Omnichannel Fulfilment
Moderated by Manhattan Associates
Storytellers: New Look, Boots
- We are all feeling the same pain
- Invest in a key system to best understand and have visibility of stock locations & numbers
- Moving from rapid agility to a long-term sustainable in store fulfilment model
- You need a single view of stock across stores and DC
- De-centralise
- Stock visibility is key to utilising other channels stock
- Local hubs to support store fulfilment
- Order management – mitigating cost sales is key to business case
- Comforting that we’re all in the same boat; also it’s time to look at systems. One must fit us!
- Investment is key
- Inventory visibility and routing of orders is a common challenge
- In the current climate having an omnichannel proposition is critical to enable a decentralised fulfilment network
- Future collaboration to use the network in between the retailers
- Missed sales by SKU by hour – gaps
- Challenges of cross border returns and systems where stock is not integrated (retail/ecommerce)
- Leverage store stock to ensure never losing a sale.
- Omnichannel fulfilment can open new channels reaching and increasing customers but at the same time challenge customer experience e.g returns
- Returns are as hard as fulfilment.
- Review distributed demand capacity vs customer proposition
- Pick ecomm orders from stores – Deliveroo, what can that do for us?
- Easier to recruit for stores, DC to maintain fulfilment because of labor shortage
Optimising inventory, space and resource
Moderated by Manhattan Associates
Storyteller: John Lewis
- Christmas will be very tough – there’s not enough resources but similar/same customer expectations
- “Labour challenges” is the biggest theme today
- How should we commit to long-term change on limited information/certainty
- Labour rate for peak
- Seems like a different world!
- We’re all in the same boat
- What will it all look like in January?
- Labour requirements need to meet customer expectations
Evolution of Delivery Models
Moderated by Stuart
Storytellers: Farfetch, OddBox & Screwfix
- Balance between green and speed? Customers want to pick a sustainable option if available
- Consumers want choice but are flexible
- Exposure of data at checkout for greener use of final mile vehicles
- How do we promote a ‘sustainable’ delivery service and make it land as ‘premium’
- Considering offering sustainable delivery options in checkout
- Important to truly understand the customer
- Capacity demands and challenges and how close influence delivery and fulfilment offers
- Insuring to put the customer needs first
- Offer wide variety of choices to suit different shopping missions
- Is convenience more important than speed?
- Sustainability is increasingly important for retailer and customers
- Huge issue around HGV drivers/warehouse workforce
- Need a premium option but price it sensibly
- Push green delivery options
- Hard to know what customer expectations on delivery really are
- With sustainable delivery options don’t guarantee a date + collate deliveries together
- Sustainability vs speed – What does a customer want in a post pandemic world & what are people willing to pay – Only time will tell
- The customer still rules in final mile delivery options
- Sustainability is key but not all customers will pay for it
- Millennials want speed and ship from store is a solution
- We don’t know yet what all our customers will want
- Need to listen to our customers, what options do they want?
- Plethora of data and services, how do we cut through it and simplify?
- Give customers choice: same day, next day, standard
- Choice is king, collaboration, honesty and trust are needed to solve issues together
- Commerce products of retailers irrespective of vertical
- Plenty of choice for carrier management
- Choice is key. Manage expectations instead of problems
- Nobody knows what the future will be and what customers want
- Consumer behaviour needs to be altered?? To create a more joined up and collaborative approach so that different flexible delivery options can be explored
- The ‘right’ delivery model comes down to your business model and you customer expectations. We as companies also need to manage customer expectations and intervene?
People, Peak & Agility
Moderated by DHL
Storytellers: John Lewis, Kingfisher & Joules
- Prepare the business for change in proposition options
- How to forecast the shortfalls in orders & imports pre-Christmas is impossible
- Christmas sounds like it’s going to be tough
- Wages need to increase
- Peak is going to be bloody hard for all of us
- We’re likely to see fundamental and permanent changes to labour and wages
- Flexibility of peak / temporary labour contracts
- Lease automation equipment
- Flexible automation
- Career prospects and development opportunities are now readily available in logistics and supply chain
- 3PL partners need to lead collaboration across customers
- Flexibility in labour plan
- Creative incentives to retain/recruit are needed
- Future of labour calls for flexibility
- What non monetary incentives can we give to staff?
- Increase automation to reduce resource pressure
- Flexible working incentives for warehouse staff
- To service peak we need to be more flexible and adaptable to ensure we have enough resource to meet the business demands
Sustainability in the Supply Chain
Moderated by DHL
Storytellers: Vivobarefoot, Crew Clothing & Fruugo
- Optimize inbound packaging even if the customers don’t see it
- Behaviour! Behaviour! Behaviour!
- Sustainability is not tipping the balance between cost and it’s desirability
- Shoe refurbishment
- FOJ recycling
- Need to plan for the future and prepare sustainability statement for your website
- A lot of companies are at the start of their journeys – new board buy in
- Definition & measurement design in
- Small things are a start
- Collection of ‘other’ packaging when delivering new parcels
- We all have reporting cost issues
- We don’t yet know what customers want
- Just start small as this will make the difference
- Customers need educating in sustainability
- Share successes, measurement and transparency as this is the only way behaviours will change
- There’s a lack of education around packaging material
- Celebrate the successes and each small amount adds up
- Interesting variations on packaging, we are all interested in the same theme
- Customer choice – Do you want it quick or do you want it green? Will there be a quick / green solution?
- Everyone needs to buy into it
- We can’t all do everything, but we can all do something
- Always question
- Opportunities are enormous
- Everyone can do something to be more sustainable, you don’t need to be perfect to do something
- Check packaging and product sustainability credentials. E.g. Validate suppliers and certificates etc
- Start doing what you can today to get ready for tomorrows requirements
- Purpose over profit
Collaboration in Fulfilment
Moderated by Wincanton
Storytellers: Eve Sleep, Ann Summers & Dobbies
- Understand each others needs and customer expectations and turn it all on its head
- What is the motivation behind collaboration? Cost reduction or enhanced customer service?
- The sense of a new beginning in collaboration
- 3PLs have a key role to play in being product / brand agnostic to bring efficiencies to retailers
- Collaboration builds trust in customer service /experience. Always moving – red line for data sharing
- Share ideas with similar retailers to enhance the operations & customer experience
- Collaboration has cost and environmental benefits, but the initial step requires a degree of trust between retailers and further discussions
- Collaboration in supply chain and logistics can not only enable cost savings but also empower sustainability solutions
- Using tools and solutions that allow brands to share resource and capability
- The questions should not be ‘can we collaborate’ it should be ‘what is stopping us’?
- Collaboration = nourishment.
- Sharing of knowledge and experience needs to come about by breaking down barriers.
- Collaboration is essential as our industry pushes capacity and faces increasing legislation.
- We need agreed standards as prerequisites for collaboration across our eco-systems.
- We will have to collaborate due to resource and sustainability.
- How to increase the level of international collaborations and localisation.
- How to take the Hive experience into the real world and build trust.
- Collaboration is education and the key to the future.
- Developing the role of the 3PLs to collaborate amongst themselves and drive value for the customer
- Collaborate with other retailers and brands to consolidate and improve operations
- Taking relationships beyond KPIs… depends on non-competitive partners
- Not willing to work collaboratively with direct competitors, 3PL should mediate
- Can 3PLs generate transport savings?
- Shared urban consolidation centres
- Driven by 3PLs and like minded brands
- 3PLs should share knowledge
- John lewis and amazon – brave bold as a result of a borrowing platform… time to think differently