度。讨论了免费送货、加速送货以及与合作伙伴如Roadies合作提供同日送货选项的策略。还提到了如何通过实验和创新来改善交付体验，并强调了与合作伙伴共同工作的重要性。

25:06

👀 供应链中的可见性问题

本段讨论了供应链中可见性的概念及其对不同人的不同含义。通过一个关于国际包裹运输的故事，说明了如何通过技术提供全链条的可见性，包括追踪号码和标准化的里程碑事件。还提到了在白手套服务场景中，可见性可能意味着提供更精确的交付时间窗口和实时更新。

30:06

🌐 Seco的未来发展规划

最后一段介绍了Seco物流公司的未来计划，包括在越南、台湾和泰国等东南亚市场的扩张，以及在荷兰鹿特丹的新履行中心。这些扩张将为客户提供更多的选项，帮助他们更好地管理库存，并满足电子商务需求。

Keywords

💡供应链

供应链是指产品从原材料获取、生产制造到最终用户手中的整个流程。在视频中，供应链在客户体验中扮演着重要角色，尤其是在最后一公里的配送服务上。例如，Seco公司作为第三方物流和货运代理，在全球60多个国家提供电商空间服务，包括履行、国际包裹、退货和大型家居配送等。

💡最后一公里配送

最后一公里配送是指将商品从配送中心运送到消费者手中的最后一段路程。视频中提到，Seco公司在最后一公里配送上提供白手套服务，这不仅提升了客户体验，还对零售商来说至关重要，因为配送的速度、准时性和服务质量直接影响消费者的满意度和品牌忠诚度。

💡白手套服务

白手套服务是一种高端的配送服务，通常指代为消费者提供的额外周到和个性化的配送体验。在视频中，Seco公司提供的白手套服务包括进入消费者家中时的礼貌、友好以及提供高质量的配送体验，这些都是定义良好配送体验的重要因素。

💡电子商务

电子商务是指通过互联网进行的商品或服务的买卖。视频中提到，Seco公司在电子商务领域做了很多工作，包括国际包裹、履行服务等，这表明电子商务是Seco公司服务的一个重要组成部分，并且是他们业务增长的关键领域。

💡客户体验

客户体验是指消费者与产品或服务接触时的整体感受和满意度。视频中强调，供应链尤其是最后一公里配送在塑造客户体验方面起着至关重要的作用。Seco公司通过提供高质量的配送服务来增强客户体验，从而帮助零售商和直接面向消费者的品牌建立口碑和回头客。

💡可见性

可见性在供应链中指的是对产品从生产到交付的整个过程的透明度和追踪能力。视频中提到，Seco公司利用技术提供全流程的可见性，包括国际包裹的追踪，这对于客户了解其订单状态、提高满意度和减少焦虑至关重要。

💡评价和星级

评价和星级是消费者对购买体验的反馈，通常以星级形式表示。视频中提到，零售商和品牌现在期望其承运人能够提供星级评价和反馈，这有助于他们了解配送体验的质量，并据此改进服务。

💡新产品研发

新产品研发是指企业创造新产品或改进现有产品的过程。视频中提到，尽管2023年上半年对许多人来说充满挑战，但对于下半年，尤其是新产品研发和推出，Seco公司的客户感到非常兴奋，这表明新产品研发是推动业务增长和市场竞争力的关键因素。

💡需求预测

需求预测是指预测未来一段时间内对产品或服务的需求。视频中提到，Seco公司的客户对下半年的新产品研发和推出持积极态度，这导致需求预测上升，说明企业需要准确预测市场需求，以便更好地规划生产和库存。

💡全球化

全球化是指企业在全球范围内的运营和服务。Seco公司作为一家全球性的公司，在视频中提到其总部位于芝加哥，并在巴黎、伦敦和香港设有地区总部，这表明全球化是Seco公司业务模式的核心，也是其能够提供全球服务的基础。

Highlights

供应链在客户体验中扮演着重要角色，最后一英里交付对零售商来说至关重要。

Seco Logistics是一家全球性的3PL和货运代理公司，专注于电子商务领域，提供包括国际包裹、大型家具家居交付等服务。

Seco Logistics在60多个国家拥有150个地点，起源于美国芝加哥，全球总部，同时在巴黎、伦敦和香港设有地区总部。

Seco Logistics提供白手套服务，进入消费者家中交付产品时，代表零售商或品牌提供高质量的交付体验。

疫情改变了交付体验的定义，对零售商来说，提供良好的交付体验变得尤为重要。

Seco Logistics在疫情期间创新了最后一英里的交付方式，帮助零售商和品牌适应市场变化。

零售商和品牌现在期望物流合作伙伴能够提供星级评分和反馈，以改善交付体验。

供应链需要与市场营销紧密合作，共同提升客户体验。

2023年下半年对新产品开发和推出充满期待，预计将带动需求增长。

Seco Logistics计划在未来六个月内进一步扩展东南亚市场，开设更多仓库和设施。

Seco Logistics致力于提供更多的最后一英里选项，以提高客户满意度和忠诚度。

提供多种交付选项可以增加在线购物的转化率，减少购物车放弃率。

Seco Logistics通过技术提供高度可见性，包括实时追踪和交付确认。

Seco Logistics在荷兰鹿特丹开设了新的履行中心，以满足欧盟电子商务履行需求。

Seco Logistics正在探索使用可生物降解或消费后回收材料进行包装，以提高可持续性并响应消费者需求。

Seco Logistics通过提供定制化的交付体验，帮助零售商和品牌与客户建立更强的联系。

Seco Logistics利用QR码和定制品牌跟踪门户等创新方式，帮助零售商重新定位现有客户并降低客户获取成本。

Transcripts

[Music]

let's talk supply chain

Sarah thanks for having me I am so

03 in Philadelphia and we were on stage

earlier today talking about last mile

talking about customer experience

talking about how supply chain is you

know it's a huge role it's a huge part

of the customer experience and what

we're doing for retailers as you know

delivery last mile delivery as companies

like Seco as the white glove service and

it's making all the difference so before

we get into that talk to me about Seco

what do you do remind everybody what it

is that you do and how you help your

customers yeah no problems here so I'm

Brian Burke I'm the chief commercial

officer globally at SQL Logistics we are

3pl and Freight forwarder we do a lot in

the e-commerce space whether it's

fulfillment International Parcels

returns and big and bulky home

deliveries we do this in over 60

countries with 150 locations but we

started right here in the United States

our Global head quarters of Chicago we

have Regional headquarters in Paris

London and Hong Kong so we truly are a

global company and we're Global first

but a lot of what we've done in itovate

and Last Mile was done right here in the

United States so we we do a lot for for

retailers and for directing consumer

Brands but we do take very seriously the

the job and the mission that we have day

in and day out when we're delivering

products with a white glove service we

crossed the threshold when we go into a

consumer's home and when we go into a

consumer's home there is a a lot that

the retailer or the brand you know puts

on us

it's not just about on-time delivery

it's about visibility it's about the

experience it's about how polite or nice

or friendly the driver is all of these

things play a factor and the the the the

definition of a good delivery experience

has also changed significantly

throughout the pandemic yeah so let talk

about that set the stage right where

were where were we before the pandemic

and what I mean so much changed during

the pandemic but what changed what did

it look like for retailers how did they

start thinking about last mile so you

know before the pandemic I would say

that technology was being adopted and

implemented uh with various degrees of

success and Innovation that improved the

delivery experience for consumers a lot

of great companies out there doing a lot

of great things I think that when the

pandemic started it was an incredible

challenge to to bundle together the fact

that we had to shut down inside

deliveries in a lot of places around the

country and around the world but but

also e-commerce orders started to go up

significantly right so so marrying those

two was a challenge with the lockdowns

with the spikes uh it was it was a

challenge I think now that things have

settled

um it's an opportunity for us as SQL

Logistics as an e-commerce Logistics

provider but also for Brands and

retailers to level set on where did the

market shift not only yes yes demand is

reverting back to pre-print pandemic

Trends but those Trends were still going

up right so uh it's how to how do you

differentiate in the market by by being

able to offer a great delivery

experience that creates Word of Mouth

that creates returned customers and that

is where a lot of the competition is

it's not just on price in fact when we

were on stage with Phil from Traeger

Pellet Grills you know he was mentioning

about how they look at their consumers

and they get feedback on how they build

their supply chain and and price is a

factor but it's maybe the third or

fourth right you know it's all about

quality and being on time and and when

you deliver on time it depends on what

your delivery promise is what did you

say on the website at checkout what

options do you provide and which

carriers are you relying on to deliver

to that delivery promise because you can

be a day early but you can't be a day

late yeah and that's important yeah and

so we're going to talk about options in

a minute but one of the other things

that you talked about was reviews and

star ratings and how that is not only

triggered by a good supply chain a good

delivery experience but it also goes

back to whether they're going to keep a

client whether that client's going to

come back whether they're going to

purchase from them again and so it plays

a major major role so talk to us about

that because that I think is one of the

shifts as well that we talked about in

the trends yeah I think if any retailer

brand that's out there and you you ship

big bulky Goods like exercise equipment

grills Patio furniture you should have

an expectation now that your carrier

your partner is going to be able to

deliver back to you a star rating and

and be able to say okay we did a hundred

deliveries we got 10 that got feedback

and this was our average star rating and

you need to be able to provide that by

week by month by quarter this should be

an expectation now this is where

technology is today and and that the

real-time feedback is so important

because you can use that to gauge where

maybe there are issues where you can

mitigate against those but but also

where you're getting the great feedback

because the great feedback I mean you

want to double down on what's working

and what's good but you you want to be

able to address proactively things that

might not be working as well yeah

absolutely but it shows hand in hand how

supply chain needs to work with

marketing that's right customer

experience that's right we're seeing

more and more today when we go and meet

with our clients it's not just the

transportation person or the logistics

person right the marketing

department is involved we have a

customer experience or customer services

involved sometimes even Finance because

we're even getting to conversations

around supply chain and trade financing

which can have impacts on uh when you

can bring products into the United

States when you can bring it into Europe

how fast you can go to market and where

we're seeing a lot of excitement now

because 2023 let's be fair has been

challenging for a lot of people but

where there's a lot of excitement

especially for the second half of this

year is in new product development new

product rollouts that's getting our

customers excited that's leading to

forecast ticking upwards and and we're

really positive about the second half of

this year so so let's talk about that

what are the trends that you're seeing

right now in fulfillment and inventory

and get out your crystal ball because I

want you to talk about what you think

the last half of 2023 is going to look

like into 24. because people just don't

know yeah they just don't know what's

going to happen and I know you don't

have a crystal ball no but I know you

talk to a lot of people and I think you

can put us on the right track yeah so in

order for us to look in the future we do

have to look at where where we've come

from so if we look at where we've come

from the start of the pandemic most

people cancel their purchase orders uh

the the the economy kind of shifted

overnight but then after that it became

gradual then Sudden Change as it related

to increased demand especially for

e-commerce and then the shift of the

consumer to not spend as much on let's

say experiences and and services and

more on Goods so a lot of people decided

to renovate their homes and upgrade

their their furniture and upgrade their

exercise equipment all at the same time

all around the world at the same time

all the same time and and you know that

our you know the supply chain global

trade wasn't built for that uh we we

like to say that you know uh the supply

chain

um is like church right and and you

don't build a church for

um uh Easter or Christmas that's a

saying an analogy to basically dictate

uh we're not built to be in peak season

continuously for 18 months which is what

we were basically in and it's not how we

so that created a lot of congestion that

created a lot of supply chain

constraints and even if you were able to

get a container maybe you couldn't even

get your manufacturer to deliver the

products on time because they were

behind raw materials costs were going up

on down the line so the the issues we

have today and how we think about the

future is over the past nine months

there's been a deceleration in demand

there's been a shift back from Goods

towards Services people are flying again

if any of you've flown or rented a hotel

you know that the the costs have gone up

because everyone's doing the same thing

all the same time so there's going to be

this reverse bullwhip and rebalancing

that's happening right now so a lot of

shippers a lot of our clients a lot of

retailers they are burning through their

inventory a lot of them had too much

inventory to match uh you know sales so

a lot of companies are have been really

successful at doing that through this

year and we're almost halfway through

2023 so that's that's kind of a good

news story out of what has been a

challenging demand environment because

the supply is caught up there are still

some issues but for the most part lead

times for purchase orders have gone back

down to pre-pandemic levels raw

materials supplies and costs and

inflation they're going down a lot of

positive trend lines that we're seeing

and uh and and you know jobs numbers uh

the economy uh in the United States we

we had something like called the debt

limit we got through that uh could have

been as self-inflicted economic harm but

so now if we look at the rest of this

year we do see a lot more positive

Trends we do see a lot more positive

indicators our clients are more positive

about the new products they're rolling

out and so we definitely see some upside

opportunity uh for for the rest of this

year now it may not happen on July 1 uh

you know it's not going to happen maybe

July 15th it doesn't we're going to come

yeah we'll call it the Canada Day

miracle right uh but but it'll probably

be kind of more towards the end of the

year but as we know with anything what

goes up comes down what goes down comes

up yeah and demand will pick up again

and and the consumer which is in the

United States at least driving 70

percent of GDP and the economy there's

still enough confidence there that

things will turn around

and we talked earlier about being

prepared I mean I like that you said

that as a former Girl Guide because the

motto was be prepared yes um but you

talked about being prepared because at

the end of the day it's not about if

it's about when and we we're in

Philadelphia and the collapses just

happened on the I-95 yep and the stories

that are coming out in supply chain are

about what's going what's going to be

disrupted from this particular event

that has happened in a local area and so

these things are happening all the time

and so you talk about being prepared

what can companies do to be prepared for

some of these disruptions what should

they be thinking about or maybe

rethinking in their last mile delivery

strategy in their supply chain that's a

great question because I think uh what

we've learned over the past three years

is that if there's another shoe to drop

it will drop if if something can go

wrong it will go wrong it's not a matter

of if but when and so if you think about

your supply chain in that context then

you can really build out okay worst case

scenarios and what are my mitigation

measures and one example of that that

we're seeing a lot of today is companies

that may have been sourcing all of their

product from one country

whether that was China or another

country we had a question about

absolutely and and you know there there

are Trends in near Shoring and friend

Shoring but but ultimately the the

recommendation that we have and what

we're seeing really good success with

our clients is uh diversifying country

of origin so uh you know if a China plus

one strategy uh or or a Mexico plus one

or whatever wherever you have kind of a

lot of your eggs in one basket you need

to diversify that gives you options for

when things do happen and they will uh

so that's number one and really

important because that's that can take a

long time to find uh you know other

options other manufacturers other

vendors that can have the same quality

and and you know price range that that

can really fit your market and the

products that you're selling so that

that's number one I think number two is

um making sure that you have the right

Partners on board because I I think a

lot of folks can look back at who was

able to deliver for them when um you

know the the quote unquote stuff hit fan

right uh and and who was more of a

vendor versus a partner making sure you

have true Partners in your supply chain

uh I think is absolutely critical

because and I remember one one story

during the pandemic we were talking to a

company that makes suitcases and they

wanted help in getting uh capacity

from Asia to the US they were having

problems with their uh with their

current Partners

um and and our team I'd never seen this

before our team advised this potential

new client the CEO stay with your

partners

we we're not going to be able to deliver

for you because it was so challenging at

the time at the time if you had

consistent volume through a partner you

were slotted that capacity right and you

were guaranteed that capacity and to to

be able to shift to a new partner that

added undue risk it would have added

undue risk yeah and so knowing when

somebody can deliver and and follow

through with what they're selling or

offering that's so critical that's so

important and and we were able to walk

away with that with you know knowing

that we were giving them the best advice

yeah because it was challenging for

everyone to find capacity at that time

now of course things are different uh

you know we don't have the congestion if

you wanted to move a container you could

do so without much of a problem there is

some you know idling of ships and things

going on on the containerized trade

capacity side but ultimately things are

running smoothly so it's a little more

difficult to test in and challenge you

know your existing Partners but you

don't have to look that far back to

really understand who helped you yeah

and

and you've been a partner of his

specifically throughout his supply chain

Journey yeah and you know let's talk

about that because a good partner is

going to give you advice whether it

benefits them or not yep but they're

also like you said earlier an extension

of your business depending on what

they're doing for you yeah and you're

doing last mile delivery you're doing

White Glove service so talk to us about

the importance of partnership where that

comes in I know sustainability is a big

issue when it comes to who you're

working with yeah

um you know the extension of the

customer experience and a lot of

retailers are looking for that

customized delivery experience for the

client and I know you have innovative

ways from like packaging to all sorts of

things that you're testing out so talk

to us about what it's like to partner

with Seiko yeah so it's a great question

what it's like to partner with Seco or

even work with any partner in supply

chain Logistics when we do their

fulfillment you know we're responsible

for getting orders out on time but we're

also responsible for how that package

looks when they have the unboxing

experience we've been migrating away

from uh propane uh powered forklifts for

example in our facilities and moving

towards decarbonization with electric

Fleet and material handling equipment

and although that's great for the

environment ultimately what it also does

is it removes soot and dust that

collects in the boxes and when you do

that you you make sure that the products

you do send out on the behalf of the

retailer brand aren't dirty and it's

those little things that have those

conversations with our customers to say

hey we're an extension of your delivery

experience what can we do together and

collaborate and whether that's working

through do you want post-consumer

recycled packaging or do you want

biodegradable packaging those are those

are two different paths

yeah so I mean uh this is relatively new

it's not brand new but it's something

that is exciting because when you're

looking at Plastics that can be in the

environment for thousands of years

versus something that can be

biodegradable and Perfectly Natural to

use as a replacement for packaging but

but they're so good at what they do

these scientists that make these and

innovate with these new products that

they truly are biodegradable so if you

don't use them in your Warehouse they

will start to degrade uh so or if you

deliver in the rain yeah that's uh yeah

that's a whole nother conversation but

ultimately it now that's a new factor

that we have to plan for so it's not

like we can just buy a bunch of bulk

inventory and let it sit and draw it

down as we need it now we have to kind

of think about it more as a perishable

resource but um but some of our

customers they're very interested in

that as an option versus others are are

okay with 100 post-consumer recycled

material there's a cost to both they

aren't cheaper than the more harmful

products that are out there but these

are choices that that our customers are

making in response to what their

consumers are demanding and you need to

be able to partner with someone on

what's what's what are the options

what's the best for my business and and

if you make that small little choice on

type of packaging that can have a brand

perception shift or change or impact for

all the thousands of customers that

you're delivering your product well

well yeah like you're actually thinking

you're taking it even further than

supply chain you're thinking about the

packaging and what it means to their

brand their business absolutely so when

we think about shipping and Logistics

there there are a number of

opportunities uh to retarget Market

existing customers which is for a lot of

directing consumer Brands it can help

reduce customer acquisition costs and if

if as a partner we're able to help think

through some of these ways that we can

help them whether it's providing and

spinning up a custom branded tracking

portal which we've done that can

actually have banner ads you know so if

you bought a shirt maybe you want to

look at pants and so you can retarget

yes absolutely and on the packaging

itself because one of the Silver Linings

of the global pandemic is that everybody

knows how to use a QR code this was uh

latent technology that had been released

years ago and was supposed to take off

and never did well now here we are and

there's QR codes everywhere and everyone

knows how to use them which is great

because now you can actually have a

landing page with a you know form for

conversion that you can put on your

packaging on your on your way bills

really on on the inserts that go inside

the Bots and making sure that as a

fulfillment provider not only are we

filling and packing and shipping the

order we're putting in the appropriate

inserts for retarget marketing so it

absolutely is an extent this an

opportunity to be not only an extension

of the supply chain but of marketing as

well that's what a partner does so talk

to me about options you mentioned

options earlier and I know that with

delivery it's always a huge topic you

know do we do it free do we charge for

it and do we give them options and I

think I really liked what you said

earlier about options it has to be about

the options you need to give the

consumer an option to decide what

experience they want that free could be

five days the expedited could be two but

at least they get to decide on what they

want so talk to us about the importance

of that and partnering with a company

like you to be able to provide those

options because a lot of times retailers

do think about those but maybe there's

additional options they've never even

thought about absolutely this is what I

love about being in home delivery world

it's you know every home delivery starts

with an order and that order started

with a conversion on a form on a website

somewhere and you can increase your

conversion rate by providing more

options and if you think about just our

own experience means shopping online

when we only have one delivery option

you know you're more likely to abandon

that cart and go find that product

elsewhere I have done that yes

absolutely consumer I've done that

before and and psychology and and

history has shown us also that most

people don't pay for or select for the

premium Next Day Option but you're more

likely to purchase if you have that as

an option yes and you can decide oh is

it going to cost me two dollars more or

seventy five dollars more yes yeah and

that gets to your other point about yes

free shipping well we all know there's

no such thing as a friendship I'm sorry

but it but it is that does get to

psychology you can subsidize shipping

after a certain order value because you

want to encourage conversion of larger

order values but or basket values but

but ultimately you know the monetization

of the expedited shipping options is

absolutely there consumers understand

that there are options in that if you

want things quicker in many cases you

will have to pay for them a lot of our

customers are making those tough

decisions around how much are they going

to subsidize because you know if it if

it's going to cost you thirty dollars to

overnight a package but you offer it for

twenty dollars right you're subsidizing

ten dollars but maybe you increase

conversions by 50 by doing something

like that so as long as you have the

options you have the next day option you

have the second day option and you're

even able to work with Partners you know

Roadies another example they're a great

company their Booth is here at home

delivery world and they can offer a

same-day option but only in certain zip

codes if you want to test it out so your

platform your technology team you're

commercial team they have to be able to

work and collaborate on testing things

out because if you can if you can pilot

projects in certain ZIP codes in certain

markets you can see what works and what

doesn't work and then you can scale it

out well that that you're creating a

laboratory of of exciting Innovation

that you can continually improve just

like the marketers do with a B testing

they don't just do one ad right they do

a number of different ads and they test

out which words which images are

creating the most clicks and conversions

and then they double down on the one

that works the best

companies need to start doing that and

experimenting within their supply chain

that's that is a great opportunity to

work with Partners to improve the

delivery experience and the options

available for consumers well and

your client's client and that is the

name of the game right now absolutely so

earlier we talked about visibility yeah

I want to bring it back to that because

your answer to this was amazing now

visibility is overused the word is

overused it means different things to

different people depending on where

you're at in the supply chain depending

on how you think about your customer how

you think about your product yeah so

talk to us about visibility and I think

you have a family connection yes example

that you can share no it's what I love

and I like the way that you posed the

question around what is visibility it's

a it's a loaded word White Glove is

there's a lot of terms that are out

there in in our industry and in the

retail and Home Delivery space that they

can mean different things to different

people and that's okay different

companies and different people can have

a definition that's different when it

comes to visibility or white glove or

any other term but let's focus on

visibility so for visibility we could

have one client that I had a recent

conversation with that are asking

questions around the service we provide

for international parcel shipping as an

example versus an integrator that has an

integrated solution so all the

milestones and tracking events are

integrated we we have a disaggregated

solution we have truckers at origin we

have truckers at destination we have

Customs clearance companies that could

be in-house they could be third party

and we have airlines that we utilize to

ship Parcels all around the world we're

doing millions of these every month

how do we provide visibility of all the

milestones and events that are so

critically important for our customers

customers that are going to be all

around the world well that's that so we

demonstrate how we do that how we link

together all of these parties and

partners into one tracking number with a

standardized set of Milestones that are

provided seamlessly and potentially even

branded if they want it to Consumers all

around the world

yes so that's the definition of

visibility in the context of the

conversation we're having with the

company that wants to ship all around

the world small Parcels but the

visibility and the definition can change

significantly if you're working in the

white glove scenario visibility now

means maybe I want to know if I have a

two-hour window or four hour window I

want to know where the truck is because

I want to see if they're 32 minutes out

and I work 20 minutes from home you know

I can wait till I get that notification

to head home

no I mean this is what our technology is

able to do now take a picture with the

package with the driver absolutely so so

speaking of speaking of so this gets to

the story uh that that hit close to home

uh so my wife had a birthday recently

and her sister who uh lives in Europe uh

purchased an item uh that came from a

Marketplace in China okay

and and uh she was trying to find the

tracking because uh it said it was

delivered and but she went to our

building and wasn't there and and then

she looks at the tracking and it said at

SQL Hub on one of the Milestones so

could you imagine

I can't hide from this now right like

I'm I'm fully invested in this package

because this is this is our name on this

so it was delivered it says it was

delivered but there's no sign in the

package so what's going to happen well

in our disaggregated solution because

this was a parcel coming from China to

the United States uh and uh it was

pretty fast but ultimately delivered to

the wrong location uh working with our

last mile partner in Chicago we were

able to determine and get very quickly

the photo of the building they delivered

to which we were able to determine then

very quickly that was the wrong building

and then they went through and dug up

the data and asked if this was our

address and no it was it was one digit

off it was just four blocks away instead

of 520 was 9 20. and I was able to go to

that building and get pick up the

package right away I mean that if you

think about that level of visibility

that is available now utilizing

smartphones yeah it's it's just a

technology that everyone it has and it's

allowed for companies like Seco to work

with Partners like bring and other

third-party delivery companies like

speed X or ACI or Roadie to now provide

a lot more visibility a lot more

information that can mitigate uh bad

delivery experiences and and ultimately

phone calls being put on hold

this is you know all that stuff is going

away the more information we can provide

in the visibility uh Journey the less

anguish is created the less frustration

and and the happier the customers are

and yeah we're you know my my wife can

now you know have confidence that you

know ordering through this Merchant this

Marketplace she knows the product's

going to get to us in a timely way and

if there are errors that we can address

those as as exception management well

and you can also have family

yeah so we're going to wind this down

what's the future of Seco what are you

coming up with what give us the tea yes

I want to know yeah okay well the

secrets so what's coming up for SQL

Logistics you know in the past 12 months

we've opened up in brand new markets

that we had never really been in before

we worked with you know good agents that

supported our client supply chain needs

but but ultimately it's now come to a

point where we need to have our own

operations our own team to better

control the experience at origin or

destination depending on which way the

goods are going but we so we've opened

up in Vietnam okay uh with with the big

team and lots of warehouses we've opened

up in Taiwan recently we've opened up in

Thailand

I'd say in the next six months you're

going to see news about even more

expansions in Southeast Asia all right

and and that is going to be critically

important for a lot of our clients that

are diversifying that are seeking out

new countries of origin for their supply

chains a lot of these countries are in

play so you'll definitely see that from

us more expansion more new warehouses

more new facilities

yes absolutely yeah

so I was just last November I was in

Vietnam meeting with our new team out

there and it is exciting because our

customers they they do they need

Services now at origin as an example if

you have too much inventory

um where would you rather store that

inventory in California or would you

rather actually hold some inventory at

origin where the cost per square foot or

cost per square meter is less and yes

you don't bring it into the country yet

so there's a lot more options that we

can provide for our customers which is

really exciting and when it comes to All

Things e-commerce that's where it also

gets exciting we're going to continue to

onboard new carriers new Last Mile

options we're going to continue to

provide a better experience for global

Shipping all around the world and we're

going to continue to open up new

fulfillment centers I was just in one of

our newest ones which was in Rotterdam

brand new facility right off the port

literally you can see them rest

attacking empty containers and

repositioning them because we're we're

neighbors with the port of Rotterdam and

that's to really keep up with the demand

for e-commerce fulfillment in the

European Union post brexit where you

need to be now in the EU and the

Netherlands is the best place to do that

great place yes it is my favorite the

Netherlands is one

yeah for sharing all the insights on

last mile delivery what you're doing at

Seco the future looks bright not only

for Seco but also for supply chain

supply chain professionals and you

shared that with us so everybody go and

check out

secologistics.com connect with Brian on

LinkedIn and yeah thanks so much for

coming on the show thanks for having me

and thanks for being here at the booth

foreign

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