Managing the omnichannel (or multichannel) challenge

Number of POS (Point Of Sales) are increasing and will continue to do so, often driven by technology, this means that flexibility in system support is essential
Number of POF (Point Of Fulfillment) continuously increasing
Number of POR (Point Of Returns) will follow the POS
Increased customer demand on improved service levels, faster responses and deliveries
ERPs and other systems were not designed to handle omnichannels
Omnichannel is not only about being able to receive the orders from multiple channels, it is also about optimizing the delivery of goods and ensuring that stock is available as close to the customers as possible to shorten lead times. Customers expect swift deliveries regardless of where they decide to buy the goods, online or in store.
To manage the omnichannel challenge you must see the full supply chain from end to end. It is not enough to optimize the order management or the inventory management. All modules are dependent on each other and must interact and work together.
Profits are difficult to achieve giving the increase customer expectancies, B2C shopping with free shipping is also spilling into the B2B shopping. Optimizing the supply chain becomes more and more important to decrease shipping costs.
Based on a SupplyChainDigest analysis companies often “forget” the return process not realizing that the reverse flow of a return must be optimized in the same way as the normal supply chain to achieve as much profit as possible in this tense environment.
A DOM (Distributed Order Management) solution is required to manage and optimize the order fulfillment logic to ensure customers can be served in the most optimal and efficient way.
Support for redistribution and global inventory visibility is crucial to ensure stock does not become obsolete. Obsolete stock is a luxury no one can