ficulties in the order fulfillment end
of their operations. To get a fuller
picture of how they’re dealing with
the online shopping piece of the
omnichannel puzzle, the survey also
asked respondents a few questions
about their fulfillment practices and
strategies.
With respect to how retailers fulfill
e-commerce orders, the results indicated that the industry has yet to settle on a standard approach. While the
largest share of respondents, 60 percent, fill orders through a traditional
DC that also handles e-commerce
orders, that was by no means universal practice. Another 37 percent said
items were shipped directly from the
manufacturer or supplier, 32 percent
said orders were filled from a store,
and 25 percent used a Web-only DC.
Digging deeper into store-based
fulfillment practices, the survey
asked respondents how they handled
e-commerce orders fulfilled through
a brick-and-mortar store. Responses
included picking orders at the store
and holding them for customer pickup (65 percent), picking orders and
shipping them from the store (also 65
percent), and shipping orders from
the DC to the store for customer
pickup ( 45 percent). When asked
where they pick store orders, 78 percent said they selected items from
store shelves, and 50 percent from the
stockroom. (Survey participants were
allowed to select multiple responses.)
Regardless of how those orders
are picked, statistics suggest that a
significant percentage of them will
be returned. What that means for retailers is
clear: Returns management is fast becoming a
high-stakes endeavor—and how they handle
it could dictate whether they thrive or merely
survive in the brave new world of omnichan-
nel.
EXHIBIT 3
HOW DO YOU RECOVER SUPPLY CHAIN
COSTS AT YOUR COMPANY?
(% of respondents)
Method Response
Collect fees for expedited delivery 55
Collect delivery fees for all orders 41
Collect fees for returns shipment 30
Collect fees for returns processing 20
Other 16
Collect fees for in-store order fulfillment 7
Note: Participants were allowed to select multiple responses.
EXHIBIT 4
ARE YOU ABLE TO MEASURE THE
FINANCIAL IMPACT OF RETURNS?
(% of respondents)
Method Response
We can measure the full financial impact of returns 42
We have a general idea of the financial impact
of returns 32
We are guessing at the financial impact of returns 17
We cannot measure the financial impact of returns 10
Note: Total is over 100 percent because of rounding.
EXHIBIT 5
WHAT OMNICHANNEL CAPABILITIES DO
YOU CURRENTLY ENABLE?
(% of respondents)
Capability Response
Order at store, fulfill from warehouse 52
Parcel return, even when goods were bought in a store 45
Return to store, even when goods are ordered online 39
Rebalancing inventory by shipping excess inventory
from one store to another 38
Order at one store, fulfill from another store 30
Note: Participants were allowed to select multiple responses.
