Ahead of this year’s InternetRetailing Expo (IRX 2016) (April 27-8, at the NEC in Birmingham) we’re running a series of previews focusing on event highlights, from the conferences to interviews with key retail speakers, and beyond. Today our focus is on the Multichannel Fulfilment conference.
Fulfilment takes on a new complexity when it’s delivered no longer via separate sales channels but across channels. The Multichannel Fulfilment conference at IRX 2016 is designed to tackle that complexity, with practical examples, experiences and advice on managing the challenges involved.
“Delivery is one of the important parts of the multichannel process and a challenge for retailers to get it right and keep customers happy,” said IRX 2016 conference director Lisa Ploude. “The anytime anywhere customer knows what she wants and expects a range of delivery options to choose from. Retailers will find out how they can manage the operational challenges to ensure speedy delivery and collection in the Multichannel Fulfilment conference.
Walter Blackwood, former director for group logistics at Mothercare, is keynote speaker opening the conference. His presentation, Delivering in-store – making the multichannel customer experience work! is at 10.35am on April 27, in theatre 4 at IRX 2016.
A session on cutting down losses through fraud follows. Combating delivery fraud is at 11.10am, and will look at the action supply chain and operations professionals can take in designing loss prevention strategies and putting them into action, as well as ways that delivery fraud can be reduced and profitability protected. That’s followed at 11.45am by Demand planning and delivering on customer expectations, a session looking at how retailers can manage their supply chains, and turn logistical challenges into commercial opportunities, learning from information sources including data.
Dave Crellin, head of online operations development at Sainsbury’s and Lana Jackson, head of customer proposition and delivery at New Look, are members of a panel discussion around last-mile delivery and ways of meeting customer expectations. Convenience v flexibility v free/paid for delivery and returns – delving into the minds of the consumer to serve them better is at 1pm. The discussion is followed immediately by a presentation from the conference sponsor.
James Matthews, director, non-food at Ocado then takes to the stage with a consideration of how retailers might best deliver an omnichannel fulfilment strategy, while going on to look ahead to the next big thing in customer delivery. His presentation, Connecting the dots between supply chain and customer experience, is at 2.45pm.
Alex Watson, global transport and logistics at Supergroup, closes the conference by thinking about how organisations will need to change to ensure omnichannel delivery is a reality both today and in the future. Redefining operational frameworks and organisational structures to meet the demands of omnichannel today… and tomorrow is at 3.20pm.
The Multichannel Fulfilment conference will take place on April 27 2016 at IRX 2016, at Birmingham’s NEC. Find out more about the conference here, and more about IRX 2016 here. Register to visit the show for free here.
