‘Omnichannel’ supply chain key to digital success

If businesses needed a reminder of the growing prominence of supply-chain management in the e-commerce era, the image of Amazon drones delivering orders on network television this year likely provided it.
The Internet sales giant has proven the importance of streamlining the flow of products across the globe even as it introduces further automated efficiencies and digital tools to rush goods faster and more cheaply to customers than ever.
For many businesses, competing in the digital marketplace now increasingly requires what managers call an “omnichannel” supply chain capable of delivering inventory seamlessly across multiple platforms.
It allows customers to order goods from a computer or mobile device and pick them up at a store or have them delivered to their home, while at the same time giving the retailer the ability to stock only what it needs to sell at that moment.
To operate omnichannel, manufacturers, retailers and distributors all need to work together to manage inventory on a “just-in-time” basis. Because retailers don’t want to operate shipping networks, manufacturers or third-party firms often offer fulfillment services that have to appear to the customer like they are coming from the retailer.
And it’s not just for retailers.
Business-to-business companies use the same concepts to connect networks of vendors and suppliers all the way from raw-material procurement to the finished product.
“Omnichannel is largely driven by mobile technology and customers’ expectation to receive anything, anytime from anywhere, seamlessly,” said Teresa McCarthy, associate professor of marketing and global supply-chain management at Bryant University, which is co-hosting the upcoming Supply Chain Management Summit on Aug. 21.
Omnichannel is just one of the new concepts driving advances in supply-chain efficiency and expected to be hot topics at the summit, now in its seventh year since being created by Cheryl Snead, CEO of North Smithfield supply-chain-management company Banneker Industries.
In addition to the omnichannel marketplace, which will be the subject of three summit sessions, including a keynote, topics at the summit include the cutting-edge technologies making high-speed distribution possible, the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, health care supply chains and global macro-economic risk.
Where last year’s summit had grown to 18 breakout sessions, this year organizers have brought it back down to 12 to provide more time and depth on each topic. “This year we have pursued a national reach,” said Junior Jabbie, sales and marketing manager at Banneker Industries and presenter of a session on supply-chain optimization. “We are going beyond Rhode Island and beyond New England. But one thing I am happy about is there is quite a bit of local industry support and talent on display.”
The two keynote speakers are Larry Lapide, research affiliate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for Transportation and Logistics – who will discuss his research into the factors most likely to shape supply chains in 2020 – and Jim Tompkins, CEO of Tomkins International, who will talk about Alibaba and what its entry into the United States could mean for businesses here.
Eventually, Bryant and Banneker see the supply-chain summit growing into a multiday event with a global reach and awards program to recognize top industry performers.
Organizers are also looking to expand the educational side of the event to get increased participation from other schools with supply-chain programs, such as the University of Rhode Island, MIT and Pennsylvania University, plus greater practical learning experiences for students throughout the year.
Last year’s event drew about 250 people and summit organizers expect a similar number this year.
On hot topics this year, along with omnichannel, Jabbie said a related supply- chain trend he is seeing is “managed inventory” and collaboration between suppliers, vendors, manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers.
McCarthy said another key subject will be keeping up with the latest supply-chain technology, such as the “voice-to-pick” system Jerry Pimental, vice president, supply chain, at Stop & Shop New England, will be discussing, which directs distribution-center employees to fill orders in the warehouse through headsets. Such systems are part of the technological evolution in inventory management that point eventually toward fully automated facilities and Amazon’s drone plans.
“These are challenges not just for brick-and-mortar retailers, but ripple up and down the supply chain,” McCarthy said. “We will be talking about how this can translate into business-to-business companies and how vendors need to adopt these strategies.” •

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