Tim Hinckley on Best Practices for Digital-First Retailers

Consumers face an endless array of choices when it comes to their purchasing decisions, frequently choosing the trending or popular item. Digital-first brands and retailers, which are focused on these specific consumer desires, often find they lack the internal resources to keep up with demands. They can face problems with fulfillment, customer care, and inventory management as they try to compete with the brand and retail giants.

Our Chief Commercial Officer, Tim Hinckley, recommends digital-first brands and retailers don’t go it alone to compete with the likes of Amazon in his article: “Social Media Sales at Scale: Best Practices for Digital-First Retailers” published in Total Retail. Partnering with an experienced eCommerce provider can help these often social-born brands and retailers scale their operations. The key takeaways are below: 

Multinode Fulfillment Centers are Key: 

Many digital-first brands and retailers often have small fulfillment teams outfitted to handle less than a thousand orders. To provide products to consumers on-demand, using a multinode fulfillment network is paramount. Multinode fulfillment networks can staff on demand, serve multiple clients, and are particularly equipped to handle the constant ebb and flow of orders, saving time and money. 

Put Customer Care First: 

Delivering a great product is no longer enough to keep the customer happy, they also want the stellar customer experience to go along with it. To better meet customer care needs, digital-first brands and retailers should consider partnering with companies that provide the needed resources to deliver an extraordinary experience.  

Streamline Inventory Management with Omnichannel Technology: 

Omnichannel technology provides flexible fulfillment options and effectively addresses order volumes during peak and mini peak seasons. This enables digital-first brands and retailers to manage their inventory across multiple channels and is key to matching the surge in demand from a flash sale or regular peak. 

If you’d like to learn more about our omnichannel technology, fulfillment options, and customer care services, feel free to reach out to our sales team at any time.