Technology Infrastructure Supporting iHerb's E-commerce Platform

iHerb's e-commerce platform is supported by a robust technology infrastructure that emphasizes real-time data processing, scalable storage, and efficient logistics integration. They use Cribl Stream to handle and route large volumes of logging data (2-3TB daily, which later doubled), enabling seamless data flow from sources like Kafka and Fluentd to storage and analytics destinations such as Amazon S3, Elastic Stack, Loki, and Splunk for security monitoring. This setup reduces infrastructure and manpower costs while ensuring no critical log data is lost, which is vital for troubleshooting and security.

For logistics and fulfillment, iHerb partners with Cainiao, Alibaba Group's logistics arm, leveraging Cainiao’s Hong Kong smart fulfillment center. This partnership enhances iHerb’s warehouse operations with high-density automated storage and picking solutions, improving space utilization and order processing efficiency (up to 15,000 orders daily). The fulfillment center’s proximity to major transport hubs further optimizes shipping efficiency across the Asia-Pacific region.

Additionally, iHerb operates digital storefronts on over 25 global marketplaces alongside its own website and mobile apps, supporting over 12 million customers worldwide in multiple languages. This multi-channel approach is backed by scalable e-commerce infrastructure to handle international growth and customer acquisition.

In summary, iHerb’s technology infrastructure includes:

• Advanced observability and log management with Cribl Stream for real-time data routing and storage optimization.
• Cloud storage and analytics platforms like Amazon S3, Elastic Stack, Loki, and Splunk for operational and security insights.
• Strategic logistics partnerships with Cainiao for automated, high-efficiency fulfillment and regional shipping optimization.
• Multi-marketplace digital storefronts integrated with their own web and mobile platforms to support global reach and scalability.