Tag: supply chain

  • Stop Making Customers Think in Channels

    Paid partnership with Manhattan Associates


    At the recent Manhattan Exchange in Barcelona, Natalie had the opportunity to sit down with Pieter Van den Broecke, EMEA Leader, Supply Chain Commerce Strategies, at Manhattan Associates. They discussed opportunities with AI, rethinking the post-purchase experience and achieving a truly unified commerce offering.

    AI isn’t exactly a recent development. Why all the hype now?

    You’re right. In fact, during World War II, artificial intelligence was used to mobilise troops!

    Retailers have used AI for decades to help them make decisions in a world of constraints. A machine can only produce 100 bottles of champagne in an hour. A ship moving goods from China to the port of Barcelona takes three weeks. Retail operations are all about fulfilling demand to the consumer, while dealing with many real-life physical constraints and uncertainty. AI helps businesses to work around those constraints and make sure that the right product is getting into the hands of the right consumer at the right time.

    Generative AI is, of course, what’s new. By providing insights based on collective memory, Gen AI helps operational engineers to design the right solutions for the business. Gen AI can assist in building solutions by taking over configuration tasks, testing, and even coding certain elements of the system.

    Pieter Van den Broecke, EMEA Leader, Supply Chain Commerce Strategies, Manhattan Associates

    I can see how Gen AI drives operational efficiencies for retailers. But how does it improve the experience for the customer?

    When we talk about the online customer experience, we’re really referring to the “order and fulfilment experience”. When customers change their minds or when things go wrong, they want an immediate solution and ideally through self-service. This is where Gen AI comes in. Gen AI chatbots, for example, can deal with very complex queries in real-time. A customer simply needs to say, “Hey, I placed an order a week ago and I’m still waiting on delivery.” Or “Remind me what items I ordered again – was it a blue shirt or a red shirt?”.  So it’s very natural, personalised and, most importantly, it’s contextually and factually correct.

    In those cases where the Gen AI chatbot can’t solve a customer query, a conversation summary is produced and passed on to a real human being. This allows the customer support team to continue the conversation without having to go through the questions again, saving both the retailer and customer time.

    Let’s talk about the post-purchase experience. What are the benefits of allowing customers to modify their online orders?

    Sometimes we change our minds and need to cancel or change an order. By facilitating late order cancellations, ideally before the order has been shipped, the retailer is firstly improving the experience for the customer by removing the need for a return and also by being refunded immediately. The retailer benefits by keeping the product in stock and commercially available, plus the delivery (and potentially return) costs are eliminated. And of course, it’s a more sustainable way of retailing if we don’t have to deliver something that would ultimately be returned. It really is a win for the consumer, a win for the planet and a win for the retailer.

    What exactly do we mean by unified commerce and can you give us an example?

    Unified commerce is putting customers at the centre of the retail brand experience. Customers don’t want to think in channels and retailers shouldn’t be forcing that on them, but it still happens too often today.

    As a retail organisation, it’s critical to really think from the ground up with a unified commerce mindset. You have to embrace technology with your heart and mind. It’s not an afterthought. Your digital core has to be strong, at any level of the organization, and with the consumer in the centre.

    You might have heard about a concept called Omnicart, which is a shopping basket that can be filled digitally. If you opt to collect the goods in-store, that digital shopping basket then becomes a physical one, unifying the customer’s journey. This means that orders initiated in any channel can be completed, returned or exchanged in any other channel, and it also gives store associates greater upsell/cross-sell opportunities.

    There’s a huge opportunity to unify promotional activity here. Traditionally, promotions have been very channel-specific but technology is breaking down those silos. So, if a customer sees a 10% discount online for an item, this can also be applied to an in-store purchase along with any other discounts on different items. I think this is a really nice example of stretching people’s minds on what unified commerce can look like in practice.

    In one sentence, what is the most important thing that retailers can do after reading this?

    Identify the biggest friction that you create for your customer and start addressing this immediately.


    This is an abridged version of Pieter’s interview with Natalie on the Retail Disrupted podcast. Listen to the full episode here.

  • How Do You Actually Achieve Unified Commerce?

    Paid partnership with Manhattan Associates


    What do you call a retailer with a relentless drive to enhance the customer experience? This may sound like the start of a geeky retail joke but it’s a serious question. We used to brand these more nimble businesses as “disruptors”. They were the ones ripping up the rulebook, defying the status quo and continuously elevating the shopper experience.

    Today, I’d argue that all retailers need to adopt a mentality of perpetual disruption. In the fast-moving world of retail, today’s innovations quickly become tomorrow’s norms. You’ve got to keep evolving and experimenting. Failing fast has become a prerequisite. 

    This was evidenced in a new study from Manhattan Associates. The inaugural Unified Commerce Benchmark for Specialty Retail in Europe assessed 50 retailers across three verticals (apparel and footwear, home and DIY, luxury) in five European markets (France, Germany, Italy, UK, the Netherlands).

    Retailers were categorised as Leaders, Challengers, Followers and Laggards. The study then revealed common attributes of successful retailers across four categories: Search and Discovery; Cart and Checkout; Promising and Fulfilment; Service and Support. So what have we learned?

    Firstly, the study called out four participating retailers as true leaders in Unified Commerce: Adidas, H&M, Leroy Merlin and M&S. These businesses aren’t just ticking boxes by offering capabilities such as real-time inventory statistics and product recommendation tools; they are actively embracing technologies that enable them to deliver more nuanced, and increasingly personalised, customer experiences.

    And it’s paying off. The study found that Unified Commerce leaders’ revenue growth outperforms non-leaders by at least twofold.

    Guided Inspiration, Rich Findability and Immersive StoryTelling

    Leaders in ‘Search and Discovery’ help shoppers discover meaningful products, whether they are looking to fulfil an immediate need or are looking for inspiration. Most leaders in this space already bundle product offerings (offer suggestions to ‘buy the look’ or ‘buy the set’), and I imagine this will become the norm in the very near future as more retailers embrace the power of AI.

    There is always room for improvement and Manhattan specifically calls out capabilities like offering real-time visibility on product description pages (PDP), inventory status callouts for low/out-of-stock items, and personalised recommendations on home page. Retailers should also strive for greater visibility of delivery times, for example by allowing shoppers to filter by fulfilment method.

    Most leaders offer back-in-stock notifications and 100% of them provide product sourcing information and detailed content on sustainability practices. This is an important point – retailers must go beyond product features and really immerse the shopper in the brand’s ethos. Transparency is going to be key going forward. 

    Unified Basket, Payment Flexibility, Frictionless Checkout

    The biggest point of friction in today’s retail customer experience is due to the loss of context when transiting between the physical and the digital. Those retailers leading the way in ‘Cart and Checkout’ understand that a unified cart or basket is a foundational capability when it comes to that all-important connection across channels: 40% of leaders show personalised promotions and offers on PDPs and cart, compared to 6% of non-leaders. Most leaders also allow shoppers to view promo codes in cart and check product availability status by store in cart.

    Given the proliferation of payment options today, most leaders also offer checkout with buy now, pay later (100%), Apple Pay or PayPal (70%), as well as the ability to use mixed payment methods for the same order (40%).

    In-store and online cart abandonment is still far too regular of an occurrence in retail. In fact, more than one-third (35%) of shoppers said that they abandon their shopping cart because of lengthy checkout process and a whopping 37% said they will not retry if asked to re-enter payment or delivery details. It’s essential that retailers provide seamless checkout experiences that reduce unnecessary friction at the point of conversion.

    Flawless Fulfilment

    I’ve often said that the post-purchase experience tends to be more of an afterthought than a strategic priority. Well, that is finally changing as retailers recognise that a shopper’s product pick-up or delivery experience must be as seamless as their shopping journey. Not only do leaders in ‘Promising and Fulfilment’ make sure retailers meet or beat their delivery promises consistently, they do also so while being more environmentally friendly too.

    Offering shoppers greater post-order flexibility, including complete or partial cancellations, and greater delivery/pick-up options are all areas leaders excel in. Sixty percent of leaders offer shoppers the ability to cancel orders post-purchase compared to 28% of non-leaders.

    And shoppers are crying out for this: more than two-thirds of shoppers want a self-service option to be able to edit order after placing them. Meanwhile, nearly three quarters (73%) of shoppers value expedited deliver (same business day) but are only willing to pay less than €5 for the service.

    Manhattan calls out the ability to highlight the carbon footprint / impact of fulfilment choice as an area for improvement. Shoppers are hyper-informed when it comes to pricing and product information, but too often they are fumbling in the dark when it comes to sustainability. I believe this will change considerably over the next decade and retailers must prioritise transparency to drive greener purchasing decisions.

    360 Degree Service

    Leaders in the ‘Service and Support’ segment offer shoppers a wide variety of service options from call centres to in-store assistance, social media support and live agents available via their website and mobile app. What is most important, however, isn’t the breadth of support options but the fact that they offer seamless continuity, consistent quality and always-on availability.

    Leaders empower shoppers to self-serve most of their needs. Nearly all (92%) offer support on order modifications, returns and exchanges via chat/call and 75% offer their customers the ability to return purchases to drop-off locations.

    In addition to problem solving, leaders also offer value-added services such as customisations, style/fit guidance and in-store hospitality to turn service interactions into a secret sauce of brand stickiness. Most leaders empower their store associates to check a shopper’s online purchase history while in-store (75% compared to 48% of non-leaders). They should also be striving for in-store appointment scheduling via their digital channels, product personalisation and allowing store associates to create or manage a shopper’s wishlist.

    As I have said on numerous occasions, we are witnessing a democratisation of white-glove service within the retail industry. Don’t get left behind.

    Download the full report.

  • Give Customers Greater Control Post-Purchase, Argues Manhattan Associates

    Give Customers Greater Control Post-Purchase, Argues Manhattan Associates

    Paid partnership with Manhattan Associates


    The most successful consumer-facing businesses today are those that uncover their customers’ needs first and then work backwards to provide the right experience. In theory, customer experience should have always been at the heart of retailers’ strategies from day one. After all, the whole point of retail is to serve the customer. But, let’s face it, for a long time, retailers were able to dictate the terms.

    As Eddie Capel, CEO of Manhattan Associates, told me at the Manhattan Exchange in Berlin last month: “We got used to a no culture. Do you have my size? No. When might it be back in stock? Dunno. There was a lot of no in retail for a long time. Retail has turned into a ‘yes culture’.”

    But what sparked that change? I was intrigued to hear his thoughts because this formed the very foundation of my and Miya Knights’ Amazon book, so I naturally had a few ideas of my own on the topic.

    Eddie Capel, CEO of Manhattan Associates, says the retail industry has shifted to a ‘yes culture’

    “Retailers did not have to worry about loyalty, but that has changed immensely now. Creating a ‘yes culture’ has become key, and Amazon and others have pushed retailers on service and delivery promises. Technology is helping to keep those promises,” Capel added.

    I couldn’t agree more. As customers today, our tolerance for mediocrity is pretty low. We expect to shop on our terms. We no longer accept bland, vanilla retail experiences. Instead, we want the red carpet rolled out for us. We want a white-glove experience. We want to be wowed, surprised and delighted.

    Retailers have made significant progress in blending the physical and digital worlds, but there is still more to do. In the whitepaper that I authored for Manhattan Associates, we found that just 6% of retailers that we surveyed have an accurate view of their inventory across their entire business 100% of the time. I have to admit, that figure shocked me given that we are living in this on-demand era where customers are hyper-informed and, in Capel’s words, retailers need to be “promise keepers”. How seamless of an experience can you offer if you don’t consistently know where your stock is?

    Another area where I see room for improvement – and this was reaffirmed by the report – is returns. Even today, the post-purchase experience is often neglected. For example, only around half of retailers we spoke to allow customers to buy online and return in-store (46%) or buy in-store and return online (50%). 

    Enabling this level of flexibility and cohesion will enhance the experience for the customer, but more needs to be done to stamp out returns from happening in the first place. The industry needs to collectively address its perennial problem. In recent years, retailers themselves have exacerbated this problem in an attempt to appease the customer – offering free returns and encouraging a buy-to-try mentality.

    There is some progress being made, for example around sizing/fit among fashion retailers. Some have even gone to the extreme of charging for returns, very much uncharted territory for a sector where over one-third of purchases are returned. And let’s not forget, as counter intuitive as it may seem, those big returners are often a retailer’s most valuable customers.  

    But it’s better for all parties to get it right in the first instance. Looking across the wider retail industry, another way to reduce the rate of returns is by giving customers greater control over fulfilment. As things currently stand, all control is lost once the customer places an order. If they want to change their delivery or edit their basket, it’s simply too late. It then becomes a return.

    Giving customers more control post-purchase doesn’t just translate to a better customer experience – which ultimately drives greater loyalty – but it also has both economic and environmental benefits. Brian Kinsella, SVP, Product Management argues that customers should be granted a window in which they could change their mind on fulfilment method, for example switching from home delivery to click & collect and vice versa. Kinsella even believes that shoppers should be able to cancel an online order. Why? To drive down returns, or what he calls “unnecessary shipments”.

    In Berlin, Kinsella also called out the importance of communication post-purchase. More retailers, for example, should be utilising real-time messaging with home delivery, again to simultaneously improve the experience for the customer while ensuring someone is in to receive the delivery.

    Historically, retailers may have begrudged looking beyond immediate customer needs, but today it’s imperative that retailers proactively address pain points. They need to be continuously re-evaluating the customer journey, identifying and removing any new points of friction and ensuring that they are going above and beyond. The risk of inaction is simply too great.

  • Recalibrating for the Next Normal

    Recalibrating for the Next Normal

    Paid partnership with Manhattan Associates


    Greetings from Germany! I’m here at the Manhattan Exchange in Berlin and am super excited to share with you a new report that I’ve authored for Manhattan Associates: Recalibrating for the Next Normal.

    The pandemic may have accelerated digital transformation strategies, but what comes next? We spoke to 3,500 consumers and 700 leading retailers across the US and Europe to get a better sense of the consumer landscape and the capabilities required as retailers recalibrate for this next stage.

    The findings of this international research study highlight the need for retailers to continue to keep up with the pace of evolving consumer expectations. It also revealed a retail landscape where the lines between physical and digital commerce are becoming increasingly opaque and complicated. 

    Download the full report.