I recently delivered a keynote presentation on best practices in omnichannel supply chain with my A.T. Kearney colleagues and Wal-Mart at the National Retail Federation Supply Chain Summit in Dallas.
Our talk, Beating the Burden of Brick and Mortar for Breakthrough Omnichannel Fulfillment, discusses how traditional brick & mortar retailers need to overcome organizational and operational challenges rooted in their traditional store focus in order to unlock omnichannel fulfillment excellence:
Getting omnichannel fulfillment right is much more mission-critical compared to a traditional brick and mortar setting. Fulfillment represents significantly higher costs in multi-channel—up to 18 per cent of online-order revenue, about four times the proportion for traditional channels. Fulfillment also carries more brand impact than traditional settings, as customers rely increasingly on receiving orders quickly and accurately. Despite its strategic importance, too many retailers still lack an effective multichannel fulfillment strategy.
Based on our global client work and research, we present a set of guiding principles that separate performance leaders from the rest in how they design, organize and execute for breakthrough omnichannel fulfillment:
These operational and efficiency advantages translate to increased strategic and category flexibility to address changing market conditions, driving enhanced performance.
We had a robust Q&A session with a diverse group of retailers in the audience. Many thanks to all for the informative comments and questions.
Michael Hu | BCG 