This post was originally published on 15 December 2021 and updated on 2 March 2023
How well is your business geared to deliver the fast fulfilment options consumers expect? Retailers with a single view of inventory across all locations can slash delivery times, profitably.
Over recent years, retailers have adapted to changing consumer demands, evolving channels and rising customer expectations around convenience, choice and speed.
And now they’re in a race to turbocharge their digital and physical fulfilment.
Why is delivery speed so important? Research shows that when delivery times are too long, almost half of omnichannel consumers will shop elsewhere. As for how long is too long, they reveal that over 90 percent of consumers see 2- to 3-day delivery as the baseline, and 30 percent expect same-day delivery.
To succeed in retail in 2023 you also need to provide fulfilment options – from same-to-next-day shipping (for a fee) through to free delivery over a longer timeframe, plus everything in between. Services such as ship-from-store, click-and-collect, endless aisle and returns anywhere are all just table stakes today.
And customers consider reliability to be just as important as speed when it comes to delivery, preferring their orders to arrive when they expect them, rather than be promised a same-day or next-day delivery that never appears.
The challenges of omnichannel delivery
Compressing delivery times requires great execution across all parts of the supply chain.
But most retailers were not prepared for the dramatic increases in shipping volumes during the pandemic - nor the resulting operational challenges.
And while courier and delivery companies are still taking a lot of heat for slow deliveries, many of the delays are due to retailers’ own pick and dispatch times. They can only access rudimentary sales and inventory positions, and have complex systems that are fragile, inefficient and costly to integrate.
While retailer innovators have raised the bar for best-in-class omnichannel operations - our client Cue Clothing was the first Australian fashion brand to offer 1-hour delivery via Uber and Shippit - it’s not unusual for items to take 1 to 2 weeks just to be picked and packed.
So how can technology help compress delivery times?
Unlock the value in your inventory
To provide the speed and convenience consumers expect, retailers are moving from multichannel silos to unified commerce platforms that provide a unified view of inventory across all stores and DCs.
Real-time data on stock levels can benefit your business in many ways:
Reduce inventory costs by ensuring you’ve got the right inventory available in each location, without carrying the cost of overstocking or ‘buffers’
Optimise your product range by matching stock to each store’s location and demographics
Create dark stores for online order fulfilment, turning physical locations into temporary or permanent fulfilment nodes to enable faster delivery and keep retail staff working
React to trends quickly and forecast demand based on historical data, sales forecasts and seasonal variations
Extend your range across more sales channels such as in-store kiosks, shoppable screens, pop-up stores, concessions and mobile devices.
Become omnipotent in omnichannel
And that’s just the start. Once your inventory is under control, you’re free to blend physical and digital channels to create seamless experiences for customers across all channels and touchpoints.
By using your stores for fulfilment or pick-up, you can increase the amount of inventory for sale while reducing inventory cost and slashing delivery times. The return on investment can be spectacular. With endless aisle fulfilment, our clients are achieving at least 200 to 300% growth in online revenue.
You can also build genuinely meaningful customer experiences. With a single view of customer, order and inventory data, you can deliver each customer a powerful, tailored, one-of-a-kind experience across all channels and touchpoints. That will create rich emotional connections, drive up conversions and send your transaction values soaring.
If you’re urgently revamping your omnichannel delivery capabilities and want advice on which projects to tackle first, our checklist could help. It will let you assess where you are at against retail leaders and decide what you need to improve. Download it here.
