5 Challenges and Opportunities Facing Retailers Establishing a Global E-Commerce Supply Chain

4. Acting globally, thinking locally

Challenge: Meeting customers where they're located means different things in different places. A universal strategy won't apply; each market needs its own plan of attack.

Opportunity: Investigating local customs to meet preferred forms of convenience can drive success locally as well as innovation globally. For example, the U.K.'s recent trend of "click and collect' in brick-and-mortar locations is an idea that's gaining momentum globally; Australia's purpose-built parcel lockers are catching on; and India's pay-upon-delivery option is also a convenient solution in some locales.