A lot of effort for little return?

Despite increasing digitization, retail logistics remains a challenge for a successful omnichannel concept.

The retail sector is under pressure: margins are becoming ever tighter and price transparency is rising. Manufacturers are also ramping up the pressure as they increasingly opt for direct-to-consumer (D2C) selling and the clear advantages this brings. These include better margins, personalization, strengthened brand loyalty, flexibility in product design and the ability to gain information about customers. The result is a growing shift in power towards manufacturers, customers and, of course, the marketplaces that bring the two together.

Omnichannel is seen as a magic cure for the retail sector. But what’s the best way to approach linking the channels?

Establish a corporate culture

Omnichannel is frequently only discussed in technical terms. In the end, however, the seller will be facing the customer – it needs to be fully behind the strategy. Salespeople are used to functionalities being developed without any focus on the experiences and wishes of the sellers. But you can boost the motivation for and acceptance of the omnichannel approach by incorporating staff in the development process. It’s also important to clearly communicate the added value for each individual area.

Develop a comprehensible vision

Everyone needs to know and understand where the path to the future should lead. This requires a clear roadmap showing how this vision should be achieved. If the organization understands where the journey is heading, the staff will be more willing to come on board.

Divide the plan into small parts

Implementing an omnichannel strategy can take months or years. The journey involves a large number of obstacles, all of which cost energy. This means the risk of the organization no longer pulling together grows continually, which is why it’s advisable to split the project into sub-projects. Each successfully completed project should then be celebrated to increase motivation within the organization.

Trial and error

It’s important to quickly bring new functionalities onto the market as minimum viable products (MVPs). These will provide findings for upcoming developments. But having the courage to eliminate a project is also a part of this approach. One common mistake is to become too attached to “your” product.

Andreas Wüthrich speaks on this topic at Connecta Bern.