01.20.21
As retailers rebuild their distribution schemes as quickly as possible, they are still behind the curve when it comes to how the role of stores is changing and the enormous surge in e-commerce. A little empathy is actually in order, even when you can’t buy exactly what you want when you want it. Patience remains a virtue.
This is about as disruptive as retail can get. “It’s quite a leap to go from expected 14% to 15% annual growth in e-commerce to 45% in a single quarter. How does any DC absorb that?” asks Dan Gilmore, chief of marketing at Softeon.
Success here, says Gilmore, is based on flexibility and knowing where available inventory is at any point in time. Distributed order management provides that visibility and the flexibility to ship from anywhere. “There’s no right or wrong,” says Gilmore, “distributed order management let’s the retailer decide how you want to manage the fulfillment process.”
That’s a powerful force to bring any retailer closer to the customer and add still another angle to omni-channel.
