What: A selection of 45 start-ups specialized in e-commerce fulfilment.

Why it is important: Last-mile deliveries are especially important, as it is on the one hand all about the speed of delivery, but on the other hand the level of service and personalisation.

Coresight reviews a selection of 45 start-ups involved in e-commerce fulfilment across the following categories: micro-fulfilment, order-picking robots, product delivery, returns, sustainable packaging and cross-border e-commerce.

Coresight identifies the 2 following trends when it comes to this part of the business:

• Speed and agility are increasingly vital features for retail operators when it comes to e-commerce. Retailers are using artificial intelligence and machine learning in order to get products into customers’ hands as quickly as possible. For instance, Walmart plans to open a high-tech fulfilment centre in Q2 2022 which will store items to be picked, packed and shipped within one day,
• Cross-border e-commerce will keep its momentum in 2022. 69% of US customers made a cross-border purchase in 2019, and this share increased to 76% in 2021. The most important categories in this part of the business are fashion, beauty and personal care.

Retail-tech landscape: E-commerce fulfilment