Omnichannel is emerging as a new normal in every eCommerce business, and it is likely to become and remain an inevitable force dominating the online marketplace in the foreseeable future. Through an omnichannel business approach, businesses are now able to cater to the dynamic needs of customers spread across multiple channels and provide a seamless and holistic consumer experience.
The rise in the omnichannel new normal has led to significant implications for many consumer-product campaigns, such as retail, grocery, and consumer-packaged-goods companies. In order to survive amid the increasing competition in the market landscape, companies must accept the challenges of delivering a great customer experience across sales channels and shape their logistics and supply chain management accordingly. Many companies use predated omnichannel strategies that may have served them earlier, but as needs have evolved in the digital era, organizations need to undertake broader and deeper transformations to meet rising consumer expectations in terms of consumer experience, individualization, and delivery speed, while keeping delivery costs under control. Companies must master the omnichannel supply chains by focusing on key building blocks that help them gain an advantage over their peers. Players who struggle to align with the changing times will struggle to remain competitive.
Here are the omnichannel building blocks that help companies gain momentum in the changing landscape:
Consumer-Centric Supply Chain Strategy:
Adopting a customer-centric supply chain means meeting customer needs across all channels and grounding all decisions based on a deep understanding of the customer. This approach has received appreciation from businesses across industries; however, it is extremely challenging to learn from customers and come to a proper conclusion. Common pitfalls observed in the approach include failure to listen to shoppers and a one-size-fits-all supply chain. This led to a lack of differentiation of services and, consequently, higher costs. Most companies fail to deliver great service to all potential consumers, but resources are limited. Enterprises must determine what to deliver to each of these segments and how many logistics and supply chain management segments they need based on their understanding of customers.
Network and Supply Chain Ecosystem for the Future:
It is natural for businesses to rethink their logistics and supply chain management ecosystem and use advanced solutions that will help them cater to future market demands. Stakeholders must carefully choose the right combination of distribution centres (DCs), new node types, and partners to deliver their consumer-service aspirations within each channel. The supply chain ecosystem they are willing to collaborate with must involve all stakeholders, from suppliers to consumers. It is imperative that companies realize that they will only be able to deliver for the evolving consumer requirements if the information is shared along the entire value chain. Businesses must completely leverage their all-network assets and capabilities.
End-to-End Planning and Information Flow:
Understandably, shifting to omnichannel involves increased operational complexity, sales channel, multiple network nodes, and a decentralized inventory. Customers expect to access the right product in the right places and in real-time. Therefore, they need to develop their forecasting and inventory plan that ensures continuous information flow. Companies that aim for a truly omnichannel supply chain need to digitize cross-channel planning tools and processes and decide whether they want to start a new channel or digitize and move to an omnichannel supply chain simultaneously.
Omnichannel Fulfillment Through Node Operations, Transportation, and LSP Management :
The shifting of physical and in-store purchases to eCommerce has forced consumer-product companies to re-evaluate their fulfilment networks, which are an integral part of their supply chains. Omnichannel players must build their key capabilities regarding the flow of products to ensure they attain competitive costs and reliable quantity while managing the complexity of omnichannel operations. Business houses aiming to give an edge to their offline businesses add operations of the new channels to the existing ones without sufficient consideration of the news channel’s distinct requirements. They must realize that the physical flow of eCommerce products is different from the product flow within a distribution centre. A supply chain built to fulfil the purpose of the omnichannel approach will take into account the various channel requirements and offer insightful information that enables companies to make more informed decisions.
Likewise, cross-channel operations can be organized to maximize the value`-capturing potential of each channel, including brick-and-mortar stores. The ideal omnichannel consumer experience must be smooth and connected across different sales points, such as click-and-collect services that enable buyers to order online and collect it in-store. These expectations mean that consumer-product companies also need to reassess their in-store processes and layouts to provide a seamless shopping experience online and offline.
Moreover, companies must also focus on transportation and LSP management as these two are complex processes with multiple channels to serve. The eCommerce and physical store orders must be processed and handled differently because, for in-store shopping, orders can be booked in advance; however, for online stores, customers need orders on short notice. Therefore, companies have to look for couriers and other postal services. Omnichannel players must provide reliable and fast service to all customers while ensuring competitive transport costs. Companies must identify the right logistics and supply chain management partner for each segment of the supply chain and must partner with distributors who can deliver small shipments reliably, quickly, and relatively inexpensively. They must also join forces with companies that can deliver specialized products, try at home and electronics installation.
Begin Your Omnichannel Journey-
Mastering the omnichannel approach to provide the best-in-class customer experience and becoming a profitable business requires a significant undertaking. Businesses need to adapt a crawl, walk, and run approach to complete the omnichannel journey. Companies that are willing to deliver customer experience across all sales channels need to comprehensively rethink why they failed and how they can reassess their supply chain to make it more accommodating to changing needs of customers. The supply chain management software by Katalyst Software Service Limited help companies deliver a great customer experience across multiple channels that enables companies to skyrocket their revenue amid the economic uncertainties. It helps them leverage the omnichannel approach’s building blocks and gain a compelling, long-term, and competitive advantage.
