Omnichannel Fulfillment Optimization for Retail & Apparel: From Inventory Visibility to Customer Experience

Delivering Seamless Omnichannel Experiences Through Transportation Optimization and End-to-End Visibility

In today’s retail and apparel landscape, customer expectations are defined by flexibility, speed, and seamlessness. Shoppers want to browse, buy, and receive products on their terms—whether that means buying online and picking up in store (BOPIS), curbside pickup, ship-from-store, or same-day delivery. At the same time, global disruptions, rising costs, and unpredictable demand have exposed the limitations of traditional, siloed supply chain models. To thrive, retailers and apparel brands must reimagine their supply chains as agile, data-driven value chains that deliver on the omnichannel promise while optimizing inventory and driving profitability.

The New Imperatives: Omnichannel, Optimization, and Experience

Omnichannel Fulfillment as a Differentiator

Consumers now expect to shop and receive products when, where, and how they want. Retailers must integrate inventory and order management systems to enable fulfillment models like BOPIS, ship-from-store, curbside pickup, and same-day delivery. This orchestration requires real-time inventory visibility and intelligent order routing to ensure the right product is in the right place at the right time—delighting customers and driving conversion.

Inventory Optimization for Profitability

With demand patterns more volatile than ever, retailers need AI-powered insights to balance inventory levels, reduce stockouts and overstocks, and minimize markdowns. Dynamic pricing and intelligent replenishment, powered by machine learning, are now essential levers for margin protection and customer satisfaction.

Customer Experience as a Supply Chain Outcome

The supply chain is now a direct driver of customer experience. Fast, accurate delivery, transparent order tracking, and flexible returns are critical to building loyalty and repeat business. Retailers must ensure that their supply chains are not just efficient, but also responsive to customer needs—turning operational excellence into a competitive advantage.

Resilience and Agility in the Face of Disruption

Retailers must build supply chains that can flex and adapt to sudden changes—whether from global events, supplier issues, or shifting consumer demand. This requires end-to-end visibility, scenario planning, and digital twin technology to model and respond to disruptions in real time.

The Publicis Sapient Approach: Connected Planning & Intelligent Fulfillment

Our approach is built on five pillars:

End-to-End Supply Chain Strategy & Transformation: From network design to process improvement, we help retailers reimagine their supply chains as strategic assets.
Connected Planning & Intelligent Fulfillment: Leveraging advanced analytics, AI/ML, and digital twins, we enable real-time, data-driven decision-making across planning, inventory, and fulfillment.
Omnichannel Fulfillment Optimization: We design and implement solutions that synchronize inventory, orders, and logistics across all channels, ensuring the right product is in the right place at the right time.
Warehouse Operations & Automation: Our expertise in warehouse management and automation drives efficiency, accuracy, and scalability.
Supply Chain AI & Data Engineering: We harness the power of AI/ML to optimize pricing, promotions, and inventory, and to deliver actionable insights that drive profitability.

Transportation Optimization: The Backbone of Omnichannel Success

Transportation is the connective tissue of omnichannel fulfillment. From the first mile to the last, a well-designed transportation network ensures that inventory is positioned optimally, orders are routed intelligently, and deliveries are executed with speed and precision. Publicis Sapient’s transportation optimization solutions include:

Network Design & Optimization: Using advanced analytics and AI-driven modeling, we optimize network layouts, select the right mix of carriers, and balance cost, speed, and service.
Transportation Management System (TMS) Implementation: We help clients select and implement TMS solutions that integrate seamlessly with order and inventory management systems, providing real-time visibility and control.
Last Mile Optimization: Advanced route optimization, real-time tracking, and flexible fulfillment models (such as ship-from-store and local pickup) ensure reliable, customer-centric delivery.
Control Tower & Visibility: Our supply chain control tower solutions provide a 360-degree view of shipments, inventory, and costs, enabling proactive issue resolution and continuous improvement.

Next-Generation Technologies: AI, Digital Twins, and Advanced Analytics

AI/ML for Dynamic Pricing and Inventory: Our partnership with leading technology providers brings AI-powered dynamic pricing to retailers, enabling them to maximize profit, minimize markdowns, and respond to real-time market signals.
Digital Twins for Scenario Planning: We build digital replicas of supply chain networks, allowing retailers to simulate disruptions, test strategies, and optimize operations before making real-world changes.
Advanced Analytics for End-to-End Visibility: Our data engineering and analytics capabilities provide retailers with a single source of truth, enabling proactive decision-making and continuous improvement.

Real-World Impact: Client Success Stories

Eileen Fisher: Evolving into a True Omnichannel Retailer
Eileen Fisher partnered with Publicis Sapient to transform its supply chain and become a true omnichannel retailer. By integrating inventory and order management across channels, Eileen Fisher achieved greater inventory visibility, improved fulfillment speed, and delivered a seamless customer experience—driving both sales and loyalty.
Leading Jewelry Brand: Optimizing Omnichannel Fulfillment
A leading jewelry brand worked with Publicis Sapient to optimize its omnichannel fulfillment strategy. By leveraging advanced analytics and intelligent order routing, the brand reduced delivery times, minimized shipping costs, and improved customer satisfaction, all while maintaining tight control over inventory.
Canadian Luxury Goods Retailer: Fulfillment Upgrade
By implementing an order management system and adding new fulfillment capabilities such as ship-from-store, pick up in store, and same-day delivery, this retailer achieved up to 48% fulfillment from stores and improved customer conversion based on accurate estimated delivery dates.
Leading Latin American Retailer: Control Tower Transformation
A major Latin American retailer implemented a supply chain control tower, gaining granular insight into fulfillment costs per order—including reverse logistics and transportation. The result: an estimated $145 million in savings from reverse logistics optimization and $2 million in immediate gains through item-level transportation cost analysis and route optimization.

Measurable Business Outcomes

Improved Inventory Visibility: Real-time, unified inventory data across all channels enables better decision-making and reduces stockouts and overstocks.
Faster Fulfillment: Intelligent order routing and fulfillment models like BOPIS and ship-from-store reduce delivery times and increase customer satisfaction.
Enhanced Customer Experience: Seamless, flexible fulfillment options and transparent order tracking drive loyalty and repeat business.
Operational Efficiency: Automation and AI-driven optimization reduce costs, improve productivity, and enable retailers to scale efficiently.

Why Publicis Sapient and Spinnaker SCA?

Proven Industry Leadership: Recognized as a leader in professional services for retailers, Publicis Sapient brings unmatched digital transformation expertise.
Deep Retail & Apparel Experience: Spinnaker SCA’s track record spans two decades of designing and building agile supply chains for leading retail and apparel brands.
Comprehensive, End-to-End Solutions: From strategy to execution, we deliver holistic solutions that address the full spectrum of supply chain challenges.
Innovation at Scale: Our SPEED (Strategy, Product, Experience, Engineering, Data & AI) capabilities, combined with advanced AI/ML and digital twin technologies, enable us to deliver innovation that drives measurable business outcomes.

Ready to Transform Your Supply Chain?

In a world where supply chain excellence is a key driver of retail success, Publicis Sapient and Spinnaker SCA are your partners for digital supply chain transformation. Together, we help retailers and apparel brands build agile, resilient, and profitable value chains that delight customers and drive sustainable growth.

Connect with our experts to start your transformation journey today.

Publicis Sapient: Powering the future of retail and apparel supply chains through connected planning, intelligent fulfillment, and measurable business impact.