Whitepaper Overview
COVID-19 and the global pandemic have caused consumer behavior to seismically shift—away from physical browsing and in-store shopping to reliance on e-commerce search and fulfillment. This has fundamentally changed how retailers and brands must support purchase decisions—pulling forward digital transformation by 3-5 years.
What was once a tactile consumer experience has become primarily virtual. Consumers' decisions for new and replacement purchases are now won or lost through the online story told via complete and accurate information, or lack thereof. Consumer expectations for on-time, anywhere fulfillment have never been greater, requiring the data and technology to ensure satisfaction and delight. And just like that, implementing Autonomous Retail becomes the game changer in 2021 and beyond. The result is that leading retailers and brands must invest in technology and supporting standards that harness precise identity—to achieve accurate search results, inventory management, and faster fulfillment.
GS1 Standards, the most widely used system of supply chain standards in the world, provide the means for retailers and brands to maximize their technology investment with the framework of identify, capture, and share. This ensures the availability of consistent, comprehensive information across the entire supply chain, throughout the product lifecycle.
Topics Covered:
- Omnichannel complexities and challenges for inventory management and fulfillment due to the COVID-19 pandemic
- Technologies that have transformed stores into digital fulfillment centers (micro-fulfillment, dark stores, click & collect, robots, drones, and more)
- A "good, better, best" standards + technology journey to improve efficiency, speed, and trust