Operations in an Omnichannel World

The world of retailing has changed dramatically in the past decade. Sales originating at online channels have been steadily increasing, and even for sales transacted at brick-and-mortar channels, a much larger fraction of sales is affected by online channels in different touch points during the customer journey. Shopper behavior and expectations have been evolving along with the growth of digital channels, challenging retailers to redesign their fulfillment and execution processes, to better serve their customers. This edited book examines the challenges and opportunities arising from the shift towards omnichannel retail. We examine these issues through the lenses of operations management, emphasizing the supply chain transformations associated with fulfilling an omnichannel demand. The book is divided into three parts. In the first part, “Omnichannel business models,” we present four studies that explore how retailers are adjusting their fundamental business models to the new omnichannel landscape. The second part, “Data-driven decisions in an omnichannel world,” includes five chapters that study the evolving data opportunities enabled by omnichannel retail and present specific examples of data-driven analyses. Finally, in the third part, “Case studies in omnichannel retailing,” we include four studies that provide a deep dive into how specific industries, companies, and markets are navigating the omnichannel world. Ultimately, this book introduces the reader to the fundamentals of operations in an omnichannel context and highlights the different innovative research ideas on the topic using a variety of methodologies.