Logistics and operations can make or break a small business, especially as consumers start to become accustomed to the instantaneous conveniences of e-commerce. With the United States Postal Service (USPS) in a state of critical repair, it may give concern to some small businesses to up the ante on order fulfillment and shipment tracking.
Despite the USPS' obvious influence in the day-to-day life of millions of Americans and small businesses, technological advancements as well as consumer expectations have changed the game a little bit. According to a Washington Post article written by Gloria Larkin of TargetGov, many companies have already begun functioning without the historic USPS.
"My business now e-mails invoices and more than 13,000 newsletters instead of using the postal service. While I personally still send an occasional birthday or sympathy card in the mail, other communications with colleagues, friends and family take place via online social networks and e-mail," wrote Larkin.
Although the USPS is not planning to go out of business any time soon, it is proposing major cutbacks in its services. This includes either eliminating or downsizing nearly 250 processing centers as well as getting rid of Saturday mail service, which could help save billions of dollars annually for the postal service and seriously affect the way many small businesses deliver their products.
With the landscape of logistics and communication technologies changing on an almost daily basis, companies should invest in custom application development and dynamic database software to ensure they can accurately keep track of where, when and how products and business essentials are being transported.