The retail industry has reached its biggest crossroads in history.
Near the dangerous intersection of business as usual and success going forward sits retail strategy, an explosion of online sales, technology, omnichannel, multichannel, and social media.
The customer is now in the driver’s seat, and Amazon is leading the pack by a wide margin whether all retailers realize it or not.
Business questions that were once heavily debated no longer matter as much at this crossroads. These questions include where to locate stores, distribution centers (DCs), and fulfillment centers, and how to minimize the cost of the distribution network.
These are structure considerations that revolve around the all-encompassing business strategy, and at these crossroads we must address strategy before structure.
The traditional thinking around distribution networks and distribution operations is obsolete, given the current retail crossroads.