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Optimizing-omnichannel-performance-Executive-summary

Executive summary

The trend toward globalization and the involvement of operating partners and outside specialists has dramatically improved efficiency and reduced the capital required for rapid growth.

The trend toward globalization and the involvement of operating partners and outside specialists has dramatically improved efficiency and reduced the capital required for rapid growth. Today, we find outsourced activities in most industries and companies. They touch every aspect of the value chain, including shifting production to contract manufacturers and co-packers, selling products through distributors, resellers, and retailers and letting logistics providers and carriers handle every aspect of goods movement.

The end-customers’ impression of a brand depends on the quality and outcome of each interaction with the brand. Every facet, from building awareness, generating interest, and delivering on promises made during the sale, to the feel of the product and the support and service customers receive after the sale, is part of what defines the customer experience.

With the global expansion and outsourcing driving more than a ten-fold hike in the number of parties that somehow touch the end-customer, every stage of customer engagement has become increasingly complex. Ensuring high consistency and quality of the customer experience through all the routes to market and back – direct or indirect, online or brick and mortar – is often referred to as an omnichannel experience and is essential.

Differences in pricing, product exclusivity for certain channels (e.g., online-only, retail-only, etc.), or variations in the type of service are accepted as well as expected. After all, customers may choose retail for entertainment, in-person B2B buying for additional advice, and online for convenience. Regardless of channel, consistency in order fulfillment plays a critical role in the supply chain operations and consumer perception.

Managing the supply chain for exceptional order fulfillment and omnichannel experience has become an end-to-end problem, requiring orchestration of processes between all partner ecosystems, from the consumer, through every tier of distribution and every logistics provider, to the last supplier’s supplier.

To help them navigate these complexities and optimize their performance, brand owners must anchor their management efforts on quality data, process excellence, and lean on powerful software solutions for omnichannel management. By seeking advice and help from companies like Capgemini and E2open, brand owners can understand which data, metrics and KPIs best reflect their objectives, transform and consolidate their processes, and adopt centralized governance and best practice operational models.

This paper provides a deep dive into ensuring consistent fulfillment across the many routes to market. It explains how brand owners can use the channel ecosystem as a secret weapon to optimize performance across all channels to achieve corporate goals such as exceptional customer experience, growth, and profitability.
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