DC Velocity - IdeaBook 2016

O mnichannel commerce is a disruptive force that is changing how companies interact with customers as well as how goods are purchased and orders are fulfilled.

Once associated with Internet-only vendors, it has become a condition of survival for retailers, manufacturers, and distributors all along the end-to-end value chain.

Most of companies’ attention so far has been devoted to
the “front end” of the value chain, such as putting in place
digital engagement strategies to grab consumers’ attention.
While these efforts have been effective in assuring mobile
and Internet sales, for most companies executing on those
sales—fulfilling, delivering, and sometimes taking back
orders—has been unprofitable. For that reason, they must
now turn their attention to their supply chains to ensure
they are able to not just capture additional sales, but to
do so profitably. This requires looking at omnichannel
commerce as an integrated, end-to-end supply chain strat-
egy, from suppliers through customers and from planning
through execution, rather than simply as a front-end initia-
tive for interacting with customers.

To help supply chain professionals understand the benefits of that approach and how to achieve them, this article will explain the concepts involved in omnichannel and will outline 10 key focus areas in the supply chain for enabling an integrated end-to-end strategy that yields profitable growth.

ANY PRODUCT, SHIPPED FROM ANYWHERE

Many companies have been involved in multichannel commerce, which means they are supporting multiple channels for interaction with and delivery of goods to customers. Omnichannel is much more than that. Central to the omnichannel concept are sales transactions executed through the commingling of brick-and-mortar stores and e-commerce—unlike multichannel, where companies may