By Tod Yazdi, TAGG Logistics
Today’s consumers shop anywhere, anytime. They are a digitally savvy, well-informed bunch that demand nearly limitless product choices through an “endless aisle.” Online shoppers want to have their orders fulfilled pronto—in some cases, within 2 hours, not 2 days—whether for pick-up in the store or delivered to their doorstep. This is the pace driven by today’s omnichannel consumers.
In the case of in-store stock outs, or for orders placed online through an exploding array of channels, omnichannel means instantly informing consumers of “where’s my stuff?” E-commerce channels like Facebook and a surge of flash or deal-of-the day websites and apps such as Groupon, Gilt, and LivingSocial offer tempting buy-now promos.
How is the retail industry addressing the ever-growing, evolving omnichannel? Executives and managers—including retailers, suppliers and third-party logistics providers (3PLs) —presented challenges and solutions through best practices and case studies at the SPS Commerce Omnichannel 2014 conference held on May 2014 in Minneapolis.
My presentation at SPS Omnichannel 2014 shared how 3PLs can support the proliferating omnichannel by being “more things to more people” with national distribution and fulfillment solutions that help the retail industry integrate across multiple channels. For example, TAGG supports its growing base of supplier customers that need to fulfill orders and move their products into retailer distribution centers or stores, or directly to consumers via drop shipping.
TAGG Logistics is a great example of a dynamic 3PL that helps suppliers and retailers with solutions as diverse as high-volume, palletized shipments to fulfilling single orders to a home shopper. Wherever consumers like to shop, TAGG Logistics has fulfillment solutions built to take care of them.
Automation, including EDI solutions, is a key enabler to execute B2B and B2C single handedly. TAGG Logistics was the first 3PL to adopt the SPS Commerce Universal Network solution for Retail Standard XML (RSX) to render swift EDI connections with trading partners. Nevertheless, our current capabilities have only scratched the surface of what’s possible and what’s needed to support the evolving omnichannel.
