OrderDynamics Featured in Recent eMarketer Omni-Channel Fulfillment Report

With unprecedented sales, news of flying drones, bad weather and the now infamous delivery debacle, the 2013 retail holiday season was a watershed moment for Omni-Channel retailing. A lot can be learned from last year’s holiday season and that precisely is the focus of a recently published report by eMarketer entitled DELIVERY AND PICKUP TRENDS: RETAILERS SEEK THE PATH TO FULFILLMENT. The report (available to eMarketer subscribers) explores the lessons learned from last year’s holiday season and how retailers are meeting the changing demands and expectations of consumers through an Omni-Channel strategy rooted in fulfillment efforts.

Takeaways from the 2013 Holiday Season 

According to comScore the November-to-December 2013 period broke ecommerce records with a staggering $46.5 billion in sales. While The United States Postal Service’s prediction of a 12% increase in shipping volumes last year fell short of the more than 19% reality, carriers cannot shoulder all the blame. As the report notes, both carriers and retailers were unprepared for the unprecedented surge in online sales, leading to overpromising and under-delivering on customer deliveries. Citing a study by StellaService and consulting firm Kurt Salmon, the report notes that retailers made several errors including failing to upgrade their shipping capabilities to accommodate last-minute orders. Going forward, for the 2014 holiday season the report mentions that some retailers will attempt to spread out sales to mitigate the amount of shopping on Cyber Monday. In addition, retailers such as Best Buy will continue to leverage their stores for fulfillment to meet fast delivery times.

The Gap in Omni-Channel Fulfillment Execution 
The report also notes that while retailers acknowledge the value of seamless fulfillment there is still a gap in execution -- a finding very much in line with our recent Forrester Research report, The Retail Order Management Imperative. Moreover, enabling cross-channel offerings and revamping supply chains requires a significant investment of time and resources. eMarketer broached the topic with key findings from The Retail Order Management Imperative, as well as in an interview with OrderDynamics President Michael Turcsanyi. Michael notes that the role of real-time inventory and the challenges of inventory accuracy within an Omni-Channel commerce strategy has led to many retailers to delay investments into Omni-Channel strategy. In addition, the report focuses on in-store fulfillment and the impact such programs can have on store revenue and even customer loyalty. In speaking of efficiencies and profitability gained from in-store fulfillment programs, Michael explains, "The big picture here for a retailer at scale is big money. There’s a lot of money at stake around improving profitability and driving new net revenue into their stores."

Click here to access the full report to learn more about how multi-channel retailers are rethinking the store for fulfillment.