Omnichannel Vs. Multichannel Supply Chain: What’s the Difference?
In supply chains, omnichannel solutions are often used interchangeably with multichannel solutions. On the surface, both forms of supply chain operations seek to provide multiple sales channels to consumers. However, understanding the elements of omnichannel vs. multichannel supply chain is essential to maximizing profit margins in a tightening economy.
What Is Multichannel Supply Chain?
Multichannel supply chain solutions rose in response to the rise of the internet. Consumers wanted options in how they purchase goods.
For example, consumers can purchase items online or in brick-and-mortar locations.
However, multichannel supply chains tend to develop organizational silos that focus solely on serving one channel. In other words, online sales may have its department, warehouse management system and transportation system, and brick-and-mortar stores use similar systems. Unfortunately, a disconnect grows between each department, increasing costs and reducing visibility across the supply chain.
Consider how consumers may feel when confronted with businesses using multichannel solutions. Product purchased online can only be shipped to a consumer’s address. Items purchased in the store may have different prices than online sales. Meanwhile, using promo codes from emails or online deals may not be used in brick-and-mortar stores. As a result, consumers become frustrated and face many different obstacles to completing orders when products are or are not available in their channel of choice.
A blockchain-based supply chain management system can help alleviate consumer frustration by providing real-time visibility and transparency across all channels, ensuring that products are available and prices are consistent, regardless of the channel used to make the purchase.
What Are Omnichannel Supply Chains?
are like multichannel supply chains in respect to serving consumers across different channels. However, omnichannel solutions provide one-touch integration across all channels to provide a superior customer service experience.
Recall the previous example of consumers shopping with businesses utilizing multichannel sales. Unlike the drawbacks of multichannel sales, omnichannel solutions give consumers the flexibility to ship items from e-commerce sites to their home or stores. Also, consumers may opt to complete purchases online and in storefronts simultaneously, and if an item is unavailable in the store, consumers can order from their smartphone.
This is the omnichannel shopping experience, a constant flow of products between all sales channels seamlessly. Consumers that have the freedom to purchase individual items while still making in-store purchases and vice versa are more likely to complete their purchases. Similarly, if consumers run into any of the potential roadblocks in multichannel-exclusive supply chains, they are likely to abandon their carts for your competitors.
Consumers Demand Omnichannel, Not Multichannel Sales Experiences and Service.
also go further than multichannel sales by focusing on creating supply chains that have strategic value, improving sales and encouraging repeat purchases among consumers. Consumers are also pushing the industry toward omnichannel supply chains as consumers use nearly three channels per transaction before making a purchase. Therefore, if your supply chain has not yet implemented omnichannel solutions to serve consumers, you are probably losing revenue. Let Veridian Solutions help your business reach a higher level of omnichannel sales and service now.
