Online marketplace sellers across Russia are overhauling logistics operations by combining fulfillment models to withstand rising tariffs and sudden delivery disruptions.
Rising competition and shifting consumer demand have forced merchants to move away from relying solely on platform-managed warehouses, prompting major platforms such as Wildberries to expand alternative drop-off points.
Until recently, merchants selling on e-commerce platforms needed only to select products, secure suppliers, and ship goods to a central warehouse. The platform handled all remaining operational tasks, including long-term storage, item picking, packaging, and final customer delivery.
Industry conditions have become increasingly volatile as platform fees rise, consumer purchasing habits fluctuate, and sudden external events disrupt established transport routes. Industry analysts note that operational flexibility has become essential for survival, with successful merchants maintaining multiple logistics pathways rather than relying on a single ideal strategy.
Fulfillment by Operator and Seller logistics models
For many entrepreneurs, e-commerce platforms originally provided a way to eliminate daily operational burdens. Under the traditional Fulfillment by Operator model, commonly known as FBO, sellers ship inventory in advance to a centralized marketplace warehouse. The platform takes full responsibility for storing the stock, assembling incoming customer orders, and managing final transportation.
While the FBO structure remains convenient for high-volume products with stable demand, centralization creates heavy reliance on a single supply chain. Merchants face difficulties when reallocating stock quickly, leaving businesses vulnerable if external restrictions disrupt platform warehouse operations. Logistics experts advise against abandoning the model entirely, recommending instead that businesses establish alternative fallback plans.
Modern e-commerce marketplaces no longer function merely as centralized warehouses. Merchants increasingly store inventory across multiple locations, including platform facilities, private warehouses, and partner logistics hubs. Combining different operational structures allows sellers to build flexible supply chains tailored to their specific financial requirements.
A key component of this approach is the Fulfillment by Seller model, known as FBS. Under FBS, goods remain in the seller's own warehouse until a customer places an order online. Once notified of the purchase, the merchant picks, packages, and prepares the item before handing it over to the marketplace for final delivery. By managing initial fulfillment internally, sellers gain greater control over inventory levels, dispatch speed, and stock availability.
Risk management and partial inventory transitions
Business advisors warn that shifting entire inventory operations overnight poses significant operational risks. Merchants working primarily through platform warehouses are advised to begin transitions gradually by shifting 10 percent to 20 percent of their product catalog to seller-fulfilled logistics.
Under a gradual transition strategy, top-selling items remain in platform warehouses to maintain stable delivery schedules, while new releases and products with unpredictable sales volumes move to seller fulfillment. Alternatively, sellers can divide inventory for a single popular item, storing the bulk at the platform warehouse while keeping a reserve stock in-house.
Wildberries pickup points and delivery options
Major regional e-commerce operators have introduced flexible reception channels to support multi-model logistics. Wildberries, Russia's largest online retailer, expanded its Fulfillment by Wildberries service to allow merchants to drop off warehouse-bound shipments directly at local order pick-up points.
Wildberries has also integrated partner fulfillment centers and designated acceptance points into its network. These additional entry points allow sellers to submit inventory closer to their own facilities before goods are transported onward to main regional distribution hubs.
Logistics analysts report that operating under a hybrid model for several weeks generates concrete performance metrics. Merchants can evaluate exact order processing costs, packaging times, inventory turnover rates, and comparative profit margins before adjusting the proportion of goods allocated to each fulfillment model.
Five steps for restructuring online store operations
Retail experts outline a five-step framework for merchants seeking to restructure fulfillment operations without interrupting ongoing sales:
- Segment the product catalog: Categorize inventory into top sellers, medium-demand items, new product releases, and slow-moving goods rather than routing all products through a single logistics channel.
- Calculate comprehensive group costs: Evaluate total expenses for each product category beyond basic marketplace sales commissions, accounting for storage fees, packaging supplies, local freight to drop-off points, staffing, and internal warehouse overhead.
- Select test items for trial runs: Transfer a small portion of the catalog to the seller-fulfilled model to identify operational flaws without risking the entire retail business.
- Audit internal operational capacity: Verify whether current staffing and space can handle 20 daily orders, 200 orders, or a sudden doubling of daily sales volume before expanding the experiment.
- Maintain flexible operational ratios: Avoid establishing a permanent ratio between seller fulfillment and platform warehouse storage, adjusting proportions dynamically based on seasonal demand, market changes, and unit economics.
Unit economics and operational capacity evaluation
Industry analysts emphasize that no single logistics ratio fits every online merchant. A seller with consistent high-volume turnover may operate efficiently with 80 percent of inventory in platform warehouses, while a merchant selling specialized goods may find seller fulfillment or third-party logistics more profitable.
As the e-commerce market matures, sellers must exercise tighter control over inventory balances, track unit economics precisely, and prepare alternative operational scenarios. While future market disruptions cannot be predicted, establishing flexible supply chains ensures that sudden policy or economic shifts do not force merchants to rebuild their businesses from scratch.
Business analysts conclude that survival in the evolving marketplace environment depends not on company size or baseline efficiency alone, but on how quickly a merchant can adapt to changing conditions.
