Wine logistics for e-commerce

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The project

For an e-commerce business specializing in wine sales, Dap Sides has developed a tailored logistics solution designed to enhance the value of a delicate, premium product.

Climate-controlled warehousing, quality control, real-time tracking, and fast shipping ensure the end customer enjoys a flawless purchasing experience.

Related services

Order management and climate-controlled wine storage

Customised picking and packaging for bottles

Fast and traceable domestic shipping

Integration with e-commerce platform for real-time updates

The customer's request

It was back in 2013 when we were appointed by a well-known online trader operating in the world of wine, spirits and beer, as well as home products (furnishing accessories). They asked us to manage every aspect of their wine logistics.

We started with warehouse management: the first order consisted of 6 pallets. We were receiving 10 pallets of stock and no more than 10 orders per day, all B2C deliveries. Our job was to ship hundreds of bottles of wine directly to the homes of end consumers.

The first challenge we faced concerned the packaging: it was defective and not suitable for such delicate goods as glass bottles, which could easily break during transport.

A second issue emerged when we tried to standardize the bottle containers: the different bottle formats made this impossible. As if that were not enough, each individual package had a different code and none of the bottles had a barcode.

These details increased the inefficiencies related to storing the goods and preparing the shipments.

The solution adopted
for the customer

To overcome these challenges, we proposed a new way of managing order receiving and fulfillment, introducing barcodes for product identification. We therefore decided to expand our logistics and distribution services, adding dedicated IT support.

At the same time, we focused on improving packaging, tailoring it to each individual product while ensuring maximum flexibility of service.

The numbers speak for themselves: in just 6 months, orders increased from 10 per day to 500 per day, with peaks of over 1,000 in high season (such as the Christmas period). We reached the point where we were able to process in the morning the orders received the previous evening, ensuring 24–48 hour delivery.

Our high level of efficiency allowed the client to concentrate more on marketing activities.

Although we had achieved increasingly integrated logistics management, we had not yet completely solved the issue of inadequate packaging, and breakage rates were still high.

We then developed a more effective solution, redesigning several types of packaging (with 2, 4 or 6 slots) that kept the bottles suspended. Damage rates dropped dramatically, and Dap Sides became the optimal, flexible logistics partner the client was looking for.