2018 Omni-Channel Leader Study

The Critical Role of Inventory Management to Omni-Channel Success

Whether it’s ensuring a product is in stock when a customer walks into a store, or having the ability to profitably fulfill an online order within the time frame customers expect – companies must have accurate and real-time visibility to inventory across all segments of their supply chain. This research study aims to understand the inventory visibility and optimization challenges that companies face today related to omni-channel fulfillment.

This brief survey will take 5-8 minutes to complete. All responses will be confidential; only aggregated results will be reported. All respondents will receive a copy of the report summarizing the findings.

If you have any questions about the survey or research, please contact Adrian Gonzalez, President of Adelante SCM (adrian@adelantescm.com).

Thank you for your time and support!

Question Title

* 1. Inventory Accuracy: How would you characterize the level of trust or confidence you have in inventory accuracy across your end-to-end supply chain? Please select one.

I completely trust/have confidence in inventory accuracy

I mostly trust/have confidence in inventory accuracy

I moderately trust/have confidence in inventory accuracy

I have little trust or confidence in inventory accuracy

I don't trust or have any confidence in inventory accuracy

Question Title

* 2. Inventory Visibility: Do you have visibility to product/SKU inventory availability at the following nodes across your supply chain network? Please select a response for each row.

	Yes, real-time visibility	Yes, but not real-time (updated hourly, daily, or longer)	No visibility	Don't Know/Not Applicable
Inventory at Stores	Inventory at Stores Yes, real-time visibility	Inventory at Stores Yes, but not real-time (updated hourly, daily, or longer)	Inventory at Stores No visibility	Inventory at Stores Don't Know/Not Applicable
Inventory at Our/3PL DCs/Fulfillment Centers	Inventory at Our/3PL DCs/Fulfillment Centers Yes, real-time visibility	Inventory at Our/3PL DCs/Fulfillment Centers Yes, but not real-time (updated hourly, daily, or longer)	Inventory at Our/3PL DCs/Fulfillment Centers No visibility	Inventory at Our/3PL DCs/Fulfillment Centers Don't Know/Not Applicable
Inventory at Supplier DCs/Fulfillment Centers	Inventory at Supplier DCs/Fulfillment Centers Yes, real-time visibility	Inventory at Supplier DCs/Fulfillment Centers Yes, but not real-time (updated hourly, daily, or longer)	Inventory at Supplier DCs/Fulfillment Centers No visibility	Inventory at Supplier DCs/Fulfillment Centers Don't Know/Not Applicable
Inventory at Supplier Manufacturing Locations	Inventory at Supplier Manufacturing Locations Yes, real-time visibility	Inventory at Supplier Manufacturing Locations Yes, but not real-time (updated hourly, daily, or longer)	Inventory at Supplier Manufacturing Locations No visibility	Inventory at Supplier Manufacturing Locations Don't Know/Not Applicable
Inventory in Transit	Inventory in Transit Yes, real-time visibility	Inventory in Transit Yes, but not real-time (updated hourly, daily, or longer)	Inventory in Transit No visibility	Inventory in Transit Don't Know/Not Applicable

Question Title

* 3. Rate each of the supply chain nodes below based on your level of confidence in its inventory accuracy. Please select a response for each row. If you don't know for a particular node, select N/A.

	No confidence	Low confidence	Moderate confidence	High confidence	N/A
Inventory at Stores	Inventory at Stores No confidence	Inventory at Stores Low confidence	Inventory at Stores Moderate confidence	Inventory at Stores High confidence	Inventory at Stores N/A
Inventory at Our/3PL DCs/Fulfillment Centers	Inventory at Our/3PL DCs/Fulfillment Centers No confidence	Inventory at Our/3PL DCs/Fulfillment Centers Low confidence	Inventory at Our/3PL DCs/Fulfillment Centers Moderate confidence	Inventory at Our/3PL DCs/Fulfillment Centers High confidence	Inventory at Our/3PL DCs/Fulfillment Centers N/A
Inventory at Supplier DCs/Fulfillment Centers	Inventory at Supplier DCs/Fulfillment Centers No confidence	Inventory at Supplier DCs/Fulfillment Centers Low confidence	Inventory at Supplier DCs/Fulfillment Centers Moderate confidence	Inventory at Supplier DCs/Fulfillment Centers High confidence	Inventory at Supplier DCs/Fulfillment Centers N/A
Inventory at Supplier Manufacturing Locations	Inventory at Supplier Manufacturing Locations No confidence	Inventory at Supplier Manufacturing Locations Low confidence	Inventory at Supplier Manufacturing Locations Moderate confidence	Inventory at Supplier Manufacturing Locations High confidence	Inventory at Supplier Manufacturing Locations N/A
Inventory in Transit	Inventory in Transit No confidence	Inventory in Transit Low confidence	Inventory in Transit Moderate confidence	Inventory in Transit High confidence	Inventory in Transit N/A

Question Title

* 4. What are the main causes of poor inventory accuracy across your supply chain network? Rate each of the factors below. Please select one response per row. If you select Other, please specify in text box.

	Not a contributing factor	Small contributing factor	Moderate contributing factor	Large contributing factor
Don’t perform cycle counts	Don’t perform cycle counts Not a contributing factor	Don’t perform cycle counts Small contributing factor	Don’t perform cycle counts Moderate contributing factor	Don’t perform cycle counts Large contributing factor
Rely solely on annual physical count	Rely solely on annual physical count Not a contributing factor	Rely solely on annual physical count Small contributing factor	Rely solely on annual physical count Moderate contributing factor	Rely solely on annual physical count Large contributing factor
Manual data capture and processes (no RF-enabled WMS)	Manual data capture and processes (no RF-enabled WMS) Not a contributing factor	Manual data capture and processes (no RF-enabled WMS) Small contributing factor	Manual data capture and processes (no RF-enabled WMS) Moderate contributing factor	Manual data capture and processes (no RF-enabled WMS) Large contributing factor
Pilferage	Pilferage Not a contributing factor	Pilferage Small contributing factor	Pilferage Moderate contributing factor	Pilferage Large contributing factor
Lack of training	Lack of training Not a contributing factor	Lack of training Small contributing factor	Lack of training Moderate contributing factor	Lack of training Large contributing factor
Don't have integrated/consolidated view of inventory	Don't have integrated/consolidated view of inventory Not a contributing factor	Don't have integrated/consolidated view of inventory Small contributing factor	Don't have integrated/consolidated view of inventory Moderate contributing factor	Don't have integrated/consolidated view of inventory Large contributing factor
Other (please specify below)	Other (please specify below) Not a contributing factor	Other (please specify below) Small contributing factor	Other (please specify below) Moderate contributing factor	Other (please specify below) Large contributing factor

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 5. For the fulfillment operations that you manage directly (or your 3PLs manage on your behalf), which inventory metrics do you use to measure the performance of your omni-channel fulfillment operations? Check all that apply

Inventory Accuracy

Inventory Turnover

Order Picking Accuracy

Rate of Return

Perfect Order

On-Time Delivery

On Time In Full

Average Sell-out Days

Inventory Days of Supply

% Stocked Out SKUs

Inventory Carrying Cost

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 6. Approximately what percent of your e-commerce orders do you currently fulfill from the following inventory locations? Sum must equal 100 (enter numbers without "%" symbol)

Dedicated e-commerce DC

DC that handles both e-commerce and traditional fulfillment

Drop shipped by supplier

Ship from Store

Order online, pick up at store

Other

Question Title

* 7. Looking ahead 3 years, what percent of your e-commerce orders do you expect to fulfill from the following inventory locations? Sum must equal 100 (enter numbers without "%" symbol)

Dedicated e-commerce DC

DC that handles both e-commerce and traditional fulfillment

Drop shipped by supplier

Ship from Store

Order online, pick up at store

Other

Question Title

* 8. Which components of distributed order management (DOM) are the most challenging? Rank the top 3 challenges. Please select one response per column. If you select Other, please specify in the text box.

	#1 Challenge	#2 Challenge	#3 Challenge
Processing orders across multiple order management systems	Processing orders across multiple order management systems #1 Challenge	Processing orders across multiple order management systems #2 Challenge	Processing orders across multiple order management systems #3 Challenge
Determining the best inventory location to fulfill an order from	Determining the best inventory location to fulfill an order from #1 Challenge	Determining the best inventory location to fulfill an order from #2 Challenge	Determining the best inventory location to fulfill an order from #3 Challenge
Determining how much inventory of each item/SKU to deploy at each DC, store, and other locations	Determining how much inventory of each item/SKU to deploy at each DC, store, and other locations #1 Challenge	Determining how much inventory of each item/SKU to deploy at each DC, store, and other locations #2 Challenge	Determining how much inventory of each item/SKU to deploy at each DC, store, and other locations #3 Challenge
Determining how to best manage and process returns	Determining how to best manage and process returns #1 Challenge	Determining how to best manage and process returns #2 Challenge	Determining how to best manage and process returns #3 Challenge
Complying with customer-specific order processing rules	Complying with customer-specific order processing rules #1 Challenge	Complying with customer-specific order processing rules #2 Challenge	Complying with customer-specific order processing rules #3 Challenge
Other (please specify below)	Other (please specify below) #1 Challenge	Other (please specify below) #2 Challenge	Other (please specify below) #3 Challenge

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 9. How would you characterize your company’s overall omni-channel fulfillment performance relative to peers in your industry? Please select one.

Significantly Above Average

Slightly Above Average

Average

Slightly Below Average

Significantly Below Average

Question Title

* 10. Looking ahead 3-5 years, what new services or capabilities do you expect your 3PL partners to provide to better support your omni-channel strategy and operations and deliver enhanced value? Characterize the priority level for each service/capability. Please select one response for each row. If you select Other, please specify in text box.

	High Priority	Medium Priority	Low Priority
Supply Chain Visibility/Control Tower	Supply Chain Visibility/Control Tower High Priority	Supply Chain Visibility/Control Tower Medium Priority	Supply Chain Visibility/Control Tower Low Priority
Drop Shipping Enablement	Drop Shipping Enablement High Priority	Drop Shipping Enablement Medium Priority	Drop Shipping Enablement Low Priority
Inventory Management/Optimization	Inventory Management/Optimization High Priority	Inventory Management/Optimization Medium Priority	Inventory Management/Optimization Low Priority
Returns Management	Returns Management High Priority	Returns Management Medium Priority	Returns Management Low Priority
E-commerce Storefront Enablement	E-commerce Storefront Enablement High Priority	E-commerce Storefront Enablement Medium Priority	E-commerce Storefront Enablement Low Priority
Supply Chain Network Design	Supply Chain Network Design High Priority	Supply Chain Network Design Medium Priority	Supply Chain Network Design Low Priority
Other (please specify below)	Other (please specify below) High Priority	Other (please specify below) Medium Priority	Other (please specify below) Low Priority

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 11. When it comes to inventory management and omni-channel fulfillment, what is the biggest challenge you face?

Question Title

* 12. Select your industry

Manufacturer

Retailer

Distributor

Logistics Service Provider

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 13. Geography - in which region are you located?

North America

South America

Europe

Asia

Other (please specify)

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* 14. Respondent Profile: This information will be kept confidential and will not be published.

First Name

Last Name

Title

Work Email