In an era where foot traffic in brick-and-mortar stores continues its steady decline, storefront retailers are racing to reinvent the shopping experience. Enter the explosive rise of ship from store fulfillment. This innovative strategy is transforming the way brands meet customer demands, seamlessly blending online convenience with in-store inventory. Major brands have swiftly embraced this approach, turning their physical locations into powerful logistics hubs that keep shoppers engaged in an increasingly digital marketplace. As traditional storefronts pivot to incorporate the practice, the retail landscape is undergoing a seismic shift that will potentially redefine how we shop in the years ahead.
Ship from store is a fulfillment strategy that allows online orders to be fulfilled directly from retail locations rather than traditional warehouses, offering benefits for both the company and customer. By utilizing storefronts as mini distribution centers, it effectively expands a company’s warehouse footprint, bringing products closer to potential consumers and reducing shipping times. It can also minimize fulfillment costs, help cycle perishable inventory, and create a unified customer experience.
The pandemic wasn’t the beginning of the ship from store strategy, but it was undoubtedly when retailers understood and took advantage of the competitive edge it offers, dramatically ramping up its use. Even as some shoppers slowly made their way back to physical storefronts, the practice has remained more popular than ever.
When considering the ship from store strategy, it’s essential to calculate how to fulfill orders in the most cost-effective manner while still meeting customer delivery expectations. Additionally, there are some important concerns to keep in mind when thinking of implementing this practice.
Inventory Management
When sharing inventory between your physical stores and online platform, it’s crucial to have an effective inventory management system that provides visibility across both locations. This ensures that if a customer purchases a t-shirt in-store, a business won’t mistakenly attempt to fulfill an online order for that same item from the store’s inventory.
Each individual store also needs to take inventory levels into account. Most ship from store strategies utilize a “safety stock” to prevent the accidental sale of items already purchased in-store. For instance, in the case of the t-shirt, a store may require a safety stock of three shirts before it processes an order for that shirt from its location.
Order Consolidation
When businesses add the complexity of fulfilling orders from multiple locations, they may find that the most cost-effective shipping route for each item varies. This leads to the need for distance and shipping time calculations to determine whether it’s more economical to ship items together or separately.
Investment
Perhaps most importantly, businesses need the capital to invest in these changes. This might require additional team members as well as training to help manage and implement the new ordering systems and practices at the corporate and local store levels.
And starting a ship from store policy can only be the beginning of a business’s eCommerce journey. As a company’s online presence scales, logistics and distribution become even more intricate and challenging.
The amount of advanced planning that’s needed to establish and execute a successful, long-lasting ship from store strategy can be daunting, which is a leading reason why so many stores already employing the practice have turned to industry experts for guidance and support. Premier has effectively helped a number of name brand companies implement ship from store business models, walking new partnerships through the process step-by-step and tailoring procedures for each company and their unique needs.
The rise of the ship from store fulfillment strategy has transformed the way retailers connect with consumers. While it may not be the ideal solution for every business, for those with multiple storefronts, adequate capital, a well-defined plan and sufficient storage space, it offers a powerful opportunity to expand access to customers, enhance satisfaction, and lower fulfillment costs. Embracing this approach can position retailers for greater agility and growth in an increasingly competitive marketplace.