In today’s retail landscape, the supply chain is no longer a back-office function—it is a strategic growth engine and a critical enabler of seamless, profitable omnichannel experiences. As consumer expectations for speed, convenience, and personalization continue to rise, retailers must reinvent their supply chains to deliver on the promise of unified commerce, while maintaining operational efficiency and resilience in the face of ongoing disruption.
The acceleration of e-commerce, the proliferation of fulfillment options (from BOPIS and curbside to last-mile delivery), and the volatility of global markets have exposed the limitations of traditional, siloed supply chains. Today’s digital shoppers expect to buy anywhere, fulfill anywhere, and return anywhere—placing unprecedented demands on inventory visibility, demand planning, and fulfillment agility. Yet, only 17% of retailers have full inventory visibility across stores, in transit, and in returns, and fulfillment costs now account for up to 12% of revenue, with returns from online orders up to three times higher than in-store purchases.
To thrive, retailers must move beyond incremental improvements and embrace holistic supply chain transformation—one that is data-driven, customer-centric, and powered by advanced technologies like AI and cloud.
At Publicis Sapient, we help retailers unlock value across the supply chain by focusing on three foundational pillars:
A single, real-time view of inventory across all channels is the bedrock of omnichannel retail. Our approach enables:
Client Impact: Eileen Fisher implemented a consolidated inventory system for physical and digital stores, creating an “endless aisle” that reduced order cancellations, increased e-commerce sales by double digits, and improved capacity management for store teams.
Modern demand planning leverages AI and machine learning to synthesize internal and external data—historical sales, digital traffic, weather, social trends, and more—to predict demand with greater accuracy. This enables:
Our Fulfillment Optimization Framework unifies six key components:
Client Impact: A top international grocery and merchandise retailer leveraged rapid onboarding of new stores and optimized picking rates, driving $400M+ in incremental revenue and a 35% improvement in e-commerce order picking efficiency.
Returns are a trillion-dollar challenge for retail, with online returns rates far outpacing brick-and-mortar. Our approach combines:
Client Impact: Retailers using our returns optimization frameworks have reduced processing times, increased resale rates, and improved customer satisfaction, turning a cost center into a loyalty driver.
True supply chain transformation is only possible with a modern technology foundation. Cloud platforms enable real-time data sharing, scalability, and rapid experimentation—critical for adapting to demand shifts and testing new fulfillment models. AI and machine learning power predictive analytics for demand planning, inventory optimization, and returns reduction. Automation—robotics, RPA, and micro-fulfillment—drives efficiency and scalability in both warehouses and stores.
Client Impact: A large domestic retailer migrated to a cloud-based e-commerce platform, achieving a $30M lift in holiday sales, 50% reduction in development costs, and 25x faster release cycles—freeing teams to focus on innovation, not infrastructure.
Publicis Sapient’s SPEED approach—Strategy, Product, Experience, Engineering, Data & AI—ensures that supply chain transformation is not just a technology upgrade, but a holistic reinvention of operations, customer experience, and business models. Our work with global leaders like Adidas, Carrefour, Eileen Fisher, and top grocery and CPG brands demonstrates the power of:
Case in Point:
The future of retail supply chain is agile, intelligent, and customer-obsessed. By investing in global inventory visibility, AI-powered demand planning, fulfillment and returns optimization, and a modern cloud foundation, retailers can:
At Publicis Sapient, we partner with retailers to design and deliver supply chain transformations that drive measurable business impact—today and for the future. Ready to reinvent your supply chain for the omnichannel era? Let’s start the conversation.
Contact us to learn more about our supply chain transformation frameworks, client success stories, and how we can help your organization build a resilient, customer-centric retail operation.