for JDA Software Group Inc.’s latest WMS. The upgrade
has enabled new capabilities like giving customers greater visibility into their order status, optimizing outbound
shipments, and processing e-commerce orders through a
shared-inventory single-WMS environment in order to cut
inventory-carrying costs, Exchange officials said.
Many of those upgrades are familiar strategies to any
retailer looking to provide swift omnichannel fulfillment
service at an affordable cost.
However, the Exchange has many
unique attributes that made its
e-commerce makeover unique.
FAMILY SERVING FAMILY
Unlike niche websites that specialize in specific types of inventory, the Exchange sells a nearly universal range of goods in
order to satisfy its mission “to
bring troops a taste of home.” It
carries everything from Michael
Kors sunglasses to Vera Bradley
handbags to razor blades to diapers, along with dishwashers,
flatscreen TVs, and saltwater fishing rods.
In return, military members who have served foreign
deployments thousands of miles from U.S. shores often feel
a deep loyalty to the Exchange. A visit to an AAFES store in
a foreign port offers a connection to American culture and
community that goes far beyond checking off items on a
shopping list.
One former Marine interviewed for this story fondly
recalls his visits to “the land of the big PX” as a near-Disn-eyland experience—a stark contrast to the rigors of life on
an active military base. For someone like him stationed a
long way from home, PX privileges meant instant access to
cherished items like Cheerios in Germany or a Nintendo
videogame console in Panama.
That relationship creates a far tighter bond between
the store and its customers than
you’d see with a typical big box
retailer and its clients. In fact, the
Exchange describes its business
model as “family serving family,”
noting that about 85 percent of
its 34,000 employees are connected to the military in some
way, whether they’re retired
veterans or National Guard or
Reserve personnel themselves or
the spouses and relatives of those
service members.
Shopping at the Exchange even
supports fellow military members financially, with roughly
two-thirds of earnings reinvested in programs such as
Army child development and childcare centers, fitness
centers, Air Force outdoor recreation programs, and
school meals for warfighters’ children overseas. With 2016
revenue of $8.3 billion and earnings of $384 million, the
Exchange provides significant support for military families
worldwide.
