By Saswat Samal
Education has come a long way to evolve globally with the capability to reach more people than ever before. Ed-etch companies are now taking advantage of digital platforms and mobile technology to bring education to people beyond geographical and economic boundaries. Various governments too are collaborating with ed-tech companies to educate a vast portion of the population. This industry is here to stay and change the face of education.
As more and more students are using technology for education, it’s crucial that people have access to infrastructure consisting of reliable internet bandwidth and digital products. For establishing a good infrastructure, the ed-tech industry has relied on the logistics sector. With their contributions, the logistics sector has become an integral part of this market but it is also one of the most overlooked factors that shape the ed-tech industry. Even when ed-tech companies come up with strong revenue models, products, and marketing, their supply chain can be the defining factor in establishing a proactive and successful education platform.
What are the results of insufficient logistics handling
The ed-tech industry depends upon many factors to implement successful educational platforms, and there are a lot of issues plaguing the ed-tech companies. Here is a look at some of the hurdles created by insufficient logistics collaborations.
Inadequate infrastructure – In the absence of comprehensive logistics support, ed-tech startups are finding it difficult to ship their products. Critical mobile technology and the necessary educational material do not reach the students and teachers on time. There are high product returns, failed deliveries, and delayed shipments hampering the ed-tech supply. The ed-tech industry will find it difficult to establish itself without successful logistics partnerships to spread the infrastructure among all its consumers evenly.
High cost of setting up educational platforms – Establishing competitive educational technology requires efficient shipping for moving a lot of products like mobile devices, projectors, screens, reference material, among others. On top of that, finding the right teachers and faculty to run an ed-tech platform can become seriously expensive. Such factors put together can push the investment for ed-tech companies on the higher side, making it difficult for startups to rake in more funds consistently. In addition, the logistics costs can eat up a lot of funds that diminish the success rate of ed-tech startups.
How to ship like a pro – lessons learned from online retailers
The e-commerce industry has been growing and stabilising into a vast gold mine, with online retailers constantly stepping up their game. This success comes due to multiple reasons that can be useful for the ed-tech industry. In that case, shipping is one aspect the online retailers have figured out well with logistics companies and its 3PL partners. Strong logistics partnerships will help any ed-tech startup penetrate the market with competitive and dependable shipping. That can include multiple carriers and 3PL partners to build a solid logistics infrastructure for your ed-tech startup. Online retailers utilise multiple logistics partnerships to formulate shipping operations.
Moreover, when it comes to shipping, streamlining the whole supply chain is inevitable for high success rates and credibility in the industry. The ed-tech supply chain can gain a considerable boost with the help of logistics intelligence software. Here are some other features that can be utilized with shipping tracking software.
Implementing Tracking- It’s easy to see why product tracking is so popular with shippers. With good shipping tracking software, your business can keep an eye on all the products’ inward and outward movements. This ensures more successful product deliveries for your ed-tech company, which rely on mobile devices and electronic products for setting up educational platforms.
Automation Support- Shipping software is built with automation tools that can do the heavy lifting for logistics operations associated with your ed-tech company. Be it managing multiple vendors, carriers, deliveries, transit, returns, among others, shipping software automation can provide concrete solutions for increasing productivity and order fulfillment. Automation tools also bring down labor and costs, simultaneously reducing paperwork and administration costs.
Logistics is the backbone of many industrial sectors, and it is often the most overlooked hurdle that ed-tech startups face. The ed-tech industry is not immune to the common factors that can affect business operations like irregular funding, changing face of education, high infrastructure costs, and weaker revenue models. However, by leveraging strong 3PL partnerships, automation, and product tracking using shipping software, ed-tech companies can configure their logistics in a way that allows them to succeed despite other challenges.
The author is ecommerce expert, ClickPost.