Elaine Porteous

Articles by: Elaine Porteous

Elaine Porteous

Elaine Porteous is a freelance business writer with an extensive background in supply chain management. Her areas of expertise are global sourcing, warehousing and logistics, and related technologies. She is based in Johannesburg, South Africa, and spends her downtime in the bushveld.

Contact Elaine via email or her website.

Shipping & Fulfillment
Getting Started with In-house Fulfillment

October 7, 2021 • Elaine Porteous

Many emerging ecommerce businesses start in someone's garage or kitchen. They store, pack, and ship from a home base and control all the activities. But even established sellers sometimes opt for fulfilling in-house.
Shipping & Fulfillment
3 Ways to Reduce Shipping Costs

September 7, 2021 • Elaine Porteous

Lowering shipping costs is a surefire way to improve profits. Same-day delivery, free shipping, standard transit, click-and-collect — all are candidates for cost reductions.
Shipping & Fulfillment
Smart Lockers Are Upending Parcel Delivery

August 18, 2021 • Elaine Porteous

The growth in ecommerce has fueled the demand for sophisticated delivery options. Consumers are not always at home or at work to accept packages. Many seek contactless alternatives. Smart lockers are driving much of the innovation in parcel pick-up.
Shipping & Fulfillment
Warehouse Automation Starts with Picking, Sorting, Packaging

August 3, 2021 • Elaine Porteous

Your fulfillment warehouse is growing fast. More orders are arriving in increasingly varied dimensions and quantities. You may be considering additional employees and space. An alternative is improving productivity by automating some manual tasks.
Shipping & Fulfillment
Sustainable Packaging Is a Competitive Advantage

July 18, 2021 • Elaine Porteous

Consumers concerned about waste in landfills and oceans are demanding sustainable product packaging. Environmentally responsible packaging can be just as cost-effective as conventional methods but may require a change in thinking.
Shipping & Fulfillment
How AI Powers Distribution, Logistics

July 8, 2021 • Elaine Porteous

Artificial intelligence is a list of instructions and rules that a computer needs to complete a task. Ecommerce examples include site search, product recommendations, and chatbots — all increasingly rely on AI. But the distribution and logistics industries use AI, too.
Shipping & Fulfillment
Steps to Greener Ecommerce Warehouses

June 14, 2021 • Elaine Porteous

Ecommerce warehouses are often not environmentally friendly. They consume vast amounts of energy. Many pose hazards to their employees. Material handling equipment, lighting, heating, air conditioning — all create emissions, some of them toxic.
Shipping & Fulfillment
Electric Vehicles Are the Future of Last-mile Delivery

May 27, 2021 • Elaine Porteous

The rise of ecommerce has catapulted electric vehicles to prominence. Concern about greenhouse gas emissions is driving the move away from diesel delivery vehicles towards trucks and vans using alternative power sources. Electric vehicles with a range of up to 150 miles are ideally suited to "last mile" deliveries, those with a limited radius.
Shipping & Fulfillment
Soft-hand Robots Are Coming to Ecommerce

May 11, 2021 • Elaine Porteous

For decades, manufacturing and industrial warehouses have used "hard" robots. They handle repetitive tasks and heavy lifting. But “soft” robots are much more sophisticated. They can safely grasp perishable and fragile items such as eggs, fruit, and bottles. Soft robots could transform fulfillment in many ecommerce warehouses.
Conversion
Consumers Want Visibility into What They Buy

May 5, 2021 • Elaine Porteous

Is that new summer dress 100-percent organic cotton? How can you prove it? What happened after the cotton was picked until the dress was delivered to the customer? Consumers have questions, and they are not getting answers.
Shipping & Fulfillment
Consumers Want Fast Deliveries — and a Green Environment

April 20, 2021 • Elaine Porteous

Customers want fast deliveries. But they also care about the impact of shipping on the environment. Sadly, the “last mile” is notoriously eco-unfriendly.