An OMS is one key method for changing retail operations to accommodate the current constraints and will be useful long after the COVID-19 pandemic is behind us. A modern OMS can enable curbside pickup and buy-online, pick up in-store (BOPIS) functionality that can enable customers to shop in the way they feel most comfortable while being safe and effective.

Learn more by filling out the form below to download your copy today.

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What Does the Manhattan Active Omni Suite Do?

Manhattan Active Omni is a single platform that touches all omnichannel operations regardless of their origin and destination. Retailers leveraging Manhattan Active Omni can tailor their inventory requirements while viewing customers and their transactions across all channels. The solution also connects your fraud, address validation, tax system, payment gateway, pricing engines, and many other capabilities all onto one seamless platform allowing thorough order optimization. The platform runs around the clock and within the cloud, connecting the physical and virtual realities to offer the customer and the users of the platform in the supply chain a seamless experience. The same concept was recently explored by Gartner, described as the digital twin of the supply chain, and Manhattan Active Omni might be described as the digital twin of omnichannel.

Which Retailers Need Manhattan Active Omni?

Manhattan Active Omni is a comprehensive digital platform that provides inventory access and visibility across all fulfillment locations be it 3PLs, vendors, on the water purchase orders, DCs, or stores. Through its Manhattan Active Store, retailers can finally provide cross-channel customer service, manage inventory, and create the tailored, engaging experiences customers want. In short, every retailer could benefit from the use of Manhattan Active Omni.

Manhattan Active Omni also stands apart as the most advanced order fulfillment optimization platform ever created for the retail world. It prioritizes experiences based on the speed of delivery, pricing, engagement, and much more. An easy-to-use interface and robust capabilities make Omni a smart choice for many retailers. Mobile functionality—which now dominates all transactions across every retailer—is also natively built within the platform, improving customer satisfaction and creating better, more profitable supply chains. 

Benefits of Implementation

The benefits of implementing Manhattan Active Omni within your supply chain are significant. The platform centralizes customer relationship management, distributed selling, enterprise inventory, and adaptive network fulfillment to identify the most experience-rich opportunities to connect with customers. The platform was designed and built on top of Manhattan’s order management services as well, furthering the goal of success within omnichannel. Specifically, the key benefits of implementing Manhattan Active Omni Suite Solutions in your supply chain include:

• Higher customer engagement through a single-swipe checkout and payment processing capability. 
• Enterprise inventory management to give customers options, even when a particular store is out of inventory. 
• Adaptive fulfillment processes and visibility to eliminate abandoned carts and purchases. 
• CRM at the touch of a button, giving users access to the customers’ electronic black book, tailoring shopping experiences to each user.

Learn How Manhattan Active Omni Could Benefit Your Business

Now Manhattan Active Omni is the go-to solution for improved omnichannel success and engagement with customers. Find out more about how your organization can tap into this elevated level of omnichannel capability in your supply chain by connecting with Veridian, a trusted Manhattan Associates implementation partner, and request a consultation today.

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Use Automation to Understand and Forecast Demand for Each Channel

Supply chain leaders widely recognize automation as the easiest and most efficient way to manage omnichannel retail fulfillment. But, easier to manage does not always amount to easiest to implement. Each channel carries unique considerations; automating processes in one part of the supply chain may not work in others. Despite the challenges, retail fulfillment does benefit from automation.

For example, consider Walmart’s buy online, pick up in-store vending machines. The machines require the physical placement of inventory in the appropriate slots, and customers use their phones to retrieve their merchandise. This all runs automatically, but still, a physical process exists to store the merchandise within the machine. 

Similar processes exist within the warehouse. If automated retrieval systems pull items for order fulfillment, then consequently, the corresponding packing, labeling, shipment scheduling, and loading processes all must take place as quickly and efficiently as possible. The idea of automation sounds great, but again, it depends on what processes within each channel can be automated to achieve the goal. 

Take Advantage of Storefronts in Omnichannel Retail Fulfillment 

Retail omnichannel fulfillment also benefits from the tactical use of storefronts-as-a-distribution center. Individual stores can handle the same processes of the warehouse in fulfilling online orders for shipping or pickup within the store. However, it depends on the available inventory. Without proper inventory management, the use of storefronts to augment your distribution network will stumble. There was a time when everyone was clamoring over the use of omnichannel and its potential, but as the movement turned into reality, supply chains realized a new issue—a lacking mobile capability. 

Implement Mobile Ordering Systems

Mobile ordering does fall under the umbrella of omnichannel, but it ranks higher in importance and focus by supply chain leaders than general omnichannel efforts. In fact, only 22% of North American retailers cite omnichannel as critical to retail fulfillment, declining more than 23% since 2015, reports Supply Chain 24/7. However, the same drive remains—give customers what they want faster and at a lower cost. Mobile ordering and retail omnichannel fulfillment achieve this goal and turn the traditional supply chain into a mobile-centric process.

Supply chain leaders must still emphasize a seamless shopping experience across all channels, including e-commerce, the brick-and-mortar establishments, third-party marketplaces, word-of-mouth campaigns, and social networks. It is a complex process, and it must include mobile capabilities to stay successful. 

Keep a Strong Eye on Building and Retaining Talent

Successful omnichannel retail fulfillment depends on the ability of your team to understand needs and respond accordingly. As robotics and automation continue to change the standards of the supply chain, your team must evolve. Supply chain leaders should always keep an eye on talent availability and needs regardless of the time of the year. Talent often makes it into the most important supply chain conversations as well. As reported by Paul F. Magel of Total Retail:

“Having the right talent is essential for a successful omnichannel fulfillment strategy. Identifying needed skill sets and jobs are important for apparel manufacturers and retailers. The influx of next-gen technology in the supply chain requires new skills to operate these solutions successfully. Consider what new jobs are crucial to the organization’s long-term success and train your current employees. In manufacturing, data scientists are in high demand as more brands recognize the need to operationalize big data.”

When your talent is happy, order accuracy rates increase, and problems decline.

Review the Value of Your Existing WMS and TMS Platforms

A final tip in boosting retail fulfillment is simple. Supply chain leaders should re-evaluate their existing WMS and TMS platforms for weaknesses and opportunities to improve. Improvement within the WMS will naturally lead to better order fill rates, more accurate orders, and higher profitability. 

Increase Your Omnichannel Strategy and Prestige

The world is changing, and the supply chain must evolve. Instead of relying on outdated, channelized management styles, supply chain leaders need to think outside the box and bring omnichannel into every interaction. Connect with an omnichannel supply chain expert in Veridian by requesting a consultation today. 

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Justify the Need to Purchase Order Management Software

The biggest hurdle with purchasing software for your organization begins with building the business case. With any luck, your organization has already taken that step. However, those that have not yet secured top-down support for the need to purchase order management software should take a step back and evaluate the current operation. As noted in a prior blog post, answering “no” to any of the questions indicates it may be time to upgrade your WMS, OMS, or both.

• Do I have visibility and access to item data from inbound to outbound processes?
• Are routes efficiently designed?
• Is the system finding inefficiencies in other operations?
• Does the system handle pack and ship management too?
• Can the system be deployed across multiple locations?
• Do I have visibility into multiple locations?

Build the Change Management Team

After justification, it is important to build the change management team. The change management team will be responsible for overseeing the selection, review, evaluation, and implementation of order management software. This team should be comprised of professionals from throughout your organization and all departments. Taking a multi-disciplinary approach ensures all organizations and all departments working with your company will benefit from implementation.

Benchmark Your Operations to Identify and Tabulate Requirements

While benchmarking may seem like the steps to take when building the business case for order management software, it is essential to define the selection criteria for the system needed in your business. Supply chain leaders should benchmark operations, and they must determine the minimum requirements for the system first. Comparable to building the business case scenario, it is best to ask a few questions about what needs the new system should be able to handle. For instance, what needs must the decision to purchase order management software solve for your company?

Gather Information From Vendors

During the information-gathering phase, the change management team should reach out to appropriate system vendors and request information. Also, this stage does not yet rise to the level of a request for proposal. Instead, it is best to take advantage of public resources, such as blogs and publications, to review system availability and capability.

Evaluate Vendors Based on Merit, Development, and Advancement

The next step is the actual evaluation of vendors based on their merit, development, and advancement. Even systems that were designed within the last five years have quickly grown obsolete given cloud-based systems. As a result, it is imperative all supply chain leaders and members of the change management team work together to look at each system’s history and planned developments.

Create the Shortlist of Vendors

The shortlist of vendors should comprise the top four or five software vendors that will be further involved in the selection and implementation process. From the shortlist, the change management team will begin to send out requests for proposals (RFPs). All RFPs should also include detailed specifications for implementation, integration needs, implementation costs, timelines, and resources available to streamline implementation.

Never Purchase Order Management Software Without Negotiations

Although software vendors may set a prescribed price for a given system, supply chain leaders should always attempt to negotiate. Negotiations allow companies to realize lower implementation costs and reduce total cost of ownership (TCO).

Look for OTS Solutions First and Avoid Systems That Promote Heavy Modifications

One of the pitfalls with making the decision to purchase order management software goes back to modifications. With today’s technologies, it is possible to heavily modify any system to force it to fit your needs. However, unnecessary modifications add to the total cost of ownership and result in recurring charges with future upgrades or updates. Thus, organizations should look for off-the-shelf (OTS) solutions first, making modifications only when necessary and minimal.

Also, supply chain leaders should verify the systems chosen perform as expected within a test environment and offer key scalability features. As explained by Shopify, scalable requirements to purchase order management software must include:

• Automated processes.
• Multi-channel access, as well as operability in multiple currencies and geographies.
• Reporting and forecasting tools.
• Access to an API.
• Support for third-party and native integrations.
• Ongoing development from the software vendors.

Take Care When Purchasing an Order Management System to Improve ROI and Lower TCO

After deciding to purchase order management software, the real work of system selection and implementation begins. For help in finding and implementing an order management system, choose Veridian. Get started by visiting Veridian online now.

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What’s Keeping Retailers in the Dark Ages and Away From Advanced Systems?

While an order management system is not necessarily a new type of software, it still goes much further than the capabilities within legacy systems. Unfortunately, legacy systems also have a direct correlation with an inability to embrace omnichannel supply chains and reap its rewards, such as using brick-and-mortar stores as fulfillment centers and tapping all inventory to move product faster and with less cost. For example, as explained by Shopify:

“The Retail Systems Research survey of more than 500 logistics firms, suppliers and retailers worldwide [found] legacy systems are one of the top factors obstructing omnichannel execution, with 29% of firms naming legacy systems as their top challenge in 2017.”

Ways an Order Management System Helps Retailers Succeed

An order management system is essential to success in retail. Implementation of such a system offers additional benefits, and as explained by Lightwell, an effective order management system should empower retailers with more information and better order fulfillment. Additional benefits include improved inventory management, better order accuracy, and real-time order status reports to improve customer service. Furthermore, a robust system enables returns management, accepts orders regardless of source, routes products based on inventory and destination, and generates actionable data.

Additional benefits, reports Technology Record, of implementation, include:

• More insights through connected, advanced analytics.
• Better picking and packaging between stores.
• Shipping rate brokerage.
• Reduced risk of fraud.
• Less segmentation and isolation of inventory.
• Real-time inventory visibility.
• Real-time inventory stimulations and demand planning integrations.
• Payment processing.
• Advanced ordering capabilities.
• Global trade enablement.
• Scalability.
• Returns management.
• Procurement efficiency.

Tips to Select the Right OMS

Any plan for investing in a new system within your supply chain will naturally seem overwhelming. Supply chain leaders have a mountain of responsibilities, and finding the right system is not an easy task. However, those that follow these tips can work to ensure they have chosen the correct system:

• Benchmark your current operation.
• Create a change management team.
• Shortlist your vendors.
• Send out a request for proposal to chosen vendors.
• Research system options.
• Evaluate all responses for uniqueness, affordability, and functionality.
• Avoid systems that promote wide modifications.
• Work with a supply chain systems consultant, such as Veridian.

Augment Your Supply Chain With an Order Management System Now

Deciding to implement an order management system will improve operational efficiency and further goals for better inventory management. Instead of relying on outdated, legacy systems, supply chain leaders need to start thinking about how using an OMS can work in tandem with other supply chain software and provide value. Implementing any new supply chain execution system is not always cut and dry. It can come with serious complications, and without a careful eye for detail, your time to ROI will succumb to scope creep and grow further out of reach. Instead of risking a delayed ROI and higher total cost of ownership, choose Veridian to help you manage the entire selection and implementation process. Schedule your consultation with Veridian online today.

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While it is still early in the game to pass judgment on the totality of the 2019 peak shopping season, the initial numbers are clear. Consumers are spending more, looking for their products online, and even taking advantage of buy online pick up in-store (BOPIS) fulfillment.

Taylor Schreiner of Adobe Digital Insights stated to TechCrunch, “With Christmas now rapidly approaching, consumers increasingly jumped on their phones rather than standing in line. Small Business Saturday will accelerate sales for those retailers who can offer unique products or services that the retail giants can’t provide.”

To stay successful, supply chain leaders need to understand a few things about preparing omnichannel retail supply chain processes to succeed in peak season.

Challenges in Omnichannel Retail Peak Season

The challenges associated with the peak season for the supply chain are debated in great detail in many supply chain and retail publications. Everyone wants to do more, offer faster service, move more orders, reduce costs, avoid all delays, give customers something extra, surpass last year’s expectations, generate better reports, keep customers happy, improve employee satisfaction rates, and many other goals. Unfortunately, pleasing everyone all the time is impossible, and problems will occur.

When left unchecked, problems contribute to upset customers, missed deliveries, and other consequences. As reiterated by Material Handling & Logistics in 2006, which still holds true for fundamental supply chain prep during any peak season, “Peak season is not the time to do things a second time or make extra work due to insufficient communication. Make sure that everyone understands that the increased level of activity requires an increased commitment to prompt and accurate communication at all levels.”

Without communication and reliable, standardized processes, the pursuit of an omnichannel retail supply chain will ultimately fail.

Omnichannel Retail Supply Chain Processes Depend on Integration and Data

Take a moment to think about what goes into omnichannel retail supply chain processes. All channels must communicate to ensure orders can be fulfilled between channels and presented with accurate details to consumers at their preferred channel of choice. The supply chain processes in this pursuit may include shipping items between warehouses, using brick-and-mortar stores as distribution and fulfillment centers, giving customers third-party shipping options for ship-to-home orders, and more. As a result, omnichannel retail supply chain processes depend on the integration and the meaningful use of data. With outdated data, it is impossible to collaborate, and poor collaboration will lead to disappointing outcomes.

Tips for Improving Peak Season Omnichannel Operations

Supply chain leaders can improve peak season omnichannel operations by revisiting their comprehensive strategies, as well as following these essential tips.

• Rethink your picking processes and strategy. Avoid the hassle associated with traditional, batched order picking practices.
• Redefine facility and yard boundaries and space utilization. Take advantage of available capacity and storage space within the yard and vertical space, as well.
• Deploy analytics and artificial intelligence. Analytics implemented within the last five years are likely already out of date, especially if they do not use cloud-based technology. Consider deploying a newer, smarter analytics platform and using artificial intelligence to make sense of the data.
• Leverage staff augmentation, turning high-quality staff into long-term workers simultaneously. “Whether you use one temporary staffing firm or many, don’t assume they will provide all the personnel you need when you need them. Confirm your anticipated requirements and iron out the particulars of your working arrangement in advance,” says Deborah Catalano Ruriani of Inbound Logistics.
• Take full advantage of available labor resources. As explained by Total Retail, “Picking operations should be the next focus. All staff should be trained on how to properly use equipment — whether that be paper, RF, or tablet — to pull items and prepare them for shipping. Process adherence stabilizes performance, regardless of the size of the labor pool. If all staff is on the same page concerning picking and packing procedures, process adherence can offer predictive indicators (from history and experience) of bottlenecks and challenges.”
• Start planning for the next season now. The next peak season is around the corner, and depending on the type of retailer, peak season may arrive as soon as the Super Bowl.
• Maintain a backup plan for your backup plan, including additional carriers and more. While warehouse managers are traditionally focused on managing the warehouse, they should also be mindful of how other supply chain processes and partners interact, such as the need to build a new mix of backup carriers and logistics service providers to fulfill orders and ensure timely deliveries.

Meet Peak Demand With a Robust Omnichannel Strategy Now

Meeting peak season demand with a robust omnichannel strategy can push small and midsize businesses to new heights. Unfortunately, the issues are prevalent, and they are challenging to overcome. However, a solution does exist. Implement more modern, more effective omnichannel retail supply chain processes by choosing the right supply chain systems integrator, like Veridian. Request a consultation from Veridian to learn more today.

The post Prepping Omnichannel Retail Supply Chain Processes to Succeed In Peaks appeared first on Veridian.

What Are the Challenges in Dropshipping?

Any change in standard operating procedures, including your shipping processes, will be met with challenges. These may include:

• Limited technologies. Limited technologies within your organization will mean more manual processes to send incoming orders from your organization to a manufacturer, and the entire process could break down.
• Poor collaboration among supply chain partners. Failure to maintain collaboration across your supply chain network and all applicable partners may lead to additional problems and delays within order processing and shipping, and customers will hold your business accountable.
• Failure to implement and integrate new systems and technologies. Dropshipping relies on streamlined processes and a seamless flow of information throughout your network, so inability to take advantage of new technologies that enable such processes will result in added dropshipping challenges.
• Limited visibility into dropshipping practices. Limited visibility is another problem that exists with dropshipping. Poor visibility within your operation will result in a failure to understand how the strategy compares in terms of cost and benefit to your organization. It will also cause inefficiencies.

How Does Dropshipping in Omnichannel Benefit Supply Chains?

Deploying dropshipping in omnichannel processes can benefit supply chains in profound ways. For example, consider these benefits:

• Dropshipping is crucial to fast, green shipping. More movements within the supply chain will effectively increase the emissions associated with orders. Dropshipping eliminates the middleman and reduces the timeline to delivery.
• Dropshipping in omnichannel leads to increased revenue. Depending on industry and sector, 66% of retailers report that the use of dropshipping also increases revenue to the tune of 14% or more, notes Customer Think.
• It increases customer service. According to TotalRetail, 84% of retailers report improved customer service after the adoption of dropshipping in omnichannel operations.

How to Leverage Dropshipping to Its Fullest Potential

1. Know your freight billing procedures.
2. Create a standardized onboarding process.
3. Upgrade your shipping management software.
4. Validate shipping and consumer data through automated resources.
5. Never limit carriers and shipping options for retailers.

Put the Power of Dropshipping to Work in Your Supply Chain

To ensure your organization has the tools and resources, as well as technologies, in place to enable dropshipping, supply chain leaders should work with an established supply chain systems integrator and consultant, like Veridian. Learn how dropshipping in omnichannel can benefit your organization following the tips provided, as well as recognize the risks that are present. Choose a partner to help you make it successful by requesting a consultation with Veridian online today.

The post Dropshipping in Omnichannel: The Secret Sauce for Success appeared first on Veridian.

Where Do Supply Chain Leaders Go Wrong with Omnichannel Supply Chain Analytics?

The biggest problems with omnichannel analytics can be traced back to a simple issue. Supply chain leaders can implement the best systems on the planet, but if every possible scenario is not considered, the system lacks value. In other words, the subpar integration between systems and failure to gain real-time visibility into all assets remain a key obstacle to the application of omnichannel supply chain analytics. As explained by Supply Chain 24/7, there is another factor that affects the performance of supply chain analytics. The sheer diversity of the analytics themselves leads to misconceptions about their value. As an example, consider analytics covering insights in transportation management. However, transportation management involves hundreds of individual processes. The simplest misapplication could result in poor outcomes.

Additionally, warehouse managers and supply chain leaders may lack the resources to apply analytics. Analytics can focus on the smallest issues, but their most significant potential lies in the diverse application. Therefore, it is essential to manage omnichannel supply chain analytics proactively.

Omnichannel Analytics Enable Insight Across Your Entire Supply Chain

Omnichannel supply chain analytics have the potential to give supply chain leaders insight across their entire enterprise. While it is a counterproductive process to lump analytics into one group, they must possess the capability to communicate with one another. This is no different from customers working to find the best deal on a product or service. Omnichannel analytics bridge digital and physical channels, giving supply chain leaders the ability to uncover relationships between data. Yes, data refers to people in this case. However, it is not just the personal attributes of a shopper that make supply chain analytics valuable. It is their implication for better demand forecasting, management of inventory placement, distribution strategies, and more.

How to Apply Analytics to Drive Greater Results

Applied analytics in supply chain management can lower overhead expenses, offer real-time visibility in product location, and empower leaders with better collaboration, boosting labor management along the way. However, the best benefits in the world fall on deaf ears if the process falls short. Supply chain leaders should follow these tips to improve their use of analytics and bolster supply chain performance.

• Connect every asset and process to the Internet. Connected systems allow for real-time data tracking. More importantly, all connected assets must provide a direct path forward. In other words, the information should build to arrive at a recommendation.
• Recognize the unique circumstances that influence your operation. Every supply chain is different, and varying processes will affect the performance of your operation. Depending on the individual needs of your customers, additional supply chain services may be necessary. For example, added last-mile delivery services, such as installation or white-glove service for large and bulky items, may be required.
• Get the expert assistance necessary to deploy supply chain analytics to their fullest potential. Let’s be honest. Supply chain leaders are focused on management, not data analysis. According to Pierre Mitchell via SpendMatters.com, supply chain leaders become so focused on automating processes that they overlook the potential of analytics. Regardless of how many devices are connected, their application and processing through analytics are what makes them valuable. As a result, supply chain leaders should seriously consider working with an expert in selecting analytics platforms, as well as integrating them to ensure success.

Advance Your Organizational Goals with the Right Analytics Strategy

Omnichannel supply chain analytics are about understanding your customers, their habits, the actions of your supply chain partners, your transportation network, your raw material suppliers, warranty service managers, and everything in between. There is ample opportunity for error, but you can avoid these risks by following the three critical steps to success outlined above. Learn more by visiting Veridian online today.

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Brick-and-Mortar Experiences Deliver Just as Much as Online Experiences in Omnichannel

What makes a brick-and-mortar experience? Is it the amenities that are offered, or is it something else? Two customers really want to take the time to pull out their smartphones and make a shopping decision on the spot. The chances are good that customers, while they will like the capability, have likely already decided by the time they visit your store. As a result, it is essential not to push online capabilities to customers in brick-and-mortar locations. Focus on the customer when they are in your store. Be present with them. However, remember to offer online capabilities where possible. For example, Sam’s Club and Walmart got this right with allowing customers the option to pay by phone, but this option is quite subtle. It was not rolled out with pompous announcements and an endless barrage of greeters to push it in your face. Instead, the retailers made a subtle announcement, and now it is always on the pay screen in every register.

App-Based Interactions Generate Data That is Not Exploited

Another opportunity in this innovative method of blended supply chain management involves the use of app-based data. Omnichannel capabilities offer much more than just purchase history and targeted advertising. More in-depth analytics in the omnichannel process allows for supply chain leaders to understand what customers think at the moment. In a recent report by Diane Sawyer on the use of screen time in America, the simplest of actions, including whether the finger moves slightly to the top right or top left, provide immense insight into what a customer is thinking. Every action and movement within apps and e-commerce portals generate data, and not all this data is exploited to its full potential.

Accurate Visibility Into Combined Operations Is Still Out-of-Reach

Even the best-laid plans for omnichannel management are still susceptible to shortfalls with precise visibility. Supply chain leaders may have the technologies in place to track internal movements within their supply chain, but what happens when those movements go through a third-party? For example, a third-party logistics provider may ship the product for a customer, or the product may be ordered from the manufacturer and shipped directly through drop shipping, and the customer portal may not update in the most real-time window. This is another opportunity for retailers to improve.

Offering More Than What’s Seen Remains a Big Problem

One of the critical problems in omnichannel supply chains also involves the ongoing push to beat Amazon. The Amazon Effect is everywhere, and everyone wants to offer everything. That is both impractical and costly. Instead of offering the world, deliver what your customers know and want. Of course, this requires the use of analytics to understand customers in their contexts. Furthermore, this emphasizes another problem, how the value of service over function gets lost in omnichannel supply chains. Everyone is so focused on offering everything that they overlook customers as the most critical asset in their supply chains.

Supply chain leaders should also not forget that most purchases are still made in brick-and-mortar stores. While statistics vary on the exact number of e-commerce orders compared to brick-and-mortar purchases, the trend is clear. E-commerce is increasing, but retailers must not overlook the value of their brick-and-mortar stores. In addition, they should work to ensure customers understand how to use seamless services, such as via online and picked up in-store. At the same time, customers may feel guilty about skipping the proverbial line to pick up an online order. This is part of what triggered Walmart’s plan to implement in-store kiosks allowing customers to pick up orders from either a vending machine or triggering an automated notification to workers in the back.

Focus on the Right Thing—Your Customers, Not Your Ability to Offer Everything, Everywhere

Your customers are your most valuable asset. As noted by Steve Dennis of Forbes, customers are the only channel that matters. Instead of trying to focus on delivering any product, at any time, at the best price possible, and regardless of where customers want products, make the customer your top focus. In other words, use the right systems and resources to learn more about your customers and connect on a personal and professional level. Doing so will enable better supply chain management and boost profitability. Tap into the real value of omnichannel, your customers. Find out how to get started with your new software and services by visiting Veridian online now.

The post What Retailers Forget in Omnichannel appeared first on Veridian.

Say some in the supply chain circles. However, is it all true?

The omnichannel conversation can be maddening, and supply chain leaders are still struggling to keep up with the demand for omnichannel experiences and deliver on brick-and-mortar promises without adding any extra costs and meeting customer expectations every step of the way. It is a tall order that seems almost impossible to fill. Industry experts are starting to voice concern that omnichannel as a term has created too much strife and is confusing supply chain leaders. In a recent Forbes publication, Steve Dennis described the state of omnichannel as something that needs burying. It is an overused term in an equally over-stretched industry. Yet, it is not really dead; it is amid a transformation and reinvention of seamless experiences. Supply chain leaders need to understand whether omnichannel is dead, dying, or thriving, as well as what it means for their operations today.

Is Omnichannel Dead?

No, omnichannel is not dead. However, the term as it applies to blending channels and ensuring consumers can get anything online and in-store from the nearest pickup center is dead. Supply chain leaders have become obsessed with the need to go omnichannel, and this level of intense focus presents a problem. Omnichannel is about blending experiences, giving customers what they want. Take that sentence in for a moment.

The implication of omnichannel is blending experiences to create something for customers. Therefore, the idea of omnichannel, or making sure you are in every channel, at times devoid of asking your target consumer base if they want or even need every channel, is dead. Some retailers have forgotten about the value of customer experiences in terms of how a channel influences their decisions.

Why Omnichannel Might Be Considered Dying

The truth is that omnichannel is on the way out, replaced by a blending of channels that focuses on the customer as a channel. Customers want a harmonized experience that does not detract from their shopping journey with jumps through online and in-store platforms. They want the experience to occur without thinking about it.

For example, customers want to visit a store to pick up fruit, but upon entering, they discovered that a coupon had been sent to their phone for an item they had viewed three weeks prior. If the customer moves throughout the store toward that item’s location, additional notifications may occur that present the item’s benefits, functions, and reasons to purchase. When leaving the store, customers want systems capable of immediately recognizing the customer has made a purchase and can leave of their own volition. Speaking of which, the idea of checking customer receipts has come under fire in recent months as some retailers, including Walmart, have moved to begin asking customers to prove their purchase. What is the good in omnichannel if the retailers have such distrust amid customers?

Ways Omnichannel Is Thriving

Here is the answer to the last question. Omnichannel empowers retailers to connect with consumers. When a disconnect arises, new processes adversely affect customer experiences. Some organizations, such as Costco and Sam’s Club, have long-established policies that require users to present a receipt before leaving. Unfortunately, transferring this model into retailers that don’t usually require receipts before walking through an exit has proven difficult, reports California ABC News. YouTube is littered with the experiences and outrage associated with this practice. However, evidence suggests omnichannel is growing as businesses learn more about their customers.

Where Walmart’s initiative to begin checking receipts rose from individual stores, the company is rapidly responding to requests for policy changes and establishing a given, standard practice. Furthermore, customers that are using multiple shipping and shopping channels tend to spend 4% more in brick-and-mortar locations and 10% more at online stores, reports Applause.com. This is an opportunity for retailers to collect more data, and the application of this data could quickly become valuable as companies look for ways to overcome the outrage over receipt checking. In a sense, the new practice will encourage the growth of omnichannel and focus faster on customers as the only channel that matters.

Kickstart Your Next Omnichannel Update Today

Omnichannel is not going away, so it is time to stop asking, “Is omnichannel dead?” Instead, the way retailers approach omnichannel must evolve. Instead of focusing on individual channels as part of an overarching omnichannel strategy, supply chain leaders should focus on customer experiences above all else. Focusing on customers is the only way to understand what they want and expect from your organization honestly. In turn, your technologies and systems will need updating and improvement, empowering customers of tomorrow.

Since omnichannel is amid a transformation, ensure your organization has what it needs to succeed. Visit Veridian online to get started with your new, harmonized system implementation.

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