Meeting the Multi-Channel Distribution Challenge

Distribution is one of the fastest-changing processes in the world of logistics.

With the number of online and mobile orders on the rise, distributors are grappling with how to best control their costs while serving customers across multiple channels of distribution. Some call this “multi-channel distribution.” Others refer to it as “omni-channel distribution.”

Regardless of the term, the market is moving to a buy from anywhere/ship from anywhere/deliver to anywhere distribution model. Customers can buy an item in a retail store, over the Internet from a PC or laptop in their home or office, from their smartphone or their tablet or do it the old-fashioned way and ring up a call center.

That order can be filled from a distribution center, a 3PL, a retail store or drop shipped from a manufacturer or a vendor. And it can be shipped directly to the customer’s residence or business, picked up at a store or delivered for pickup at a third party location.

While multi-channel distribution is thought of as a retail phenomenon, a study conducted by Peerless Research Group on behalf of Modern Materials Handling for FORTE showed that distributors and manufacturers are also under pressure to meet the challenges of multi-channel distribution.