• New research from Körber’s 2023 ‘State of Shipping and Returns’ report shows that consumer behaviour, preferences, and expectations continue to challenge manufacturers, retailers, and 3PLs
• The findings were revealed at the Elevate APAC conference in Melbourne last week, where industry leaders gained news and insights about supply chain technologies to help drive their organisations’ future success
• Körber’s Chief Technology Officer, Sean Elliott announced innovative new technology and digitisation services at the event – including its APAC Robotics-as-a-Service offering, UCS, OMS, and TSO solutions

MELBOURNE, Australia, May 8, 2023 – New data from Körber’s 2023 ‘State of Shipping and Returns’ report has revealed that 90 percent of consumers are less likely to buy from a brand again after a poor online shopping experience, with 70 percent having experienced a delayed online order in the last six months.

To address how to tackle supply chain complexity to help remedy these issues and meet consumer expectations – and drive future business success – more than 200 industry leaders from Australia, New Zealand, India, China, and the United States met at Körber’s annual flagship conference Elevate APAC 2023 in Melbourne last week (2-3 May).  

Under the event theme of ‘Find Your Rhythm’ – identifying how businesses can best adapt to the post-pandemic supply chain world – the event featured informative keynotes and sessions from members of the Körber leadership team, customers, and other industry thought leaders, including McKinsey and Company, Accenture, Super Retail Group and Zebra.

Key innovations and insights revealed at the conference included:

• The launch of Körber’s ‘Robotics-as-a-Service (Raas) for e-fulfilment offering for APAC customers, providing simple access to a global network of robotics service partners for every business size and industry
• Körber’s new warehouse Unified Control System (UCS) that will orchestrate AMR, people-driven workflows, and classic automation systems to boost throughput and productivity, and its Order Management System (OMS), enabling order visibility across channels and actionable data
• New thinking and tools focused on gamification as a way to transform a disengaged warehouse operation workforce into an engaged workflow, positively impacting businesses
• A vital keynote from John Laing, Senior Expert from McKinsey and Company, on the role of Industry 4.0 and how actionable steps – including how prepositioning inventory close to the consumer to reduce delivery times, end-to-end supply chain transparency and advanced analytics to improve forecast accuracy through the supply chain – can help safeguard against economic challenges and future-proof supply chains

“It all starts with the consumer, so ensuring satisfaction across the online shopping experience is critical. The findings from our latest State of Shipping and Returns survey highlight these online consumer expectations and how necessary it is for organisations to build resilient and efficient supply chains – powered by technology and digitisation – to help meet these standards, allowing them to retain customers and scale their businesses,” Darren O’Connor, Körber’s Director of Solution Delivery shared during his presentation on Unified Commerce. 

The ‘State of Shipping and Returns’ survey was announced at Elevate APAC 2023 and gathered insights from 2,200 consumers across eight global regions (Australia, UK, Germany, France, US, Canada, Mexico, and Brazil) on their post-purchase experience between the moment they click the ‘buy’ button and when the product reaches their doorstep. Additional findings showed that over a third (35%) of respondents who experienced delays were not provided with a reason. With speed and convenience driving online purchase decisions, the impact of these delays on customer satisfaction and subsequent brand loyalty is significant.

Anthony Beavis, Managing Director, ANZ from Körber, says: “At Elevate APAC, we were delighted to be able to come together in-person with our customers and other industry leaders to learn from each other and shine a light on some of the new solutions we can offer our customers to tackle challenges such as these. And, as the first in-person flagship conference for Körber down under, the conference demonstrated how the APAC region will be a major focus for our future, and the investment we are making here to support that.”

Körber’s 2023 State of Shipping and Returns survey can be accessed here:  https://page.koerber-supplychain.com/ConsumerSurveyReport.html