Understanding Accessibility in E-commerce

What is Accessibility?

Accessibility is a connectivity measure that allows a courier or a freight forwarder to reach or start a shipping cycle from a said point. It considers factors like congestion, bottlenecks, related costing, and other factors that impact the overall efficiency of a shipping lifecycle. This measure is used to judge the convenience of a particular point per the mentioned metrics. 

Significance of Accessibility in an E-commerce Shipping and Delivery

Accessibility allows shipping companies to determine the advantages of specific locations and optimize transit time. 

• Location serviceability: Locations are mapped to understand the specific type of services a company can leverage from a particular point. Apart from identifying the serviceability of a destination address, the intermediate storage points are also considered. It allows a shipping company to understand the pros and cons of using a specific warehouse or storage unit. 
• Route optimization: Accessibility allows a shipping company to optimize the routes per metrics such as congestion, traffic bottlenecks, etc. A seller uses it to find the optimal shipping route, thus ensuring cost reduction and lower transit times.  

Prerequisites of Accessibility and How It Works

The prerequisites of accessibility are sufficed by mapping software and GPS systems, which are used to determine the efficacy of a specific route or location. 

• Point-identification and comparative analysis: The accessibility of warehouses and other required storage units are compared with the optimal route to and from these units. The routes and the efficacy of a storage unit, as per its accessibility, are analyzed, compared, and then selected. 
• Follow through: A shipping cycle is carried out after choosing the locations. 

Use Case With Accessibility

A seller was required to ship from Davao City to Manila. The shipping cycle needed a warehouse in Davao City where the product could be stocked for a day. There were two warehouses, A and B, with an inbound transit time of 2 and 4 days, respectively. However, the last mile from warehouse A would require three days, while for warehouse B, it was one day. Therefore, the seller selects warehouse B based on the accessibility.