That’s according to an expert panel of retail and supply chain executives, who laid out a future vision for the sector at the Retail Business Technology Expo in London (UK).
The ‘Retailtopia’ panel of experts believe many businesses could be underestimating the scale and urgency of the transformation needed to thrive in an ‘omnichannel’ world, where customers interact with retailers through a variety of channels and expect seamless and consistent service regardless of which is being used.
The panel said the underlying supply chain model needed to support omnichannel retailing is structurally different from traditional ‘bricks and mortar’ retailing and needs to be overhauled if businesses are to succeed.
The panel recommended that retailers re-evaluate their entire operations from customer service to supply chain and even question if they have the right skills and experience in the boardroom to succeed in an omnichannel world.
One of the major challenges highlighted by the panel was a huge growth in returns from customers. The panel estimated that retailers in some sectors can expect as much as 40% of the products sent out to customers to be returned. On this scale, the total volume of returns could dwarf the amount of brand new goods from any individual manufacturer entering a retailer’s supply chain.
Source: BT
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