Creating customer value using SCM retail technologies and systems

MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics
3 Mar 202256:41

Summary

TLDR在这段对话中,REI的供应链商品和技术副总裁Amit分享了他在信息技术和供应链管理方面超过20年的经验。他讨论了REI如何通过其分销中心和商店网络,以及与供应商的合作,提供全渠道零售体验。Amit强调了技术在提高库存可见性、优化订单履行和增强客户体验方面的作用。他还提到了REI如何通过其会员所有制合作模式,专注于共享价值而非股东价值,以及如何通过循环商务和二手装备销售来推动可持续性。此外,Amit还讨论了REI在疫情期间的应对策略,包括如何快速适应变化,提供路边取货等新服务,并在供应链中断期间保持客户满意度。最后,他分享了自己作为MIT供应链管理MicroMasters项目校友的经历,以及这些课程如何帮助他在职业生涯中取得成功。

Takeaways

  • 📚 Callum Betts 和 Laura Lega 是 MITx MicroMasters 供应链管理课程的课程负责人,他们在 MIT 运输物流中心参与全渠道和可持续性相关研究。
  • 🏆 Amit Kothary 作为 REI 的供应链、商品采购和合作品牌技术的部门副总裁,拥有超过 20 年的信息技术经验。
  • 🛍️ REI 作为会员所有的合作零售商,强调户外生活的重要性,并通过实体店铺、在线商城以及循环商务提供户外装备和体验。
  • 🔄 Omnichannel 策略通过提供多种履行选择(如线上购买店内自提、直接发货等)来增强客户体验,但同时也增加了技术、流程和库存管理的复杂性。
  • 📈 技术在 REI 的分销网络设计中发挥关键作用,包括新分销中心的选址和网络流量的模拟,以满足业务增长和客户需求。
  • 🌐 疫情期间,REI 利用其 Omnichannel 能力快速适应,如通过在线零售和推出路边取货服务来应对门店关闭的挑战。
  • 🔧 技术系统的选择是 REI 持续考虑的问题,包括使用集成的 ERP 系统或最佳实践解决方案的组合,以满足不同的业务需求。
  • ♻️ 可持续性是 REI 的关键议题,通过循环商务模式(如二手装备销售)来减少碳排放,目标是到 2030 年减少 55% 的碳排放。
  • 📈 REI 利用数据分析来优化库存、顾客承诺和总成本服务,同时最大化客户体验。
  • 📊 通过 MicroMasters 项目,Amit 扩展了供应链知识,建立了专业网络,并将其应用于工作中,特别是在 Omnichannel 优化解决方案的共同创造和创新上。
  • 📨 顾客退货体验是 Omnichannel 策略的重要组成部分,REI 通过技术简化了退货流程,提高了客户满意度。

Q & A

  • 如何理解REI的全渠道体验对顾客价值的影响?

    -REI的全渠道体验通过提供多样化的购买和履行选项,如在线购买、店内自提、家庭送货等,增强了顾客价值。这种策略不仅满足了顾客对灵活性和便捷性的需求,而且通过无缝的购物体验,增强了顾客对品牌的忠诚度。

  • REI在技术系统方面如何应对全渠道策略带来的挑战?

    -REI通过集成ERP、仓库管理、订单管理系统、销售点系统等技术系统,确保了对库存的实时可见性,以及对订单履行的优化。这些系统共同工作,支持REI在全渠道环境下提供一致的顾客体验。

  • REI如何利用技术来优化其分销网络设计?

    -REI使用网络设计和建模软件,结合客户数据、产品流、存储需求和可持续性目标,来评估和决定新的分销中心的位置和设计。技术帮助REI在满足增长需求和顾客期望的同时,优化了成本和服务水平。

  • 在新冠疫情期间,REI如何调整其供应链流程?

    -面对新冠疫情带来的挑战,REI迅速调整了其供应链流程,包括临时关闭实体店、增加线上订单处理能力、推出路边取货服务,并在供应链中断时通过“通知我何时有货”功能来管理顾客期望。

  • REI如何量化和跟踪其可持续性目标的进展?

    -REI通过收集和分析来自不同数据源的信息,包括能源使用、废物管理、产品制造和分销过程等,来量化和跟踪其可持续性目标。此外,REI也在探索合作伙伴关系和技术解决方案,以提高数据收集和报告的准确性。

  • REI在选择供应链系统时是如何权衡ERP系统和最佳实践解决方案的?

    -REI在选择供应链系统时会考虑ERP系统的集成优势和最佳实践解决方案的专业性。对于标准化和非差异化流程,REI可能会倾向于使用ERP系统以简化集成。而在需要差异化和客户接触点更近的领域,REI可能会选择最佳实践解决方案来提供更专业的服务。

  • REI是如何处理drop ship(直发货)模式下的库存和订单履行的?

    -REI通过与drop ship合作伙伴建立合作关系,扩展了产品种类并满足了客户需求。在处理库存和订单履行时,REI面临的挑战包括获取合作伙伴的实时库存信息、协调不同的服务水平以及管理退货流程。REI需要与合作伙伴进行紧密的技术集成,以确保顾客体验的一致性。

  • REI如何通过技术提高供应链的透明度和效率?

    -REI通过实施先进的供应链管理系统,如ERP和WMS,以及利用云技术、API和微服务等现代技术,提高了供应链的透明度和效率。这些技术的应用使得REI能够实时监控库存、优化订单履行,并快速响应市场变化。

  • REI如何确保其供应链的可持续性?

    -REI致力于通过多种措施确保供应链的可持续性,包括使用可再生能源、实现零废物目标、减少包装,并在其分销中心实现LEED认证。此外,REI还在探索如何减少上游供应链的碳足迹,比如通过使用清洁能源和提高制造过程的能效。

  • REI在疫情期间推出的路边取货服务是否会继续提供?

    -REI很可能会继续保持路边取货服务,因为这种服务为顾客提供了便利性,并且已经逐渐成为顾客的期望和习惯。尽管疫情限制放宽后,顾客可能更倾向于亲自到店购物,但路边取货作为一种增值服务,仍能满足顾客对便捷性的需求。

  • REI如何衡量其供应链技术创新对业务的影响?

    -REI通过评估技术创新对顾客体验、订单履行效率、库存管理、成本节约等方面的影响来衡量其供应链技术创新的业务价值。此外,REI还会考虑技术如何帮助公司实现其可持续性目标,并在长期内提高竞争力。

Outlines

00:00

😊 Introduction by the Co-Hosts

Callum Betts and Laura Lega, co-hosts for the event and course leads in MIT's MicroMasters program in supply chain management, introduce themselves and express their excitement about the day's discussion. They highlight Amitko Kami, Vice President of Supply Chain Merchandising and Co-op Brands Technology at REI, who will share insights from his 20-year experience in IT.

05:06

📈 Omnichannel Strategy Challenges

Amitko Kami elaborates on how REI's omnichannel strategy aims to provide seamless customer value across channels, despite the growing complexity from the surge of new choices. He shares REI's goals in managing inventory, ensuring customer satisfaction, and optimizing overall supply chain costs.

10:06

🏬 Evaluating Supply Chain Network Expansion

Amitko Kami details the data-driven approach in selecting Tennessee for REI's new distribution center. Technology plays a vital role in assessing customer demographics, demand patterns, and fulfillment needs while ensuring sustainable practices to reduce carbon emissions.

15:07

🔄 Supply Chain Disruption Solutions

REI had to swiftly adapt its operations during the pandemic, shifting entirely to online retail when stores closed and introducing curbside pickup. Amitko describes how they leveraged their optimization models and inventory visibility to respond to disruptions and ensure timely deliveries.

20:08

🚲 Responding to Pandemic-Induced Demand Shifts

Amitko discusses how unprecedented demand for outdoor products, like bicycles, required fine-tuning inventory models and assembly processes. He shares how they optimized the fulfillment network by adapting technology to navigate assembly capacities and supply shortages.

25:10

📦 Circular Commerce and Returns Management

Amitko underscores the importance of customer satisfaction and reverse logistics in managing returns, while circular commerce offers an eco-friendly solution. He describes how REI ensures consistent customer experiences through comprehensive product data and sustainable business practices.

30:10

🌍 Creating Customer Value through Circular Commerce

Amitko explains how REI leverages returned items and gently used gear to create customer value and reduce carbon emissions by over 50%. Technology helps categorize product quality, manage resale pricing, and integrate fulfillment channels for these items.

35:12

📚 Amitko's MicroMasters Experience

Amitko shares how the MicroMasters program broadened his knowledge, improved his collaboration with colleagues, and provided a vocabulary for connecting with business partners. He encourages current students to network and build connections through events like this.

40:13

📝 Audience Engagement and Closing Remarks

The co-hosts thank Amitko for his valuable insights, emphasizing how technology and omnichannel strategies have expanded audience knowledge. They encourage learners to continue engaging with their supply chain studies and apply innovative solutions.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡供应链管理

供应链管理是指在生产和销售过程中,对产品从原材料采购、加工、运输直至最终销售的整个流程进行有效管理的一系列活动。在视频中,Callum Betts和Laura Lega作为MIT的供应链管理课程负责人,讨论了供应链技术及其对客户价值创造的重要性。

💡全渠道零售

全渠道零售是一种零售策略,它将线上购物、移动购物和实体店购物等多种购物方式结合起来,为消费者提供无缝的购物体验。视频中提到,REI作为一个户外装备零售商,通过全渠道策略,允许顾客在不同的渠道购买和退换商品,增加了顾客的购买选项和灵活性。

💡信息技术

信息技术在供应链管理中扮演着核心角色,它包括用于管理和优化供应链流程的软件和硬件系统。视频中,Amitko Kami提到了他在REI的工作中,如何利用信息技术来支持供应链的订单管理、商品采购、品牌合作和产品开发。

💡客户价值

客户价值指的是企业通过其产品或服务为顾客提供的利益和价值,它通常与顾客的满意度和忠诚度相关。在视频中,讨论了如何通过全渠道体验来提升客户价值,包括提供更广泛的产品选择、更灵活的获取产品的方式,以及建立与品牌的长期关系。

💡逆向物流

逆向物流指的是产品从消费者返回到生产者或零售商的物流过程,这通常涉及到退货、维修、翻新或回收等活动。视频中,讨论了REI如何处理逆向物流,包括退货的便利性、产品退回后的处置决策,以及如何通过技术提高逆向物流的效率。

💡可持续性

可持续性涉及到在不损害未来代际满足自身需求的能力的情况下满足当前需求的发展。视频中,REI强调了其可持续发展的目标,包括减少碳排放、使用可再生能源、实现零废物,并通过循环商务模式销售二手装备来减少对环境的影响。

💡电子商务

电子商务指的是通过互联网进行的买卖商品或服务的活动。视频中提到,电子商务的增长导致了更高的退货率,这给供应链管理带来了新的挑战,尤其是在处理退货和逆向物流方面。

💡企业资源计划(ERP)

企业资源计划是一种集成的信息系统,用于管理企业运营的核心部分,如财务、人力资源、供应链等。在讨论中,Amit提到了ERP系统在整合数据和提供供应链管理功能方面的优势,同时也指出了其在适应新技术和趋势方面的局限性。

💡优化引擎

优化引擎是一种软件系统,用于分析数据并找到最佳的业务决策方案。在视频中,Amit讨论了优化引擎如何在REI的供应链中用于平衡成本和服务水平,以及如何在疫情期间调整这些模型以应对需求的激增。

💡直接发货(Drop Ship)

直接发货是一种零库存零售模式,供应商直接将产品从仓库发货给消费者,而不经过零售商的仓库。视频中提到,REI利用直接发货扩展了其产品种类,但也带来了库存可见性、客户承诺和服务水平等方面的挑战。

💡循环商务

循环商务是一种商业模式,它强调产品的重复使用和循环利用,以减少浪费和环境影响。视频中,REI通过销售二手装备的循环商务模式,实现了减少碳排放的目标,并为客户提供了更具可持续性的选择。

Highlights

Callum Betts 和 Laura Lega 作为 MITx MicroMasters 供应链管理课程的课程负责人,介绍了他们在 MIT 运输与物流中心的全渠道和可持续性相关研究。

Amit Kothary,REI 的供应链商品和合作品牌技术部门副总裁,分享了他在信息技术方面超过 20 年的经验以及在 REI 的工作洞察。

REI 作为会员所有的合作零售商,强调户外时间对于美好生活的重要性,并致力于激励和使每个人能够体验户外生活。

REI 社区拥有超过 2000 万终身会员,近 15000 名员工和 168 个地点,提供户外装备、服装租赁以及户外体验。

Kothary 讨论了全渠道策略如何成为提升客户体验和价值的关键驱动力,并强调了全渠道履行选择的复杂性。

REI 使用技术来优化库存可用性、客户承诺和总服务成本,同时最大化客户体验。

在网络设计和模拟软件的帮助下,REI 决定在田纳西州开设新的配送中心,以提高配送速度并优化服务成本。

REI 致力于通过使用行业领先的可持续性技术和特征来减少碳排放,目标是到 2030 年减少 55%。

COVID-19 大流行期间,REI 必须快速适应,从全渠道零售商转变为一夜之间的纯在线零售商。

REI 利用技术推出了路边取货等新服务,以应对大流行期间的健康和安全指南。

Kothary 强调了在大流行期间保持客户体验的无缝性和无摩擦性的重要性,并介绍了 REI 如何通过技术实现这一目标。

REI 发现通过销售二手装备来减少碳排放,与生产类似新产品相比,可以减少约 50% 的碳排放。

REI 重视循环商务,将其作为实现可持续性目标的关键战略,其中退货是循环商务的重要供应来源。

Kothary 分享了他在 MIT MicroMasters 项目中的学习经验,强调了该项目如何帮助他在供应链领域扩展知识、建立网络,并与业务伙伴建立联系。

REI 计划继续提供在大流行期间开始的服务,如路边取货,以满足客户的便利性和偏好。

REI 正在采取措施减少其碳足迹,包括使用可再生能源、实现零废物项目,并在上游供应链中寻找减少碳排放的机会。

在选择供应链系统时,REI 考虑了 ERP 系统和最佳实践解决方案的优缺点,并根据是否能够为客户带来差异化来做出选择。

REI 通过提供直运服务来扩展其产品种类,但这也带来了库存可用性、客户承诺和退货处理的复杂性。

Kothary 鼓励对供应链技术感兴趣的学生加入 MIT MicroMasters 项目,并建立专业网络以推进他们的职业生涯。

Transcripts

play00:06

hi everyone welcome thank you for

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joining my name is callum betts i'm

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honored to be your co-host for today i'm

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a course lead in the mitx micromasters

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program in supply chain management i'm

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also involved in omni channel and

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sustainability related research here at

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mit center for transportation logistics

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and i'm honored to have my co-host here

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my colleague laura lega

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hi kellan hi everyone and welcome i'm

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laura i'm also course leading the

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micromaster in supply chain management

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program you probably have seen us

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already and i'm involved in omnichannel

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sustainability and online education

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research at the mit center for

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transportation logistics today we are so

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fortunate to have here with us mr amitko

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kami

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um amit is the divisional vice president

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of supply chain merchandising and co-op

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brands technology at rei

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and he has over 20 years of experience

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in information technology

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with that he will share recent insight

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from his work at the company so we are

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very glad to have you join us today um

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so welcome amit

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thank you

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all right before

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um

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we get started um with the discussion

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let's get event with a quick poll we'd

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like to learn more about what you're

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hoping to get out of this event and so

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let me launch that

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poll number one now please

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awesome so the poll question why are you

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here today um just a few different

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options you know i want to learn about

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supply chain technology and systems i

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want to learn about maybe rei and the

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outdoor industry

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hopefully we have some micromasters and

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some sem students here and you don't

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miss any live events that's i'm always

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awesome

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um while we do that i'll share a little

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bit about the agenda for today and so

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for the next few minutes we'll have a

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minute and write a little background

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what he does and how it relates to our

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topic today we'll then ask some

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questions that we have prepared and then

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the last 15 minutes we'll be saved for

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your questions and so please use that

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webinar q a that little button on the

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bottom that webinar q a feature to ask

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your questions and be sure to log be

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logged in with a name and we won't be

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reading any anonymous questions

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and we'll also share a few more polls

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during the event so be prepared to

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participate

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and let's check in on our results of

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that first poll

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okay

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so

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i can see that most of you want to learn

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about supply chain technology and system

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and

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you want to see how it can improve your

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supply chains so that's awesome we will

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cover all the topics that are here so we

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are very happy that you are interested

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on that

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and with that in mind i want to admit uh

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to get started so i don't know if you're

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ready i mean to start we would love to

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start by learning

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more about your background

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yeah sure

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um i'll start a little bit about myself

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um i've been working in supply chain

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related technologies for over 20 years

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now

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uh i have been with rei for a little

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over seven years

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in my current role at rei i support

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teams that work on supply chain order

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management merchandising co-op brands

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product design and development uh and

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our erp system

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these technologies are foundational for

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arya's transformation

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it is an exciting space to be in for

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sure

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so little bit about rei

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many of you probably know arya already

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and i'm hoping some of you are even

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co-op members

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a quick overview for those of you who

play03:27

may not be familiar

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rei is a member-owned cooperative

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retailer based in the united states

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at rei we believe time outside is

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fundamental to a life well-lived

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we exist to inspire and enable life

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outside for everyone

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today the rei community has over 20

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million lifetime members nearly 15 000

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employees and 168 locations

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rei

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sells outdoor gear and apparel we offer

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rental equipment

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resupply which is our circular commerce

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offering and also outdoor experiences

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like travel group activities and classes

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being a member owned cooperative or what

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we refer to as the co-op is fundamental

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to rei it allows us to focus on shared

play04:15

values and not share value

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this connects nicely to the theme for

play04:20

today's event about creating customer

play04:22

value

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and i wanted to share a very short video

play04:25

about co-op membership

play04:27

can play the video please

play04:34

the more we get out there

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the more we discover

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that there's a community

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with room for everyone

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and a membership that never expires

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that goes wherever we go

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that loves what we love

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hey

play04:51

always welcoming us

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outside

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rei

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better is out there

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thank you

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so one way to think about that video is

play05:10

that it shows the ideal customer

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experience

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at rei our customer is the co-op member

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who is engaged in outside activities

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so as supply chain professionals how do

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we create customer value for all of

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these members

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how does the omni channel experience

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fulfill on the vision that we just saw

play05:28

in that video

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awesome well thank you amit we're super

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happy to have you here today and thank

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you again for sharing your time and your

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knowledge with us today and we're also

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super proud to have a sem micromasters

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alumni here to share an experience today

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it's very exciting for us

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let's dive into our main topic and

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connect me with that question that you

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left us with there how does omnichannel

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experience bring value to

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customers or in your case co-op members

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from my personal experience at rei you

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can buy in rei stores you can buy at

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ri.com and have it shipped to you um you

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can buy online and go to the store and

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have it picked up and all these kind of

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different type of channels

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so we would like to know first is what

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are some of the unique challenges this

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omnichannel strategy presents

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compared to like a pure ecommerce or a

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pure brick and mortar retailer

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maybe from a technology and systems

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perspective and has this

play06:17

strategy help create customer value

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yeah thanks kalyn sure let's dive in

play06:23

uh the omni channel strategy is a key

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enabler for driving the customer

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experience and customer value

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the various fulfillment choices that you

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just described earlier online in store

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across all of the channels

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those used to be a differentiator in the

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past

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but now as we are seeing digital and

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store experiences uh continue to blend

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together and digital is driving

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significant growth so in that situation

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uh these are almost becoming table

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stakes now

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and with that the complexity continues

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to grow and it's not just for technology

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but it's for people processes from all

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of those perspectives

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the primary driver for this added

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complexity is the sheer number of

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additional choices and decisions

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that will be made both by the customers

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but also by the retailer

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you reference the pure e-commerce or

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brick and mortar

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models and retailers there

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so in those models the decisions are not

play07:21

easy but relatively straightforward you

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have a single pool of inventory that the

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customers can choose from

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in both of those models you have a

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single primary channel that is

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generating most of your demand

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and you have relatively limited options

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to fulfill this demand from

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so enter the world of omnichannel and

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the number of the variables just expands

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in a non-linear fashion

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i'll share some numbers from rei

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perspective um 20 million members we

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have three three soon to be four

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distribution centers we have 168 stores

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we have more than thousand vendors

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so with all of these the complexity just

play08:00

grows

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and there are key uh themes that i would

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talk about there are three of them

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the first one being inventory and

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availability

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second is the customer promise and third

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is optimizing the total cost to serve

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while maximizing the customer experience

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so in each of these three themes there

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are a number of foundational decisions

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that you need to make

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which is going to drive how your network

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and customer experience is going to be

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set up

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so let's take the first theme of

play08:31

inventory and availability

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some of the key questions here are

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how do you decide on available to

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promise inventory

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do you have dedicated and separate

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inventory pools by channel one for

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e-commerce one for stores or do you have

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a shared inventory pool

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also when we have stores the inventory

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picture in the stores is changing

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throughout the day as walk-in customers

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transact

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and do you have any additional sources

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of inventory outside of your network so

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for example if you are partnering with

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your drop ship partners uh that creates

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additional complexity because they may

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not have the inventory pools dedicated

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to you they may be serving multiple

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retailers so getting the inventory and

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availability right is the foundational

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piece which is going to drive all of the

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downstream customer experience

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then when you have made all of these

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decisions it comes to the customer

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promise

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as the customer is transacting what are

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the different choices for the customer

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that's going to be driven by if you have

play09:29

all of the stores do you ship from all

play09:31

the stores like we do

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what are the different options whether

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it is shipping to your home shipping to

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store picking up from a store or even an

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off-site location

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and then what are the different levels

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of service that you offer do you offer

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next day two-day shipping

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and then based on all of these

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combinations what is the date that you

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are going to promise to the customer

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that's the most important

play09:54

aspect here in terms of setting the

play09:56

right expectation

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for the customer to receive the product

play10:00

and once you have both of these set up

play10:02

it really comes down to optimization

play10:04

now you

play10:05

have so many of these foundational

play10:07

decisions that are going to lead you to

play10:09

a number of different constraints that

play10:11

you would need to optimize against

play10:13

you have shipping costs from different

play10:15

locations you have processing costs at

play10:17

the distribution centers and the stores

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you have the capacity both

play10:21

individual capacity at the location

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level and then you have the aggregate

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capacity and throughput of your network

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when you have stores the product is

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selling through at the store locations

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at different rates and that's going to

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influence

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how you manage your inventory life cycle

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in terms of the markdowns or

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stock outs and things like that

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so i think i just rattled through a

play10:44

bunch of decisions there so all of these

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decisions create a very interesting

play10:49

challenge for technology

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we need to have systems in place that

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will have reliable accurate and near

play10:56

real-time information about all of this

play10:58

inventory

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and then we need to have optimization

play11:01

engine and models in place that can

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dynamically respond to various

play11:05

situations as we go through the year we

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have different events we have typical

play11:09

holiday season you have any special

play11:11

events or you can run into any of the

play11:14

external constraints that you did not

play11:16

even see

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ah pandemic was a great example which i

play11:19

know we are going to talk a little bit

play11:20

more in details

play11:22

so you need to have technologies and

play11:24

systems in place

play11:26

to also support the operations inside

play11:28

your buildings whether it is

play11:29

distribution center store operations

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so collection of systems that work

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together is a critical success factor in

play11:37

getting omni channel right

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its erp warehouse management order

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management system points of sale

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all of these are various building blocks

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and eventually

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your digital properties whether it is

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your website or mobile app

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those are going to consume this

play11:52

information and craft engaging customer

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experiences it's really quite

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challenging to integrate all of these

play11:58

systems in near real time and make sure

play12:01

that you can deliver on a great customer

play12:02

experience

play12:04

so as any retailer when you start

play12:07

bringing this omni channel strategy and

play12:09

experiences to life the initial

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experiences may feel transactional at

play12:13

times they may also feel disjointed

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across the channels i go to a stores i

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see one thing i go to your digital

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property the inventory availability

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picture may not seem consistent and it

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could be disjointed that's the early

play12:25

stage of omnichannel

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but as the capabilities mature as you

play12:28

have more systems technology and

play12:30

processes in place and when you get it

play12:32

right the end result that we are

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aspiring for is a seamless and

play12:36

frictionless customer journey

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and the customer value that this entire

play12:40

model creates is in a wide selection of

play12:43

products and services

play12:45

in flexibility for accessing those

play12:47

products when and how the customers want

play12:49

them

play12:50

and hopefully they build a lifelong

play12:52

relationship with your brand

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thank you amit for those great insights

play12:58

and very detailed one i i think our

play13:00

audience would love them

play13:02

on creating a similar omni channel

play13:04

customer experience that's amazing

play13:07

we also know that companies need to

play13:09

eventually redesign the distribution

play13:11

networks and this could be because of

play13:13

disruptions capacity issues or even to

play13:16

provide improved customer service as is

play13:18

or satisfy change in demand

play13:20

so connecting with what you just said uh

play13:22

recently the company announced that

play13:24

you're opening the new and fourth

play13:25

distribution center so we wanted to know

play13:28

um what role did technology play in

play13:31

evaluating the network design and making

play13:34

decisions in terms of um what's the new

play13:37

additional capacity we would need in the

play13:38

network and also understanding like i

play13:41

think it's going to be located in

play13:43

tennessee correct me if i'm wrong how

play13:45

did you make that choice so we would

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love to learn more about that

play13:48

yeah that's a great question

play13:50

so as you said companies need to be

play13:52

constantly reviewing their supply chain

play13:54

networks to ensure that they are set up

play13:55

to meet both the growth that is

play13:57

happening in the business but also the

play13:59

ever-changing customer needs and

play14:02

technology and data play a critical role

play14:05

in modeling the network and also helping

play14:07

inform with the decision such as the

play14:09

location selection as we described where

play14:11

do we open the distribution center what

play14:13

is the product flow mix that is flowing

play14:15

through you know the existing network as

play14:17

well

play14:18

and at rei we use our distribution

play14:20

centers to serve both the stores

play14:23

as well as e-commerce and digital orders

play14:25

so that adds even more complexity when

play14:28

we want to make sure that the right mix

play14:30

of product is flowing through these

play14:31

buildings

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uh in addition we are also a specialty

play14:35

retailer

play14:36

so our number of days of supply in any

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given location is pretty low especially

play14:41

when you compare it to a big box

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retailer so in stocks are super

play14:45

important for us and the proximity has a

play14:48

huge impact in maintaining the healthy

play14:50

in-stock levels inside the stores

play14:53

and then technology absolutely played a

play14:54

pivotal role in evaluation of the

play14:56

network design it all starts with

play14:59

customers first and utilizing the

play15:00

technology and data that we have um to

play15:04

understand the key markets the

play15:05

demographics to strategically place a

play15:07

distribution center that is close both

play15:09

to their stores

play15:11

as well as to our customers

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so throughout all of our systems we have

play15:16

a ton of data

play15:17

around where our customers and members

play15:19

live

play15:20

where the demand originates where it is

play15:22

actually fulfilled from

play15:24

what's the product and the category

play15:25

makes uh that the customers are

play15:27

purchasing

play15:28

what's the time taken to deliver the

play15:30

product uh

play15:32

after the order is placed to the

play15:33

customers and what's the replenishment

play15:35

cycle and time frame to get the product

play15:37

to the stores

play15:38

so we have this ton of data

play15:41

but we obviously need tools

play15:43

on top of that so this data coupled with

play15:45

network design and modeling software

play15:47

is critical in selecting the location

play15:49

and also designing the flow

play15:52

and the other piece that i will add

play15:54

there is the technology

play15:55

doesn't stop when we uh select a

play15:58

location but now that you have added a

play16:00

new node to the location the complexity

play16:02

of the network grows even more so you

play16:04

now have even more variables so you need

play16:06

to have the end-to-end agility and

play16:08

flexibility in the supply chain to

play16:10

respond to

play16:11

any changes whether it is demand

play16:13

customer behavior you name it

play16:15

and then we need to have the technology

play16:17

in place to deliver operational

play16:19

efficiency simplicity inside the dc's

play16:23

all the way from material handling

play16:24

equipment to warehouse management

play16:26

software to the user experience that you

play16:28

are going to see

play16:30

so answering the question about how did

play16:32

we decide to open this distribution

play16:34

center in tennessee

play16:36

this is the classic um location

play16:38

selection optimization problem that i'm

play16:40

sure you are studying in the design and

play16:42

other courses in details so there are a

play16:45

few considerations and constraints that

play16:47

i will talk through so we took all of

play16:49

these ah into consideration and

play16:51

optimized against those

play16:53

the first one is the network capacity

play16:55

and throughput so given our growing

play16:58

demand both in stores as well as in our

play17:00

digital channel what's the total

play17:01

capacity

play17:02

that we need in terms of just the

play17:04

storage as well as the throughput

play17:06

through the dc's and the stores that was

play17:08

uh one of the key considerations

play17:10

uh the second and really important point

play17:13

is around the speed to customer

play17:16

so with now this expanded network we can

play17:18

offer various uh levels of service

play17:20

faster shipping to our customers such as

play17:23

two-day shipping

play17:24

uh just to put it in perspective in some

play17:26

numbers

play17:27

the tennessee distribution center

play17:30

is going to have about 5.6 million

play17:33

existing members that are residing in

play17:35

the area that would be served by the

play17:37

distribution center

play17:39

out of our 168 stores 70 stores can

play17:42

receive the product from this

play17:43

distribution center so this

play17:46

represents a significant increase in the

play17:48

coverage in number of members that we

play17:50

can reach with a two-day shipping range

play17:53

with just standard shipping

play17:55

um then the third element there is

play17:58

around the cost to serve so we want to

play17:59

optimize the overall cost across the

play18:01

network

play18:03

and also have the required agility

play18:05

and i think the fourth and most

play18:07

important aspect for us from our impact

play18:10

agenda perspective is around

play18:11

sustainability

play18:13

uh i know

play18:14

ctl is doing a lot of research

play18:16

specifically on that sustainability

play18:17

frame so we are looking to leverage

play18:19

industry leading sustainability and

play18:21

technology features both inside the

play18:23

building as well as we are going to get

play18:25

closer to the customers

play18:27

and with that we will be able to support

play18:29

our goal of

play18:31

reducing our carbon emissions by 55

play18:33

percent by 2030. so those were the four

play18:36

factors and constraints that we applied

play18:38

in our model and then that led us to the

play18:41

decision of opening the location in

play18:42

tennessee

play18:45

that's super fascinating especially the

play18:47

concept of

play18:48

you know using a facility for both

play18:50

channels in some sense you know

play18:51

replenishment of stores as well as the

play18:52

online like a true omni channel

play18:55

you know distribution center if you will

play18:57

i want to kind of pick up on me are two

play18:58

ideas that you mentioned so one is the

play19:00

idea of like flexibility and agility um

play19:03

and then the other idea mentioned

play19:04

earlier is the pandemic obviously being

play19:05

a significant disruption

play19:07

so these kind of come together in the

play19:09

sense where you have to use you know

play19:10

some of these concepts some of these

play19:12

systems

play19:13

to adapt to this disruption right

play19:14

disruption of the pandemic

play19:17

i mean so kind of pivot this is your

play19:18

conversation to disruptions you know the

play19:20

past few years especially with the

play19:21

pandemic i've seen a lot of them

play19:23

in our conversation before the event you

play19:25

mentioned responding to the pandemic

play19:26

with arya having to close its doors

play19:28

early on and then reopen them as

play19:30

restrictions ease was kind of a

play19:32

significant challenge and so can you

play19:33

share a little bit about that experience

play19:36

and the role the technology played that

play19:38

flexibility that adaptability to this

play19:39

disruption

play19:41

yeah definitely

play19:42

um i think pandemic as for everyone was

play19:45

a true test of how resilient our

play19:47

processes and technologies were

play19:50

we had to assess the situation and

play19:52

utilize the tools that we had in our

play19:53

toolbox to respond to varying challenges

play19:56

that each of the different phases of the

play19:58

pandemic presented

play20:00

and in some cases we did not even have

play20:02

the tools available um so we had to

play20:04

really build them quickly we had to

play20:06

advance some of uh the development

play20:08

because they were part of a road map or

play20:10

backlog that we were

play20:11

looking to go after

play20:13

so before i talk about how we responded

play20:15

to the pandemic and how we made those

play20:17

adjustments uh let's take a step back

play20:19

because i think it is very important uh

play20:21

to understand the context and the

play20:23

maturity of our supply our supply chain

play20:25

uh processes as well as technologies to

play20:28

see where we were

play20:30

in hindsight we were fortunate to have a

play20:32

number of omni-channel building blocks

play20:34

in place prior to pending

play20:36

and we were able to build or solve this

play20:38

jigsaw puzzle by utilizing them

play20:41

so you could say that we were fortunate

play20:43

but then it was not by accident

play20:45

we have been working on our omni-channel

play20:47

fulfillment strategy for several years

play20:49

prior to pandemic

play20:51

so we have the inventory visibility

play20:53

across all of our channels whether it is

play20:54

distribution centers stores dropship

play20:57

vendor partners

play20:59

so we can use this expanded inventory

play21:01

pool to better service the customer

play21:03

needs

play21:04

we also have the ability to use our

play21:06

stores as fulfillment notes

play21:09

i think as you mentioned earlier the

play21:10

customers can buy online pickup in store

play21:13

they can ship to store from rdcs we have

play21:15

wide variety of these fulfillment

play21:17

options

play21:19

and we are also able to offer a wide

play21:21

selection of products to our customers

play21:22

from our dropship partners

play21:25

so when we implemented all of these

play21:26

different fulfillment options and

play21:28

choices for our customers

play21:30

the key the glue that held everything

play21:33

together

play21:34

was an optimization engine which

play21:36

optimizes the number of countless

play21:38

choices this network and these methods

play21:39

create

play21:41

so we want to be able to optimize the

play21:43

total cost to serve while

play21:45

exceeding the customer expectations

play21:48

and we had the privilege of a really

play21:50

sophisticated omni channel capability

play21:53

with so many optimization levers and

play21:55

this operation was coming even before

play21:58

pandemic

play21:59

so when we were hit by the pandemic

play22:01

obviously we had to take a number of

play22:03

different actions so i'll walk you

play22:05

through three different scenarios

play22:07

the first one is the omni-channel

play22:09

operations through various phases of

play22:11

pandemic as you said first phase we had

play22:13

to close all the stores then you could

play22:15

open them but you obviously had to

play22:16

follow a lot of the health and safety

play22:18

guidelines

play22:19

so i'll walk you through all of those

play22:21

operations

play22:22

the second one was we had to create

play22:25

new offerings such as curbside

play22:27

to respond to the pandemic

play22:29

and then the third one is

play22:32

as you have heard in the news and media

play22:34

all the time supply chain disruption

play22:36

supply chain shortages that continues to

play22:38

be the theme as we are hopefully coming

play22:40

out of the pandemic so how do we respond

play22:42

to that and what are the new

play22:44

capabilities or customer service

play22:45

adjustments that we have to do to

play22:47

respond to those supply chain

play22:48

disruptions

play22:50

so let's talk about the first one the

play22:52

different omni channel operations

play22:55

in the first phase the stores had to be

play22:57

closed overnight and we went from this

play22:59

omni channel retailer we had to become

play23:02

an online only retailer pretty much

play23:04

overnight

play23:05

and while digital is growing our store

play23:07

still represents majority of our demand

play23:09

so we have to now take the optimization

play23:11

models that were all set and tuned

play23:14

after a lot of analysis to optimize the

play23:16

total cost to serve and manage all of

play23:18

those constraints we had to make the

play23:21

necessary changes now to balance the

play23:23

capacity and throughput of the

play23:24

distribution centers because all of our

play23:27

demand was essentially being served out

play23:29

of those three distribution centers

play23:31

during that phase

play23:32

so those constraints became really

play23:34

important in this phase

play23:37

so now obviously with all of this demand

play23:39

going through the digital channel we had

play23:42

to make the adjustments to make sure

play23:43

that the customer promise the date that

play23:45

we are promising to the customers the

play23:47

options that we are promising to the

play23:48

customers are updated to reflect how the

play23:51

operations are keeping pace with this

play23:53

surge in the demand

play23:55

and then

play23:56

obviously the stores were closed so we

play23:57

had to make the necessary adjustments in

play23:59

our systems and processes to make sure

play24:01

that we are not reserving inventory

play24:03

for the store channel which would impact

play24:06

the choices or availability

play24:08

for our customers who are transacting

play24:10

primarily in the digital channel now

play24:13

so that was the first case and then as

play24:15

we entered the subsequent phases of the

play24:17

pandemic now we had the ability to

play24:20

open our stores and utilize them for

play24:22

fulfillment so then we were able to use

play24:24

them to provide some relief for our

play24:26

distribution centers as well as

play24:28

productively utilize the inventory which

play24:30

was within the four walls of the store

play24:32

and more of that inventory was available

play24:34

across the channels because we had fewer

play24:37

number of walk-in customers given all of

play24:38

the restrictions

play24:41

the other interesting aspect here is

play24:43

um

play24:44

pandemic drove uh increases in demand in

play24:48

a lot of categories right

play24:49

everybody wanted to get outside and try

play24:51

to do certain activities to maintain the

play24:53

health and all of that so bike is an

play24:56

example that was one category the demand

play24:58

for which just took off exponentially

play25:00

during this phase

play25:01

and now this presented a number of

play25:03

different challenges

play25:04

because by

play25:06

along with just the inventory there is

play25:07

assembly process that is required and

play25:09

that assembly process takes place both

play25:12

partly in the dc

play25:13

and then the last set happens

play25:16

inside the stores

play25:17

so now we had to optimize this

play25:19

fulfillment not only based on the

play25:21

inventory and the availability across

play25:23

the locations but we also had to take

play25:26

into account the capacity and the

play25:27

bandwidth available

play25:29

for assembly and various services within

play25:31

those locations so we have to tweak

play25:34

all of those optimization models and use

play25:36

different levers

play25:37

another interesting point with bikes is

play25:40

pre-pandemic most of our bikes used to

play25:43

be shipped to the store uh we didn't

play25:45

have the ability to ship the bikes to

play25:47

home because they need assembly

play25:49

servicing and all of those things so now

play25:51

you have fewer options so the

play25:53

network that you have which is

play25:55

replenishing the products to the stores

play25:57

comes with its own uh constraints and

play25:59

own challenges so that was another

play26:01

interesting pivot that we had to make

play26:03

during this phase

play26:06

and then

play26:07

as we were living through that phase

play26:10

obviously we had to meet all of the

play26:11

health and safety guidelines

play26:13

for our customers and also for our

play26:15

employees so that led to creation of new

play26:17

fulfillment options we have seen a

play26:19

number of retailers offer the curbside

play26:21

pickup for the health reasons during the

play26:23

pandemic

play26:25

so we were able to stand this up

play26:26

relatively quickly it was really just a

play26:28

matter of weeks before we were able to

play26:30

respond and create that offering and all

play26:32

of this was possible because we had

play26:34

those uh buy online pickup in store and

play26:37

ship to store both processes and

play26:39

technologies in place it is very hard to

play26:41

imagine how we could have stood up

play26:43

something like curbside so quickly if we

play26:46

did not have those building blocks

play26:49

and then i think the last element that i

play26:51

described earlier is around the supply

play26:54

chain shortages disruptions shipping

play26:56

delays backlog of the

play26:58

ports and all of that

play27:00

so where are we seeing the impacts uh

play27:02

from all of those issues

play27:04

it is certainly impacting the accuracy

play27:07

and timely delivery of our future supply

play27:09

and the inventory that is coming into

play27:12

our network

play27:13

so if you are a retailer like us that

play27:15

promises back orders or pre-orders

play27:17

against this future inventory in

play27:19

anticipation

play27:20

that it is going to be available

play27:22

and manage all of the dates

play27:24

well good luck with that it's really

play27:26

been a hard problem to solve

play27:29

so we had to take multiple measures the

play27:31

first thing was to preserve that

play27:33

customer experience so we took measures

play27:35

to scale back our

play27:36

back order capability to respond to

play27:38

these uncertainties and all of the

play27:40

variability that we are seeing

play27:42

we wanted to make sure that we

play27:44

prioritize the seamless and frictionless

play27:46

customer experience that i talked about

play27:48

earlier we wanted to prioritize that

play27:50

over and above capturing any additional

play27:52

demand

play27:54

so we also accelerated um the

play27:56

development of some new capabilities so

play27:58

we now have a feature um on our site

play28:02

which is called notify me when available

play28:04

so if the product is not available you

play28:06

can sign up for notifications

play28:08

when it will become on hand and you can

play28:10

purchase that it effectively allows you

play28:12

to get on a virtual waiting list for all

play28:14

of the products so in order to create

play28:17

this customer experience you need uh all

play28:19

of the underlying data integration

play28:21

whether it is the purchase order

play28:22

information the advanced shipping

play28:24

notification the dates the traceability

play28:27

and visibility through all of the supply

play28:29

chain so that we can look at those dates

play28:31

and create these types of customer

play28:33

experiences so all of that was really

play28:36

critical in building and bringing this

play28:38

capability to life for our customers

play28:42

thank you amit and as you say it was

play28:45

definitely not about just being

play28:46

fortunate but also about being prepared

play28:49

and i found very interesting that even

play28:51

though you were very much prepared to

play28:53

deal with the changing landscape

play28:56

impacted by the disruption you are also

play28:58

very resilient enough to develop new

play29:01

offerings and we always communicated

play29:03

with your members and

play29:05

you never lost the focus on the customer

play29:07

experience while you were describing

play29:09

this so that's amazing and i i

play29:10

appreciate you sharing that with our

play29:12

audience

play29:13

so we want to keep the event interactive

play29:16

and we want to hear from the audience so

play29:18

i would love to launch the second poll

play29:21

and this one is about uh returns a topic

play29:23

we're very interested on and i'm sure

play29:26

you're

play29:27

like you in the audience are also

play29:28

interested about that because i've seen

play29:30

some questions already in the q a

play29:33

feature about return so thank you for

play29:34

those

play29:35

we want to know from your side what are

play29:38

the main reasons that

play29:41

customers returns product at your

play29:43

company or if not at your company what

play29:45

are the main reasons that you return

play29:47

products for it could be wrong products

play29:50

damaged products or

play29:52

those probably didn't meet your

play29:53

expectation or you intentionally did it

play29:55

to just try them on and see what comes

play29:58

next

play29:59

okay so thank you i see this is

play30:01

populating already

play30:03

so while you all respond i would love to

play30:06

go back to a meet and we will touch upon

play30:08

this topic

play30:09

you know that this is one of the areas

play30:11

where we researching its returns and

play30:13

reverse logistics and

play30:15

most retail supply chains are designed

play30:17

and optimized for the forward flow of

play30:20

products from manufacturer to an end

play30:22

consumer

play30:23

and at the same time accepting returns

play30:26

is we know not a new phenomenon but we

play30:29

know that there are also a new new

play30:31

dynamics of higher rate of returns and

play30:34

mainly driven by e-commerce growth and

play30:37

we also know about the complexities of

play30:39

getting something back from a customer

play30:42

that

play30:42

has never visited the store before

play30:45

so we would love to know from amid what

play30:48

has been your experience with

play30:49

circularity in retail with a reverse

play30:51

flow of products and of course how does

play30:54

technology fit into it and

play30:56

as you always do bring us the

play30:58

perspective of the customer value

play31:02

yeah

play31:02

definitely uh there are three aspects uh

play31:05

of returns one is the customer

play31:07

experience first and foremost as you

play31:08

described

play31:10

uh then the second is the reverse

play31:11

logistics and then reverse flow of the

play31:13

product throughout our network and the

play31:15

last one is around the circular commerce

play31:18

so we previously had talked about how

play31:21

omnichannel fulfillment as you said from

play31:23

a forward perspective shapes

play31:25

the customer experience and what are the

play31:27

various challenges and complexities

play31:29

within that

play31:30

but the omni channel returns experience

play31:32

is equally important

play31:34

the ease of return transaction

play31:35

regardless of where you had made the

play31:37

purchase whether you had buy bought the

play31:38

product online where you bring it back

play31:40

to the store vice versa all of that is a

play31:43

very big driver of the customer

play31:45

satisfaction

play31:47

and from a technology perspective it

play31:48

creates different challenges so when we

play31:51

talk about omni channel fulfillment you

play31:53

need to have the unified view of

play31:55

inventory so that the customers can

play31:57

transact now you flip it on reverse and

play31:59

then you are looking at all of the

play32:00

purchases and

play32:02

orders and the interactions that the

play32:03

customer had made so if you don't have

play32:05

the ability to have a single view into

play32:08

all of the customer interactions it

play32:10

becomes

play32:11

really challenging if you have all of

play32:13

your point of sale and all of the

play32:15

transaction depository over there you

play32:17

have all of the order history ah from

play32:19

your digital properties so if you are

play32:20

not able to combine those that

play32:22

definitely creates a lot of friction in

play32:25

that experience

play32:27

and then the process needs to allow for

play32:29

flexibility you should be able to start

play32:31

return in any channel i should be able

play32:33

to start the return

play32:35

on the digital channel create the

play32:37

necessary documentation information that

play32:39

may be required and then have the

play32:41

ability to send the product back and

play32:43

ship it to let's say your processing

play32:45

center distribution center whatever the

play32:47

case may be or bring it back to the

play32:49

store or drop off at a different

play32:50

location

play32:51

so developing that unified view of

play32:53

orders and allowing the customers to

play32:55

transact against that

play32:57

definitely

play32:58

creates a lot of challenge

play33:00

and just to put it in perspective

play33:02

majority of returns for our online

play33:04

orders

play33:05

were still brought back to our stores

play33:06

pre-pandemic so when we were hit by

play33:09

pandemic again we had to respond to that

play33:11

that was another area where we had to

play33:13

really uh stand up some capability

play33:15

really quickly was around the self

play33:17

service returns because the returns

play33:19

capability on our digital properties was

play33:21

fairly limited um as the majority of the

play33:24

returns were going back to the stores

play33:26

anyway so we had to pivot and create

play33:28

that self-service return capability

play33:30

which we are continuing to

play33:32

mature and eliminate the friction from

play33:34

that return journey as well

play33:36

so once the customer has interacted and

play33:39

created that return the reverse

play33:41

logistics and the flow of the product uh

play33:43

also leads to a number of different

play33:44

decision points so i create the return i

play33:47

drop off the product when should the

play33:49

refund be issued to the customer is it

play33:51

when um the product is dropped off for

play33:54

your with your carriers or when you

play33:56

receive and

play33:57

process the return i think that's

play33:58

probably the biggest factor from a

play34:00

customer experience perspective that

play34:02

they're looking for

play34:03

but then when you put your supply chain

play34:06

practitioner hat on you need to figure

play34:08

out where you want this product how do

play34:10

you want this product to be

play34:11

dispositioned lot of that product is

play34:13

available for

play34:14

resale because some of it is unopened

play34:17

new some of it might be open box and all

play34:19

of that so

play34:20

do you want to bring all of that product

play34:22

into a central location to process and

play34:24

disposition and then fulfill it from

play34:26

there that's one model that we

play34:28

see in the industry but the other

play34:31

interesting aspect is

play34:33

do you want to keep that product in

play34:35

within that particular local market

play34:37

because there was definitely a need and

play34:38

demand for that product within that

play34:40

region so if you keep it locally within

play34:43

the market you might be able to

play34:44

get it to the other customers faster and

play34:46

also optimize your inventory management

play34:49

so i think that's the

play34:50

other aspect so how you create the

play34:53

optimization on the fulfillment there is

play34:54

a similar way to create the optimization

play34:57

on the reverse logistics side also

play35:00

and then you talked about the overall

play35:01

circular commerce um that is a very

play35:04

important uh topic for us because as i

play35:06

said uh for rei sustainability is one of

play35:09

our key impact agenda

play35:11

uh so the

play35:12

circular commerce the sale of the used

play35:15

gear definitely creates a great

play35:17

opportunity for us uh from a

play35:19

sustainability perspective

play35:21

based on um the data that we have around

play35:24

preparing the used gear for resale

play35:26

versus creating a similar comparable

play35:30

new product we see about 50

play35:33

reduction in the carbon emissions when

play35:35

you talk about the used gear sales so

play35:37

that circular commerce from a

play35:39

sustainability perspective is a key

play35:41

strategic imperative for us and returns

play35:44

are a big source of supply for all of

play35:47

that circular commerce lot of our

play35:50

use gear supply is coming back from the

play35:51

returns

play35:52

um

play35:53

but technology wise it is really

play35:55

challenging we are to support this

play35:57

end-to-end process

play35:58

by having the right technology support

play36:01

in place

play36:02

because there are a lot of different

play36:04

complexities and considerations that

play36:06

come in so

play36:07

predominantly starting with the product

play36:09

information how do you manage the

play36:11

different quality

play36:12

and the disposition of the product is it

play36:14

unopened is it open box is it lightly

play36:16

used heavily used how is that going to

play36:19

be presented to the customer so that

play36:21

they can make the right choice

play36:23

and obviously based on the disposition

play36:25

and the quality of the product the

play36:26

pricing has to be said accordingly

play36:28

and then eventually it's the fulfillment

play36:30

and then that is driven by some of the

play36:32

factors that i talked about earlier in

play36:34

terms of where you are bringing your

play36:36

returns back is it central is it through

play36:38

your distribution center is it through

play36:40

your dedicated uh stores that are for

play36:43

your used gears or in some cases it

play36:45

could be well a 3pl logistics provider

play36:48

or a third party service provider so

play36:50

that fulfillment also creates a lot of

play36:52

complexity

play36:54

and we are still in the infancy in terms

play36:56

of our business model for the circular

play36:59

commerce so obviously we have a lot more

play37:01

opportunity in front of us for maturing

play37:03

the business processes and the models

play37:05

but also from a technology perspective

play37:08

uh it's really hard to create that uh

play37:10

support for the end-to-end process so

play37:12

there is a lot of opportunity in this

play37:14

space to innovate for students anybody

play37:17

else who is interested

play37:18

circular commerce and sustainability are

play37:20

probably the two biggest areas of

play37:22

opportunity for us

play37:26

that's fascinating there's so many

play37:27

passing ideas there to unpack

play37:29

for me the sustainability piece is very

play37:31

interesting in the

play37:32

the result that you guys found or the

play37:34

research you guys did with finding 50

play37:37

less for selling a used product versus a

play37:39

new product is very fascinating so much

play37:41

so that upstream

play37:42

supply chain is so challenging to

play37:45

decarbonize or to reduce emissions from

play37:46

and so this is one way to kind of

play37:47

address that up front right at that

play37:49

customer experience that's fascinating

play37:51

i'm going to have to to dive into that

play37:53

for sure maybe we'll have some quick

play37:55

good questions on that at the end

play37:57

um but before we proceed we want to um

play37:59

take a look at our poll results we could

play38:01

share that poll result number two this

play38:04

is a poll on what are the reasons um

play38:06

your company or maybe you yourself on

play38:08

return products and it looks like um the

play38:10

majority

play38:11

majority kind of picked two you know

play38:13

it's a damage and defective product or

play38:15

product did not meet expectations i

play38:16

think that makes sense i'm a little

play38:18

actually surprised to see the delivery

play38:20

expectations didn't meet that you know

play38:21

we're all kind of accustomed to this

play38:23

you know new same day or you know

play38:25

high-speed delivery i'm in the

play38:26

e-commerce world and

play38:28

that that not being every reason to

play38:30

return is kind of interesting to see so

play38:32

um hopefully there's some good comments

play38:33

there in the chat i think i saw a few

play38:35

pop up as well

play38:36

i'm awesome

play38:38

um so i'm just doing a quick quick time

play38:40

check i think we're going to jump into

play38:41

our final question before we get into

play38:43

some q a for

play38:45

the audience there i see a number of

play38:46

questions in the q and a's that's

play38:47

awesome but before we do so i want to

play38:49

jump into our final question with the

play38:50

mit um and we mentioned previously that

play38:52

emit is a credential holder or a

play38:54

micromaster's alumni which is super

play38:56

awesome to have him here

play38:58

so we'd love to know what inspired you

play38:59

to take the program and how you've been

play39:00

able to use it um what you've learned in

play39:03

your career after completing it

play39:06

yeah i'm really proud of being a member

play39:08

of the first ever cohort of the

play39:10

micromasters program

play39:12

i think the structure of the program

play39:13

which covers the end-to-end supply chain

play39:16

um the quality of the content and the

play39:18

research at mit cpl i think those were

play39:20

the key factors that attracted me to the

play39:22

program

play39:23

and this has helped me in a number of

play39:25

ways but i would share three

play39:27

quick highlights

play39:28

first was it broadened my supply chain

play39:30

knowledge

play39:31

so as i mentioned earlier that i have

play39:32

been working in the technology field

play39:35

within supply chain for a really long

play39:37

time but my scope was fairly limited i

play39:40

was being focused mainly on the omni

play39:42

channel as well as the distributed order

play39:43

management space and this program helped

play39:46

me see the big picture of supply chain

play39:48

all the way from

play39:49

network design uh to analytics

play39:51

technology all of that

play39:53

second and i think probably the most

play39:55

important one was it helped me connect

play39:58

with my business partners and the supply

play39:59

chain practitioners using a common

play40:01

vocabulary so it's not like as a

play40:03

technologist i'm talking about like

play40:04

requirements capabilities just from

play40:06

systems perspective but having the deep

play40:08

understanding of the theory of supply

play40:10

chain and its practical applications

play40:12

helped me partner with my stakeholders

play40:14

so that we could co-create and innovate

play40:16

versus trying to understand each other's

play40:18

terminology and language

play40:20

and

play40:21

the omni-channel optimization solutions

play40:23

that we talked about earlier those are

play40:25

directly based on some of the concepts

play40:27

that you learn in the supply chain

play40:28

design and the technology courses in the

play40:30

program

play40:32

and lastly it helped me build my network

play40:34

and create connection with respected

play40:36

experts in the field uh whether it was

play40:39

as a role of my student i participated

play40:42

as a cta for some of the roles uh for

play40:44

some of the courses as well as through

play40:45

events like this

play40:47

and even pre-pandemic in seattle area we

play40:50

had meetups of all of

play40:52

or several of the micro master students

play40:55

taking various courses to build those

play40:56

local connections and learn from each

play40:58

other

play40:59

so i think that's where it has been

play41:00

really helpful for me to apply the

play41:03

learnings um that i had so i definitely

play41:06

encourage the students to

play41:08

build such connections build your

play41:09

networks and also take the next step and

play41:11

complete the master's program which i

play41:13

wish i could do

play41:15

awesome i mean thank you for your

play41:17

encouraging rewards and for sharing your

play41:19

experience and your greatest takeaways

play41:22

for courses we are very excited and very

play41:25

proud to have you here with us showing

play41:27

us what you have learned

play41:28

along your professional and educational

play41:30

journey so that's amazing um we will run

play41:34

now a last poll before we go to the q a

play41:37

from the audience so you all have seen

play41:40

that we asked you first what were you

play41:42

looking for at this event but now we

play41:44

want to know what did you find most

play41:46

interesting out of our event

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so what's that probably expanding the

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knowledge of supply chain technology

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learning about rei and the retail

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industry and maybe new ideas to improve

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your own companies or your own daily

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jobs

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um so we while we give you a minute to

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complete that pull maybe kellen we can

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go to the first questions

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yeah there's tons of awesome questions

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in here thank you everyone for

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participating uh maybe just picking um

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our first one here from louis chong i

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apologize if i pronounce your name wrong

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but as the pandemic comes to an end um

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admit your question is for you will rei

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continue to offer services that started

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during the pandemic so maybe like that

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curbside pickup for example

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um and what are the considerations

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you're taking into account when making

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those decisions as the kind of the

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pandemic hopefully at least you seem to

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be on the tail end of that

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experience so

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yeah i think that's a good question and

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i think we've seen this pattern even

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earlier when a lot of these omni channel

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capabilities were evolving that as you

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offered new customer experience i think

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that

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just becomes the

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customer habit and that becomes the new

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trend right like the customers are so

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used to uh all of these different

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offerings now

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uh so some of those offerings will

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definitely continue again depending on

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the customer needs so obviously you know

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curbside pickup is a very convenient

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option so we do see uh that customers uh

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opt for that particular option also but

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as the restrictions are

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easing out there is definitely ah the

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desire for the customers to come into

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the stores and then ah interact not just

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with the product that they had purchased

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but with

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all of the other selection that we have

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and i think one of the key strengths for

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aria is also the knowledge that we have

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inside our stores with our green vests

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the employees as we call them because

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they are really the experts in their

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fields so definitely the differentiator

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and a key ah engagement lever for our

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customers is also to interact with those

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experts so i think we will definitely

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see a mix uh i'm sure there will be

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occasions or use cases where the

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convenience of the website pickup is

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helpful so our customers will continue

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to opt for that but when the customers

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or the stores are open they would be

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able to come in the store as well