Issues and Specifics of the E-marketplaces Logistics Support
MAGAZINE №5 (94) October 2019
AUTHORS VINOGRADOV A.B.
CATEGORY E-commerce corporate logistics Logistic integration and coordination Logistic services market Retail companies’ corporate logistics
ABSTRACT
As the e-commerce market develops it has been gradually consolidating. More and more e-marketplaces appear over time. They unite a number of internet-retailers, significant part of which is represented by small and medium enterprises. Active growth of e-marketplaces poses new challenges for the e-commerce logistics. Great number of parties (both consumers and sellers), constantly growing assortment range, different models of interaction with suppliers, in combination with ongoing geographical expansion, have been considerably complicating e-marketplaces logistics support.
The author of the paper suggests the classification of e-marketplaces, conducts comparative analysis of the biggest electronic retail platforms operating in Russia, studies typical issues of their logistics activity, examines the opportunity of the horizontal collaboration mechanism's application to tackle some of these problems. By applying the methods of comparative analysis, classification, analogy, as well as the methods of horizontal collaboration, the author has gained the following results:
1. Defined the factors influencing complex nature of the e-marketplaces logistics compared to the logistics activity of pure internet retailers
2. Formulated conditions under which horizontal collaboration at the e-marketplaces can be used in the efficient and effective way
3. Proposed options for the distribution of the groups of functions between the participants of the horizontal collaboration project (internet retailers, marketing intermediaries specialized in introducing products to different virtual platforms, e-marketplace, logistics service providers, banks and/or fintech companies, project curator ensuring the parties interaction)
4. Suggested application of the Shapley vector method to share the gains of the e-marketplace's sellers collaboration.
Keywords: logistics of internet retailing ecommerce horizontal cooperation horizontal collaboration emarketplace marketplace
