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Huge distribution warehouse with high shelves and loaders. Bottom view.

E-commerce boom sees Ireland become Europe’s online market place

20/5/19

With the huge growth of E-commerce sales across the world we’ve noticed that Ireland is becoming the springboard for businesses looking to reach millions of customers throughout Europe with more and more requiring our services.

Whether this is due to more generous corporate tax rates or concerns surrounding Brexit, the “Emerald Isle” has become something of a hotbed when it comes to warehousing and distribution.

According to eshop World There are currently 2.89 million eCommerce users in Ireland, with an additional 460,000 users expected to be shopping online by 2022.

And they predict that some four years from now around 3.5 million E-commerce users will spend an average of $1,691.28 online every 12 months while online consumer spending is rising at 10 times the rate of traditional face-to-face spending according to the Visa’s latest Irish consumer spending index.

But that’s not all. There are also the many US based companies who use Ireland as an online trade route to the rest of the continent due to its location and reasonable tax breaks – meaning that the island is positively thriving in terms of e-commerce sales.

As a result we’ve seen a surge of enquiries from Irish fulfilment houses who require a new WMS which is more tailored for Ireland, UK and Europe than the more traditional American market that their customers might be used to.

We feel this is very much down to the flexibility offered by our Optimiser WMS when it comes to tailoring a software solution to the needs of our customers, wherever they are in the world, rather than simply providing them with an “out of the box” one-size-fits-all solution.

For example, Optimiser integrates with a wide range of couriers, including some Ireland-specific ones like An Post and Fastway, while our integration also filters sites so Optimiser can download just the orders intended for Europe rather than the worldwide market.

One such client was Autofulfil, who are a fulfilment house in Galway, dealing with a wide range of E-commerce customers and one of the main suppliers of school books in Ireland.

Whilst their in-house system previously had met their WMS needs, they identified that they needed a better solution to help them with their current and future needs, and also with process management too.

Thanks to the flexibility of Optima WMS and the fact that it can be customised to meet individual customer needs, such as specific features, functionality and bespoke reports; Autofulfil can now manage their stock and orders much more efficiently.

Whereas, previously, they were manually adjusting stock figures, which was costly and time-consuming, Autofulfil immediately saw an improvement in stock accuracy thanks to an improved receiving and dispatch processes.

The simplified packing and courier booking system means they can now check an order, pack it, and print and apply a label, all on the same packing bench and as Optimiser WMS integrates with a wide range of couriers, including the nation’s national postal service An Post and  private couriers such as Fastway; this means Autofulfil can now send more orders out without having to work harder.

So with the growth in Ireland’s online shopping boom showing no sign of slowing anytime soon, along with its popularity among American businesses and traders, it’s never been more important for Irish fulfilment houses to have a WMS which can cope with the huge demand while also making the process quicker, easier and more cost-effective.

If you need new WMS software, whether you are in the UK or Ireland, then why not see how we can help?

Contact Us on 01270 500777 today, and see what we can do for you