Shopper habits are changing and consumers are now more empowered than ever – they expect the same seamless experience and full product availability wherever and however they buy, whether in a local or out-of-town store, online or mobile. This means that retailers now need to rethink their supply chains and raise their game.
The supply chain is no longer linear – it used to be a relatively straightforward process to get the products from the manufacturer to the distribution centre, then to the stores and ultimately to consumers. Now, the growth in omnichannel retailing has changed the traditional supply chain – by offering more products through more channels has added greater complexity to the process. For example, because of more online shopping consumers can not only order more products conveniently they are also now returning more items and are using multiple ways to do so – in-store, click & collect, delivery to home, delivery to a collection point.
All with the expectation at no extra cost to the consumer.
