Only 5% of US retailers in a 2014 survey said they had executed on most of their omnichannel strategy. Lack of cross channel integration troubled end customers with issues like different retail pricing and cumbersome return process. According to a research firm – RIS, “$45 Million are lost in sales for every billion dollars in revenue, because of lack of cross-channel integration”.
Today, customers and their demands have evolved seeking a seamless shopping experience, irrespective of their geographical location. To cater to this market and enrich the user experience, the big brands are shifting from segment oriented focus to individual-oriented focus.
With product and price comparisons across all marketing channels, retailers are bound to stay consistent on all product information and prices. The order-management system needs to support these changes in business processes. It should identify the channel through which the order was processed and analyze the discounts/price changes to be applied.
Competition is driving retailers to improve user experience. According to RIS, “6.5% is the amount of revenue lost because of the lack of omnichannel readiness.”
In order to make the omnichannel commerce a success, we should have:
- An efficient Order Management System – using which the retailers can process their orders using dynamic fulfillment routing and inventory allocation system. The system will be well-versed to handle different order scenarios that may arise in addition to multiple return and cancellation options. It should also present a proper view of the inventory that is divided into multiple places, based on which the retailers can take decisions regarding its sales and fulfillment. Without the fulfillment system in place, an order cannot be called a completed order – so, the system should also facilitate the store fulfillment which will help the retailers to sell the products to customers where even the carriers refuse to cater.
- Customer Knowledge – today, the retailers should go the extra mile to know their customers, their preferences, purchasing behavior and product feedback. They should be open for a flexible process wherein they would incorporate essential feedbacks and optimize their end products/services.
- A Modern Platform – the retailers need a modern platform with cloud and mobile services that can provide analytics based on tracked customer preferences. The current day market also requires a proper presentation of centralized product data and other customer-facing technologies like self-checkout, kiosks, mobile payments, e-Coupons, etc. and easy integration of systems.
