How Retailers Rethink Omni-Channel Delivery

Not long ago, buying something meant choosing a single channel. Today, the same purchase can move seamlessly between phone, store, and doorstep. A customer may take a different path each time, depending on what is most convenient in the moment. Even after an order is placed, questions or changes may be handled through another channel entirely – turning what was once a simple transaction into a continuous interaction.

“Consumer expectations for speed and convenience have never been higher,” says Danielle Dakin, Global Market Development Director at Dematic. Meeting these demands requires more than simply offering multiple ways to shop. According to Dakin, an omnichannel approach is about connecting the customer experience with the operations behind it – from inventory management and order fulfillment to delivery and returns.

“Today's retail environment is omnichannel, which means efficient fulfillment is non-negotiable. Whether a consumer is shopping in a store, online, or choosing curbside pickup or click and collect, they expect speed, accuracy, and consistency,” explains Dakin. For retailers, this means every touchpoint has to be supported by operations that can respond quickly, reliably, and without disruption.

When operations cannot keep pace with these expectations, the customer experience is affected immediately. A missing item, an inaccurate order, or a delay can quickly turn convenience into frustration. At the same time, retailers face the operational impact behind the scenes – from rework and refunds to the additional effort required to handle exceptions. In an omnichannel world, accuracy is therefore no longer just a warehouse metric but has become part of the customer promise.

Dedicated picking stations and streamlined workflows help efficiently fulfill online orders directly from the store.

To deliver on this promise, many retailers are rethinking where and how fulfillment happens. One strategic response is the shift toward hyperlocalization. This is enabled by new approaches such as micro fulfillment centers. “These are compact but highly automated hubs that can be built within retail stores in urban and suburban areas to bring products closer to the point of demand,” explains Dakin.

The value of micro fulfillment goes beyond automation alone. It comes from an operational design that connects automated storage and fast retrieval with the realities of retail – from receiving and decant processes to accurate picking and efficient dispatch. The result is a fulfillment model that improves speed and visibility without requiring retailers to build entirely new facilities.

A practical example of this approach can be seen in grocery retail, where Tesco implemented a Dematic micro fulfillment solution at its store in Bar Hill, Cambridge (UK). The system integrates automated fulfillment directly into the existing store environment, with products stored in the Dematic Multishuttle® system and prepared through goods-to-person picking stations. This enables online orders to be processed efficiently and made ready for either in-store collection or delivery to nearby customers – while supporting higher order volumes and improved order visibility.

However, the pressure created by omnichannel expectations extends beyond grocery retail. In fashion and third-party logistics environments, operations often face high SKU turnover, demand fluctuations, and strong promotional peaks while still having to deliver speed and accuracy.

For Radial Europe, the answer was a goods-to-person model supported by a large fleet of autonomous mobile robots, helping to increase throughput, reduce errors, and create a scalable foundation that can adapt to changing requirements.

This flexibility becomes especially important during peak seasons, when demand patterns can change rapidly and operational pressure increases. For retailers, events such as Black Friday have become a test of how well their fulfillment systems can adapt. Scalable solutions and intelligent automation help manage changing volumes and maintain accuracy.

“Warehouse management systems combined with omnichannel order platforms ensure end-to-end visibility and control,” says Dakin, highlighting that digital integration plays a central role in making omnichannel operations work. A real-time view of inventory and operations allows retailers to make more proactive decisions. By reducing errors and improving fulfillment speed, these tools help businesses operate with the agility needed in a constantly changing retail environment.

As operations become more complex, artificial intelligence is adding another layer of support. By analyzing data from connected systems, AI can help retailers anticipate demand patterns, optimize inventory decisions, and identify potential exceptions before they impact fulfillment. This turns increasing complexity into more structured and proactive decision-making.

“This shift is fundamentally transforming supply chain strategy,” concludes Dakin. As customer journeys continue to evolve, successful omnichannel fulfillment is no longer defined by individual technologies or channels, but by how well they work together. What started as a change in the way people shop has become a fundamental shift in how retailers operate.