BT for Retail Supply chain solutions for omni-channel success
While customer experience rightly gets a lot of attention, the forgotten front of omni-channel retailing is the supply chain. It is here that retailers can do much more to deliver what it promises to their customers and their bottom lines. Gary Sharp, VP Retail and Supply Chain, BT Global Services 2
How can retailers improve profits in the current climate? Retailers need to drive revenue by attracting new customers, retaining existing ones and selling more to them through more channels. And that s true whether the customer is a consumer, wholesaler, franchisee, concession or other partner. Growth may come from international expansion into emerging markets where operational ability and speed to market are crucial. Or from improving operational efficiency in mature markets and here, technology is the key. Omni means everything, and it s everywhere... The popular strategy for achieving this goal is omnichannel retailing. It s a simple idea: customers see you as one brand, so act the same way everywhere. But putting that into practice is a bit more complex. Click & collect, for example, sounds attractive and customers love it. But knowing where all your stock is across a distributed set of outlets, and then managing transfers and returns efficiently, can be very costly if it s not done properly....so you need to get a lot of things right The to-do list for omni-channel supply chain managers is not short: achieve accurate inventory visibility across the whole supply chain maximise on-shelf availability sweat the inventory understand where cost is incurred create efficient stock pools to support click & collect manage reverse logistics cost-effectively reduce phantom inventory with automated stock-checking On top of this, own-label clothing retailers have to manage the whole product lifecycle from design and sourcing, right through to assigning stock and customer order fulfilment. 3
Retailtopia: what supply chain success looks like We asked a panel of industry experts to investigate how retailers need to evolve their supply chain operations to meet the challenges of omni-channel retailing. The findings highlighted the importance of: 1. Visibility sharing data across a supply chain can improve visibility, accuracy and ultimately profitability 2. Collaboration sharing physical infrastructure with other companies supply chains can reduce costs without impacting service 3. Knowing the cost the cost of processing returns is not well-understood and can be 2-3 times outward fulfilment 4. Reverse logistics returns processing can eat up 35% of transaction profit, especially for clothing retailers where returns rates are highest 5. Turning it around returns should be treated as conversion opportunities, and the store seen as a service point It s clear that services to enable collaboration and improve supply chain visibility are going to be of huge strategic value to omnichannel retailers in the future, as they can help reduce operational costs and drive down the cost to serve. The Retailtopia panel Chair James Spittle FCILT, chairman, GS1 UK David Wild, non-executive director, Premier Foods, former CEO of Halfords Neil Ashworth FCILT, chief executive, Collect+, former supply chain director, Tesco.com and Woolworths Dean Wyatt, VP business development retail UK, DHL Supply Chain Milton Guffogg, chief operating officer, GA Europe Tom Barry, managing partner, H&B Europe Professor Alan Braithwaite, CEO, LCPS Chris Poole, global customer service development director, Diageo plc 4
Supply chain solutions for omni-channel retailers BT has a range of products and services to help retailers address the challenges of omni-channel operations. All retailers BT Global Trace Secure sharing of data across the whole supply chain to give accurate near real-time end-to-end visibility. TNT saw a 17% improvement in operational efficiency when it implemented BT Global Trace for its customer Ericsson BT Warehouse Trace Best practice warehouse management with a highly adaptable, cloud-based architecture. delivers a 53% increase in order picking accuracy 1 BT Asset Trace Manage reusable transport items (RTIs) and mobile assets to gain visibility and optimise utilisation. get a 40% reduction on loss of equipment and under utilisation of assets 2 BT Inventory Trace Count, manage and track inventory to maximise availability and minimise costs. benefit from a 30%+ increase in stock availability 3 BT Trace for Retail An item-level RFID solution that increases sales and improves customer service. gain an increase of up to 20% in sales 4 Fashion, apparel, and general goods retailers Mercatus Built for omni-channel trading, Mercatus provides a single source of product data and delivers a single view of inventory across all channels. It focuses on the internal part of the supply chain, from warehousing and logistics to stock allocation, replenishment and customer order fulfilment. Momentis Fashion System A product lifecycle management software system for own-label clothing retailers covering design, sampling, quotation, sourcing, pricing and margin. Sources 1: HighJump, 2: Omnitrol, 3: syncron.com, 4: Motorola 5
A complete portfolio of retailer-specific services from BT STORE DIGITAL CUSTOMER EMPLOYEE Networks for retailers Integrated Store CRM best practice Store mobility Mobile point of sale FrescaCommerce Platform CRM loyalty programmes e-learning Managed payments E-commerce site design Contact centres Workforce optimisation Digital marketing Social media Integrated Store Conferencing/video 3G rapid site Online marketing Clienteling Unified communications BT Managed Store Email marketing E-gift cards CCTV security Retail traffic analytics Mobile vouchers Field force automation Built on an unrivalled breadth and depth of network infrastructure and communications expertise BT Connect BT One BT Contact BT Compute BT Assure Networks that think Services to connect you to employees, customers and the world. Communications that unify Collaborate more efficiently with employees, suppliers, customers and business partners. Relationships that grow Complete contact management solutions for organisations aspiring to world class customer service. Security that matters Powerful security and risk management products to build a sustainable business with added security and resilience in every process. Services that adapt Enjoy the benefits of a high-security data centre to improve agility, flexibility and resilience, and save money while strengthening your capabilities by simplifying your IT estate. 6
With great supply comes great demand Consumers increasingly expect 24/7 access to channels and instant information on stock availability. But this puts huge pressures on the supply chain. We can help you fulfil the promise of omni-channel retailing with a range of products and services designed specifically for retailers. Snapshot: omni-channel in action Aurora Fashions manages Coast, Oasis and Warehouse, some of the UK s most respected women s fashion brands. The group has over 760 stores in the UK and a total portfolio of over 1,250 stores in 38 markets across the globe. Aurora Fashions recently launched Anywhere, Everywhere, a strategy in which all selling channels both on and offline are integrated so that order fulfilment across all channels is realised from one stock pool. Stock records are now updated in real-time and kept consistently in sync between hundreds of stores, a central distribution centre (DC) and 28 digital commerce channels. This delivers more availability without increased inventory costs by sourcing products across the stores and DC in real-time. The ability to dynamically fulfil orders from across the entire store network has reduced product fragmentation, internal stock transfers and markdowns. Anywhere, Everywhere gives every store the opportunity to boost sales by fulfilling web orders and enables even the smallest stores to have access to the brand s full product range, even much sought after limited edition pieces. Mike Shearwood, Chief Executive, Aurora Fashions 7
We can help you fulfil the promise of omni-channel retailing We d love to discuss with you how our supply chain services could help you realise what omni-channel retailing has to offer for your customers and your bottom line. To arrange a demonstration or pilot of any of the BT Trace products or Mercatus, please contact your BT account manager. For more information on BT for Retail visit www.bt.com/retail Offices worldwide The telecommunications services described in this publication are subject to availability and may be modified from time to time. Services and equipment are provided subject to British Telecommunications plc s respective standard conditions of contract. Nothing in this publication forms any part of any contract. British Telecommunications plc 2013 Registered office: 81 Newgate Street, London EC1A 7AJ Registered in England No: 1800000 Designed by Westhill.co.uk PHME 66869