Online Retail Logistics - A new growth segment for Traditional Logistics Services Providers

The Business to Consumer (B2C) e-commerce market has seen an explosive growth in recent times and the growth momentum will continue over the next few years. While B2C is creating several opportunities across the value chain, it is posing unique challenges for traditional logistics service providers (LSPs) to service the segment effectively. Traditional LSPs have products, processes and systems aligned to service large business-to-business (B2B) customers. Servicing the booming B2C segment requires a transformational shift to support key trends - flexible delivery options, alternative delivery points and consumer self-service. The LSPs need to carefully trudge the transformation journey by incrementally adding new capabilities to the existing platforms without disrupting the established B2B business. The paper presents a B2C logistics reference model and relevant capability focus areas for LSPs to embrace the new business segment.