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Bill Gibson , CEO of Deposco , said : “ These figures prove that European businesses are eager to invest in DTC fulfilment models and that their interest is increasing over time . We believe there are two main reasons why investment is ramping up .

“ First , organisations increasingly realise that DTC is a great way to give them closer connections with their customers and therefore a better handle on demand ; why people are buying , what they are buying and how they want to buy it . Second , consumers themselves are eager to take advantage of DTC and have enthusiastically embraced it in recent years .”

In line with this growing customer interest , Deposco continues to see companies reporting a big increase in DTC sales and making investments in the fulfilment technologies that run them . In Deposco ’ s last European DTC research , published in 2023 , 37 % of respondents said that their DTC sales had increased by more than 25 % over the past 12 months . In our most recent 2024 survey , 54 % of respondents say the same . of technology and talent to drive their organisations forward . Forty-four percent of the survey sample have implemented new fulfilment technologies to help manage DTC orders .

According to Gibson : “ It ’ s imperative for DTC providers to have a robust fulfilment infrastructure to manage that growth efficiently and scale in line with it over time . But they also need solutions that are flexible enough to handle what continues to be a dynamic market , both in terms of what customers are doing and in terms of supply .”

In line with this , 32 % of businesses are investing in order management and fulfilment technology . Additionally , by growing the proportion of stock sourced from nearshore suppliers , businesses can further reduce the need to retain stock on hand , as 34 % of respondents are already doing .

In general terms , with the current era of macroeconomic disruption likely to continue , businesses understand that they need to rely on technology to achieve long-term success . Seventyone percent of businesses believe investing in warehouse management software or order management software platforms could drive profitability , and three-quarters believe it could drive higher sales .

This was a key finding in recent research commissioned by cloud-based , omnichannel fulfilment software provider , Deposco . Opinions of 200 senior decisionmakers from leading commerce and supply

Talent and technology to the fore

In delivering on this potential , businesses need to make use of the right combination

But the technology needs to be intuitive and easy to use , with 48 % of respondents saying that in the past 12 months , the growth in DTC has led to a need to hire more technically skilled staff to fulfil orders . x www . intelligentcxo . com

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