With this new offering, Ozon is expanding the ways in which sellers can operate on the marketplace. They can now use Ozon’s fulfilment and logistics services, operate from their own warehouse using Ozon's last mile delivery services or deliver orders to customers themselves, using the marketplace as a digital storefront.
To make it easier for sellers to organize delivery, Ozon will provide integrated services in partnership with a number of logistics companies, including Russian Post and delivery services PEC, DPD, Boxberry and CDEK. As part of this integration, Ozon automatically tracks the orders to ensure prompt delivery times. The number of Ozon’s logistics partners is constantly growing.
The new features on Ozon will accelerate the development of specific product categories and significantly expand their range. For example, sellers will be able to ship bulky items that require more than one courier to deliver and assemble. This model will also allow brands whose products require special transportation and installation to enter the marketplace, including products ranging from built-in household appliances to sophisticated sports equipment and more. Sellers will also be able to choose a sales region and deliver goods via their own delivery services. This is especially useful for sales of fresh flowers or for small local stores that have their own logistics.
Under the new operating model, sellers will only pay Ozon a commission for the sale of their goods, with the option to use advanced promotion tools offered by the marketplace. Ozon will handle order tracking as well as customer service and arbitration of disputes.
Stepan Gusamov, Director of Ozon’s Logistics Platform, commented:
“With the introduction of the digital storefront model, Ozon sellers will receive maximum operational flexibility on our platform. They will have the widest possible set of options that cater to their logistical and warehouse handling needs. Working with Ozon solely as a digital storefront will give additional flexibility for both small businesses and large brands. The former will be able to save on logistics by defining sales regions and choosing the best priced options from available logistics operators. In turn, large brands and retailers will use their own established logistics, which will significantly reduce their barriers for entering the marketplace.”
Ozon began to test the digital storefront model at the end of 2020, with the participation of more than 200 companies.