US department store Belk says it has thrived as e-commerce orders surged during the pandemic thanks to ship-from-store order fulfillment facilities that were already in place across its 291 store locations, and which had been established with the help of parcel shipping software from specialist Logistyx Technologies.
The company expanded its fulfillment options with ship-from-store functionality well before the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Logistyx’s TME product, a transportation management system (TMS) for parcel shipping, was instrumental in providing the agility required to help Belk manage the shift in consumer shopping patterns, move its in-store inventory and provide greater omnichannel fulfillment capabilities.
Logistyx’s TME solution provides stores with instant access to contracted carriers and services offering rates for each particular location. Integrated with Manhattan Associates’ order management software, the solution supports multi-carrier rate shopping, shipment execution and label generation, real-time shipment tracking and delivery transparency.
Using the system, Belk has been able to use its stores as mini distribution centers without having to employ major process changes to get shipments to customers’ homes, a key advantage as the parcel count increased considerably due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
When faced with carrier capacity limits, Logistyx also helped Belk grow its carrier network by tapping into its library of more than 550 carrier integrations. This added greater capacity into Belk’s parcel delivery mix by introducing more options to use regional and specialty last-mile carriers, while also reducing transportation costs to provide a consistent level of service to customers.
Ken Fleming, president of Logistyx Technologies, explained, “While simple in theory, executing store-level shipping presents considerable challenges for some retailers, including limited carrier selection and complex rate shopping. Our software is able to address these issues, providing retailers with the ability to move inventory from all locations whether in distribution centers, warehouses or stores and optimize delivery cost and efficiency to improve the customer experience.”