Bol.com is opening up itsonlineshopping platform open for years toother entrepreneurs. With the arrival of Logistics via bol.com, since 2015 it has also provided fulfilment for orders that aresales partnersreceived through bol.com. How is the fulfilment service doing now and what plans are still on the table? An interview with Eric Prinsen, manager of Logistics via bol.com.
During Webwinkel Vakdagen, you will give the session 'Collaborating with thousands'. This will include a focus on Logistics via bol.com. What can we expect from this?
"Bol.com works hard every day to create the best shop for our customers. At the same time, we want to offer entrepreneurs in the Netherlands and Belgium, who sell their assortment through bol.com, a strong, entrepreneurial, online shopping platform.
In the session during Webwinkel Vakdagen, I will discuss our aim to create a win-win-win situation for consumers, entrepreneurs and bol.com. For example, I discuss the relationship and knowledge exchange that we build with our sales partners and consider very important. Because by talking to each other, we understand even better where their ambitions and challenges lie and how we can provide maximum support in doing so, so that together we can offer the best for the consumer. It really is about working closely together and combining strength, knowledge and specialism.'
In 2015, also during Webwinkel Vakdagen, bol.com announced the arrival of 'Logistics via bol.com'. We are now three years on. How is the fulfilment service doing now?
'The service Logistics via bol.com is still young, indeed introduced less than three years ago. We started with a pilot with a few entrepreneurs to build knowledge and take stock of how best to set up this service. Meanwhile, Logistics via bol.com is running at full speed and with this service, especially now that we have built our own distribution centre from bol.com, we can relieve hundreds of partners of their fulfilment worries. This offers our customers, consumers in the Netherlands and Belgium, the advantage that orders via our partners are delivered even faster. Of course, we also spend a lot of energy on further development of Logistics via bol.com. For example, we want to make it possible to send extra-large items via Logistics via bol.com. We are also still making strides in terms of user-friendliness and we are trying to provide more and more partners with data-driven advice to support them in selling their assortment.'
How many of the 19,000 entrepreneurs you work with outsource logistics to you?
'We have now passed the 1,500 partner mark with Logistics via bol.com and are well on our way to the 2,000 mark. Interestingly, the number of items sold is much higher among partners using Logistics via bol.com. The revenue share of partners using the service is running at 20 per cent.'
In 2016, marketing director Margaret Versteden revealed that bol.com would start multichannel fulfilment for business partners: i.e. also delivering orders outside bol.com. How are these plans progressing now?
'The plans to offer multichannel fulfilment are still there. We are still working on this in the background. Margaret shared our innovations for the long(er) term in 2016 and of course, unfortunately, investing in the right innovations also means 'choosing'. Building our own distribution centre has been the focus in recent years, as has developing the first phase of Logistics via bol.com. Now that the first phase has been successfully set up, we will continue developing the remaining plans.'
What distinction do you make between entrepreneurs who handle their logistics themselves and those who do so via bol.com? In other words, are sales partners who outsource their fulfilment with you ranked higher by bol.com?
'The offer that is rated best by our customers gets a good position in our shop and is included in the buying block. Customers make their choice based on selling price, but also on delivery time, service and choice of delivery options. This includes Today Collected and Today Delivered, collection and return via the bol.com collection points at Albert Heijn, but also Sunday evening delivery. As soon as you use logistics via bol.com, you will benefit from these delivery services and your offer will receive the 'Select' label. Items with the Select label are generally rated by our customers as more attractive than the offer without these delivery options. So not directly the partners, but the items offered via Logistics via bol.com are attractive and for that reason made even more visible in our shop. Of course, the other offerings will always remain visible to our customers, as many people shop at bol.com for the unique offerings. And then price and delivery time play a lesser role.'
At bol.com, the ranking of partners is determined by price, delivery time and quality. This makes forecasting difficult, as competitors can suddenly offer an item at a lower price and therefore come out on top. What do you stock planners recommend in this regard?
'This is a challenge for all our sales partners and even for our inventory management. However, we do have much more data than most of our sales partners on which we can base forecasts. This is a key advantage of online sales over physical sales. We are increasingly sharing that data, especially the insights from that data, with our partners. Last year, for instance, we started giving stock advice manually to Logistics via bol.com partners and we are going to build that advice into the online sales environment as standard. We will also unlock actionable insights regarding pricing and content in this way, which will make managing assortment for our sales partners increasingly efficient.'
What is the current ratio of items sold by bol.com itself to items sold by entrepreneurs through the online shopping platform?
'Our online shopping platform has been around for almost 7 years now. At bol.com, we currently sell assortment from 19,000 entrepreneurs from the Netherlands and Belgium 1 in 3 orders go through our partners.'
What ratio should it be in the future? Is bol.com ultimately aiming more for a role as a marketplace/platform?
'We expect the number of orders through our partners to grow much faster. The retail landscape is currently going through a transition, where daring to think big, innovating and working together are decisive for success. Our strategy of joining forces and exchanging knowledge via a strong, online shopping platform fits in well with this. We see even more opportunities for combining expertise in this for the future.'
What does bol.com expect from Amazon's arrival in the Netherlands? Are Dutch consumers waiting for this?
'Online shopping is already highly developed in the Netherlands and Belgium. Tens of thousands of local webshops have a wide range of products at low prices. Moreover, in the Netherlands and Belgium it has been possible to deliver incredibly fast for years. In most cases, you pay little or no shipping costs. For bol.com, we have existed for almost 19 years, were founded in the Netherlands and have therefore always had a strong focus on the Dutch and Belgian consumer. Everything we develop, we develop for and with the Dutch and Belgian/Flemish consumer. Think local customer service, collection points, assortment focused on the Netherlands and Belgium. But also logistics services such as Today Delivered/Today Pick-up, Sunday and evening delivery and our Select delivery subscription. Dutch and Belgian consumers can therefore already count on a high level of e-commerce service by international standards.
Furthermore, we also believe in the power of this collaboration. By developing bol.com as a platform, joining forces with other Dutch and Belgian retailers, we have made great strides. We are actually convinced that retail Netherlands and Belgium actually already has everything in place to serve Dutch and Belgian consumers to the maximum.'
Want to know more about Logistics via bol.com? During Webwinkel Vakdagen, Eric Prinsen will give the session 'Collaborating with thousands'. You can register for Webwinkel Vakdagen here.
