The binomial between e-commerce and physical store marks the current success of the Great Consumption
In a context of disruptive changes in consumer habits, the success of a company in the consumer sector passes through the seamless integration of e-commerce and physical store into its operational processes.
This was revealed during the 6th Aecoc Supply Chain Congress which was held on Tuesday, November 22nd in Madrid, under the motto ‘Think big, transform the chain’.
The challenges presented by the omnicanality and electronic commerce in the Great Consumption, have been one of the hot topics of the meeting, have been debated in a roundtable that has had the participation of the logistics directors of the DIA Group, Privalia and Media Saturn Iberia, who have analyzed, among other issues, the new demands of consumers, the supply chain to deploy in traditional and online sales, the importance of digitization or collaboration with suppliers.
Flexibility to be omnicanal
For the more than 400 attendees who have met in Congress, the main challenge facing the omnichannel is the flexibility of a company’s operational capacity, according to 60% of the respondents during the meeting. For 12% is the home delivery, for 17% returns and for the remaining 11% the need to keep the customer permanently informed.
In this sense, the speakers at the table have more or less agreed with the audience. For Julián Villena, of the DIA Group, flexibility is also the main challenge, while for Manuel Sala, of Media Saturn Iberia, the key is the management of the stock.
For its part, Pol Lligoña, Privalia has considered too low the importance that the auditor has given to returns, since reverse logistics “is a topic that is beginning to speak but in which we have to delve much more.”
Depending on the nature of the company, the actions to be implemented will be different. Thus, for the DIA Group, the key has been to be “reasonable” at the start when it comes to investing in new assets to meet demand online, so they opted to rely on their stores. In any case, “the logistics model of e-commerce must be hyperflexible,” as the Privalia Supply Chain director pointed out.
Ultra-fast delivery
With regard to the race for ultra-fast deliveries, the feeling that has been perceived is that this solution must be offered almost obligatorily.
Something similar happens in the e-commerce of food. “It is a market where you have to be, even though the margins are narrow, as it is essential for the loyalty of customers who will buy products through other channels, perhaps more profitable,” according to the DIA Group manager.
According to Lligoña, “we are marking rules of the game as standards when perhaps the profitability is not so high.” For Privalia’s logistical director, the key is to bet on added value and an acceptable service with respect to your value proposition. In this regard, Sala points out that, more than ultra-fast deliveries, customers value more the possibility of arranging the time and date of delivery.