The Omnichannel Ecosystem: Where 3PL Fits In
With the exponential growth of e-commerce, consumers now have more buying channels than ever before. Some e-retailers are way ahead of the curve, offering such things as one-click purchases to a vast array of product offerings and two-day delivery. This strategy is forcing other retailers, including traditional brick-and-mortar, to make unprecedented changes to business models.
Compounding the problem for retailers is a growing segment of savvy consumers who have resorted to showrooming. To compete for every dollar, retailers are challenged to keep pace in the exploding omnichannel phenomenon, fueled by consumer-driven desires to choose the way they purchase and return items from retail stores, online orders and mobile apps.
This triumvirate is forcing retailers to re-strategize the approach to customer service, redesign distribution networks, develop new return policies and streamline supply chain operations to best serve customers through desired channels.
At the heart of omnichannel is a frictionless shopping experience. To compete, retailers need to optimize inventory management for multiple channels and integrate purchasing information into a single operational plan.
Some retailers are already ahead of the curve, successfully merging the digital and physical selling worlds into one seamless customer experience.
One retailer has a "one-view inventory" of its entire enterprise. With no disparate inventory across multiple businesses, this retailer provides the option of home delivery or store pickup, as well as a consistent return policy regardless of the channel.
Another retailer keeps shipping costs low by basing the point of shipping on the customer's ZIP code.
A department chain retailer fulfills items either its stores or its online fulfillment centers. For in-store pickups, this retailer leverages its floor associates to quickly locate the merchandise. Some online orders are filled from stores' back rooms.
Another retailer has installed lockers at a dozen of its stores, offering customers the convenience of picking up goods ordered online.
These and many other retailers get omnichannel. They realize that consumers no longer view purchases in channels. Toward that end, they develop strategies to drive a seamless customer experience across all channels and enable inventory visibility through the entire business.
This is where a 3PL provider can help to develop cost-effective solutions that provide several benefits. First, leverage your providers and their IT expertise to set up a common inventory system across all channels. A common, not siloed, system, such as ERP, determines from which channel to pull orders based on the delivery ZIP codes or the option the customers choose (store pickup, direct-to-consumer home delivery).
With this visibility, retailers can better understand inventory locations and fulfillment times, leading to lower inventory carrying costs and faster deliveries.
Transportation costs can escalate to meet faster delivery times. By understanding inventory flows and developing a clear idea of how sending an order from a store or distribution center to a customer's home can change operations, 3PL providers can determine the most cost-effective, efficient transportation option.
As more is discovered about the omnichannel ecosystem, 3PL providers can help with innovation and thought leadership to address upcoming challenges, such as:
Curt Bimschleger is the senior vice president of Retail Logistics for GENCO.
Compounding the problem for retailers is a growing segment of savvy consumers who have resorted to showrooming. To compete for every dollar, retailers are challenged to keep pace in the exploding omnichannel phenomenon, fueled by consumer-driven desires to choose the way they purchase and return items from retail stores, online orders and mobile apps.
This triumvirate is forcing retailers to re-strategize the approach to customer service, redesign distribution networks, develop new return policies and streamline supply chain operations to best serve customers through desired channels.
At the heart of omnichannel is a frictionless shopping experience. To compete, retailers need to optimize inventory management for multiple channels and integrate purchasing information into a single operational plan.
Some retailers are already ahead of the curve, successfully merging the digital and physical selling worlds into one seamless customer experience.
One retailer has a "one-view inventory" of its entire enterprise. With no disparate inventory across multiple businesses, this retailer provides the option of home delivery or store pickup, as well as a consistent return policy regardless of the channel.
Another retailer keeps shipping costs low by basing the point of shipping on the customer's ZIP code.
A department chain retailer fulfills items either its stores or its online fulfillment centers. For in-store pickups, this retailer leverages its floor associates to quickly locate the merchandise. Some online orders are filled from stores' back rooms.
Another retailer has installed lockers at a dozen of its stores, offering customers the convenience of picking up goods ordered online.
These and many other retailers get omnichannel. They realize that consumers no longer view purchases in channels. Toward that end, they develop strategies to drive a seamless customer experience across all channels and enable inventory visibility through the entire business.
This is where a 3PL provider can help to develop cost-effective solutions that provide several benefits. First, leverage your providers and their IT expertise to set up a common inventory system across all channels. A common, not siloed, system, such as ERP, determines from which channel to pull orders based on the delivery ZIP codes or the option the customers choose (store pickup, direct-to-consumer home delivery).
With this visibility, retailers can better understand inventory locations and fulfillment times, leading to lower inventory carrying costs and faster deliveries.
Transportation costs can escalate to meet faster delivery times. By understanding inventory flows and developing a clear idea of how sending an order from a store or distribution center to a customer's home can change operations, 3PL providers can determine the most cost-effective, efficient transportation option.
As more is discovered about the omnichannel ecosystem, 3PL providers can help with innovation and thought leadership to address upcoming challenges, such as:
- The inevitability that consumers will expect same-day shipping. How will retailers adapt?
- Some direct-to-consumer retailers lack of a physical store presence. What is the strategy to serve consumers?
- Better inventory management. How will retailers handling orders from multiple channels find the right balance between distribution centers and stores?
- Shipping from store to consumer. Does it make more sense to have a 3PL provider or some other resource fulfill orders? How does this decision affect labor management, productivity, efficiency and the customer experience?
Curt Bimschleger is the senior vice president of Retail Logistics for GENCO.