Today’s dynamic business landscape is driven by shifting consumer behaviors, values, and demands. Consumer-direct fulfillment (DTC) models, for example, are rapidly gaining traction, making supply chain fulfillment a very complex beast.

The time is ripe for a disruptive and transformative order fulfillment approach that puts consumers at the center of it all, without sacrificing margins.

Square peg in a round hole

Traditional retail supply chains were designed for efficient bulk inventory movement to specific locations, supported by the best technology architectures available at the time. However, the growth of ecommerce, complicated by rapidly changing customer preferences, has left order fulfillment teams feeling boxed in (pardon the pun). 

They must appear speedy and fluid to the shopper. Yet, we all know things look much different inside the DCs or warehouses.

Late, incorrect, and missing orders. Pick lists and invoices that are nowhere to be found. Customer service teams and store associates always on hold trying to locate information. Meanwhile, orders are being canceled while 6 angry shoppers await their curbside pick-ups.

A consumer-centric supply chain must be robust, yet simple to learn and use. It must enable transparency, real-time available-to-promise stock, and support for bespoke order fulfillment methods. None of which are in the vocabulary for a legacy warehouse management system (WMS).

Wasted investments

Are you trying to support high-growth selling models like Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) and marketplaces with short-term fixes — such as homegrown or ERP patches? These models introduce unfamiliar workflows, increased volumes, and technical and integration complexities that will keep getting more expensive and frustrating. 

Ok, so how about a dedicated warehouse management system? If it doesn’t offer configurable OMS (order management system) and DOM components, it’s a wasted investment.

These systems fail to connect digital and physical stores, which is a one-way ticket to disappointed customers and profit erosion. 

Effective, transparent, adaptive order management software is the competitive advantage.

Consumer-direct and omnichannel order fulfillment

New selling models like consumer-direct amplify the need for order fulfillment software that can accommodate unfamiliar territory, such as the need to reach and connect with shoppers in highly personalized ways. 

How are you going to do this with older software designed to fulfill B2B and retail channels exclusively? Pallets over parcels. Custom kitting or specialty labeling. It simply doesn’t work.

A recent Direct-to-Consumer survey found that, while 60% of sales are still from brick and mortar, 92% of retailers see their DTC channel sales rising. Since brick-and-mortar retail remains a significant revenue contributor, technology must evolve to accommodate all consumer channels. In response, two-thirds of retailers are increasing investments in supporting their consumer-direct fulfillment channels.

All consumer channels are required for success!

New preferences

Customers no longer prioritize spending on delivery speed alone. Their preferences have expanded to certainty, choice, and responsibility. Some considerations here:

  • Consumers want clear communication. Providing up-to-the-minute order tracking and reducing wait times with Customer Services preserves brand loyalty. 
  • Consumers want options. They want choices in how, where, and when they receive or return products. Satisfying these diverse needs requires radically rethinking your order fulfillment system’s logic and design.
  • Consumers want sustainable logistics. More than a third of customers are willing to pay more for goods from responsible brands. Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) is top of mind, with same-day or next-day shipments having decreased from 18% to 10% as consumers support reduced carbon emissions efforts, like electric vehicles and.

Keep consistent, even in constant change – here’s how

Deposco is the industry’s most consumer-centric fulfillment software designed to simplify constantly evolving supply chains. Deposco Bright Suite equips retailers to compete and grow with productivity and agility.   

The single-codebase, single-schema platform uniquely combines WMS system software with order management system and DOM (Distributed Order Management). Unlike on-prem order fulfillment solutions, Deposco can be implemented within weeks or months, not years. 

Through Deposco, our customers experience:

  • +99% order accuracy rates
  • 3-6x increase in same-facility throughput
  • 68% reduction in pick-and-pack cycle times

In addition, Deposco’s Bright Socket WMS integrations support 150+ connectors to systems, service providers, and carriers natively.

Is your retail brand looking to expand into new channels easily? Need enterprise-grade features to compete in crowded marketplaces like Shopify? Need to simplify accelerating changes to your business processes, system requirements, and infrastructure?