The COVID-19 pandemic struck the retail world with a seismic force, and the industry’s supply chains were disrupted to an extent never seen before. The rapidly shifting consumer demand left supply chains vulnerable, driving many companies to rethink their strategy.
As stores closed and customers moved online, retailers looked for a way to move inventory to stores. Fulfilling online sales from retail locations was an obvious solution. Retailers who rely heavily on brick and mortar sales had to quickly set up an infrastructure to manage e-commerce and shipment from the store and helped them understand the needs and behaviors of their customers.
Pick-up orders were an integral part of the retail industry in a pandemic as the delivery system was not robust and consumers chose to pick up orders from the stores. The increased shipping and delivery times highlight some of the labor challenges every company has faced during the pandemic were one of the toughest challenges faced by companies this caused companies to set up a wide network of shipping and fulfillment centers.
2020 was an accelerated learning event, and retailers realize that new technologies can enable much-needed agility, from improving demand predictions to boosting fulfillment to quicker, cost-effective last-mile deliveries.
By investing in new systems now, retailers can put themselves in good stead to safely support consumers in their time of need, whenever the next industry disruption may be.
Smarkt focuses on integrating the grocery retail segment with futuristic technology to safeguard the local stores against unprecedented disruptions and level the playing field against industry giants.
