In this article, we’ll explore the concept of omnichannel ordering, its benefits for customers, and how businesses can take advantage of it.
In the digital age, the way customers interact with brands has changed profoundly. Today’s businesses are faced with an increasingly connected customer, making omnichannel ordering not just relevant, but essential.
74% of retailers claim that their customer satisfaction has increased thanks to the development of their omnichannel strategy. To implement an omnichannel strategy, it is necessary to synchronize all of a company’s services to enable a personalized shopping experience, regardless of the sales channels used by the customer. An omnichannel vision not only increases profits, but also enables the company to adapt to the market.
Thanks to omnichannel sales, e-tailers can adapt more quickly and efficiently to new consumer trends and competitive developments in real time. Having total control over the purchasing process strengthens the customer relationship, which means higher sales and, above all, greater customer satisfaction.
First, we explore the basics and challenges of omnichannel logistics. Next, we’ll look at how Shippingbo can help you develop an optimal omnichannel order-picking strategy. And finally, we’ll look at 4 crucial steps to managing omnichannel orders.
What is omnichannel ordering?
Omnichannel ordering isn’t just a buzzword in the marketing world, it’s a real revolution in the way companies interact with their customers. At its core, omnichannel is about the integration and coherent management of all the sales and service channels a customer may use.
This means that, whether buying in-store, ordering online for home delivery, or booking online and picking up in-store (click & collect), customers should enjoy a seamless experience.
In other words, if a customer starts their shopping journey online, they can choose to complete their purchase in-store, and vice-versa.
The aim is to offer a smooth transition between different channels, and to enable customers to use multiple channels in a single transaction. An e-commerce OMS like the one offered by Shippingbo is an excellent way of achieving this goal.
Omnichannel benefits for customers and companies
1. Seamless customer experience: Thanks to omnichannel, customers enjoy a frictionless shopping experience. Information is synchronized in real time, enabling customers to switch between channels without having to repeat information or encounter obstacles.
2. More choice for customers: Customers can choose how, when and where they interact with a brand. They can browse online, then try and buy in-store, or search in-store and have it delivered to their home.
3. Improved customer loyalty: When a company offers a seamless omnichannel experience, it increases customers’ trust in its brand, encouraging them to return.
4. Better data collection: Companies can track customers’ buying journey across different channels, offering valuable insights to refine their marketing strategy.
5. Increased sales: An omnichannel approach can lead to increased sales. By offering a consistent customer experience and multiple touchpoints, the chances of conversion increase.
In a world where the customer is king, omnichannel is the throne on which the customer sits. For companies, embracing omnichannel ordering means embracing the future, putting the customer at the heart of their strategy, to deliver the perfect shopping experience.
The main principles of distribution
Omnichannelity has several facets that it is important to understand in order to perfect your logistics:
- Pre-sales / catalog / marketing,
- Payment,
- And, post-sales / customer relations / withdrawal …
In concrete terms, this means :
- Multi-channel : 1 dedicated stock for each channel, whether a physical store or different sales channels.
- Cross-channel: 1 unified stock for all channels. Stock is unified for each sales channel.
- Omnichannelity: 1 unified and consolidated stock from several locations, with physical stores for example, enabling you to split your stock everywhere at the same time.
The role of omnichannel in e-commerce
Omnichannelity enables e-tailers to address several issues at once, such as :
- Multiply business volume (B.V.),
- Consistent tracking across all sales channels,
- Diversify risks: the more you distribute through different sales channels, the lower the risk,
- And, multiply the opportunities to see (ODV)
Tools are available to help you distribute your catalog on different sales channels:
- After-sales service manager : collects complaints and centralizes them,
- Shippingbo logistics aggregator
- The feed aggregator,
- And, a repricer
Let’s take a look at the different types of sales channels available.
1. ERP: a bridge between online and offline
ERP is a software package that manages all a company’s operational processes by integrating several management functions: order management, inventory management, payroll and accounting, and omnichannel e-commerce management. This software is integrated via an ERP connector, which you can find on our website.
Shippingbo has put together an ERP portrait for you.
- Who is it for: Offline players
- Which features? Offline, billing
- What are the benefits? 360° management of your business
- What are the drawbacks? Implementation costs
- Cost / Business model? Implementation and subscription
- Implementation? Implementation via integrator
2. CMS: too long seen as the all-purpose tool
Each CMS has its own customer typology, and should therefore be carefully considered before being adopted.
- Who is it for? Players with e-commerce sites
- Which features? The site is customizable, so you can set it up and modify it as you wish. CMS have source code that’s already been developed for you, so no coding or web development skills are required. So it’s easy to get started with these tools.
- What are the benefits? Develop your brand image and customer portfolio
- What are the drawbacks? To promote your site, you’ll need to invest heavily in SEA (Search Engine Optimization), for example.
- Cost / Business model: Open-source, subscription, commission
- Implementation : Via agencies or SaaS
So you need to be careful when choosing a CMS, as they all have their own prices and specialities.
3. Marketplaces: develop new markets at lower cost and reach new targets
Selling on a marketplace seems an undeniable opportunity when you want to get started quickly, without investing a massive amount of time and budget in communication. It’s also a way of taking advantage of the strike force of marketplaces and the visibility they offer.
General or specialist marketplaces…. The choice is yours!
4. Private Sales: mass product sales on special occasions
Whether on Veepee, Groupon or even Showroomprivé, the number of private sales sites has multiplied in recent years. Whether generalists or specialists, they have emerged from an innovative concept that has profoundly redefined consumer habits. The players in this sector offer members access to top brand items at unbeatable discounts. So it’s important to understand how they work, and how you, as an e-tailer, can make the most of this sales channel.
- Who is it for? Players with large quantities of stock
- Which features? Create product sheets, manage orders, …
- What are the benefits? Sales are rapid and in large quantities.
- What are the drawbacks? You don’t really have complete control over the selling price, or your brand image. Above all, delivery times can be long (pallets sent to the private sale for shipment).
- Cost / Business model: Commissions and other services sold additionally
- Implementation : Manual
Steps to follow for omnichannel order management
We have defined the best way to manage omnichannel orders according to the level of development of your business:
- Connect all your sales channels and carriers. Merchants are at the beginning of their development and can start selling on sales channels. His main need is to edit labels easily. He wants to benefit from transport contracts that are advantageous to him.
- The merchant is growing and starting to ship more and more orders. In addition to printing labels, he needs to organize his warehouse and storage area to optimize preparation time and picking.
- As merchants grow, they need to distribute their stock in real time everywhere, automate label printing, set up transport mapping and optimize omnichannel order preparation.
Merchants prepare and ship orders on a massive scale. He must connect multiple warehouses and orchestrate his orders: he is called upon by fulfillment logisticians or wishes to dispatch his stock to other warehouses.
Discover OMS Shippingbo for successful omnichannel ordering
Shippingbo has compiled 6 essential tips to help you implement the best possible omnichannel order management.
- It is important to choose your sales channels according to specific, well-defined criteria (distribution, investment, ROI, etc.).
- You need to surround yourself with players who make omnichannel possible.
- Don’t rush ! Omnichannel deployment is a long process.
- Make sure you deliver with the right carriers (mapping)
- Choose the right logistics provider to ensure that your stocks are up to date.
- And finally, consider deploying logistics that are both in-house and outsourced, without locking yourself into a single model.
