30 DC VELOCITY NOVEMBER 2015 www.dcvelocity.com
percent), drop shipping directly
from partners’ DCs ( 61 percent),
a 3PL delivery partner ( 50 percent), and store fleet ( 40 percent). (See Exhibit 4.)
It was a different story altogether when it came to respondents’ plans for the future. When
we asked which shipping methods they “Do not use, but plan
to use,” their responses pointed
in some interesting directions.
For instance, they showed particular interest in crowdsourced
delivery services such as Deliv
or Instacart (0 percent use them
today, 28 percent plan to use
them); store staff delivery via
car, bike, or foot ( 21 percent use
them today, 13 percent plan to
use them); and even drones (0
percent use them today, 2 percent plan to use them).
EXHIBIT 1
HOW DO YOU FULFILL E-COMMERCE ORDERS?
(% of respondents)
Method 2015 response 2014 response
Through a traditional DC that also
handles e-commerce 63 57
Through a Web-only DC 47 32
From the store 43 37
Direct from manufacturer or the
retailer’s supplier 36 32
Note: Participants were allowed to select multiple responses.
EXHIBIT 2
DO YOU HANDLE E-COMMERCE FULFILLMENT
AND TRADITIONAL FULFILLMENT AT THE SAME
FACILITY?
Yes 69
No 31
EXHIBIT 3
WHAT TECHNOLOGIES DO YOU USE TO SUPPORT OMNICHANNEL
INITIATIVES?
(% of respondents)
Technology 2015 response 2014 response
Warehouse management system 91 87
Demand management software 72 64
Bar-code scanning on the store floor or in the backroom (not at point of sale) 61 58
Transportation management system 57 60
Labor/workforce management system 56 65
Distributed order management system (offers common view of systemwide inventory) 54 56
Inventory optimization system 46 51
Total-landed-cost analytics software 41 36
Reverse logistics system (robust returns processing) 38 53
Real-time inventory location application for the store 36 43
E-commerce material handling solution for the warehouse 36 33
Cost-of-quality analytics (calculates what fulfillment mistakes cost in terms of
lost customers) 24 17
RFID at the store 23 11
Demand shaping system 22 28
Demand signal repository 22 24
Note: Participants were allowed to select multiple responses.
