In today’s retail landscape, the journey from promise to delivery is no longer a back-office function—it’s a strategic engine for customer satisfaction, profitability, and resilience. As consumer expectations for speed, convenience, and transparency continue to rise, retailers must orchestrate every step of the order lifecycle with precision and agility. Cloud-based transformation, data integration, and AI-driven analytics are now at the heart of this evolution, enabling retailers to modernize their supply chains, break down silos, and deliver on the omnichannel promise profitably.
Retailers operate in a uniquely complex environment, managing vast product assortments, unpredictable demand, and a growing array of fulfillment options—from traditional stores to e-commerce, curbside pickup, and same-day delivery. Legacy systems and siloed processes often hinder the ability to respond quickly to demand spikes, manage inventory efficiently, and deliver on customer promises. Manual workarounds, fragmented data, and slow decision-making can lead to missed sales, higher costs, and eroded customer loyalty.
Cloud-based transformation offers a blueprint for what’s possible. By migrating from legacy on-premises systems to cloud-based solutions, retailers can achieve:
These principles are transforming retail supply chains, where the need for speed, flexibility, and data-driven decision-making is even more pronounced.
One of the biggest barriers to delivering on the omnichannel promise is organizational silos. Too often, front-end teams (responsible for the customer experience and sales) and back-end teams (responsible for fulfillment and logistics) operate independently, each optimizing for their own metrics. This disconnect leads to suboptimal outcomes: over-promising, under-delivering, and unnecessary costs.
Cloud-based data integration breaks down these silos by connecting inventory, order management, logistics, and customer channels into a unified, real-time view. This single source of truth enables smarter decisions—such as nudging customers toward click-and-collect when it’s more cost-effective, or dynamically selecting the best fulfillment location based on real-time data.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning are transforming supply chain operations from reactive processes to proactive, intelligent systems. By embedding AI into every stage of the order lifecycle, retailers can:
For example, AI-powered demand forecasting has enabled leading grocers to improve forecast accuracy by up to 75%, significantly reducing both waste and lost sales. Returns optimization, powered by predictive analytics, allows retailers to restock returned items where they’re most likely to sell, reducing markdowns and improving inventory turnover.
A leading U.S. sports retailer modernized its commerce platform and processes to support new digital offerings like BOPIS and streamlined online ordering. By implementing a cloud-based digital commerce platform and re-architecting the order management system, the retailer achieved 170% faster order processing during peak periods, improved system integration across inventory and fulfillment, and enhanced scalability and reliability.
A major domestic retailer migrated its legacy commerce system to the cloud, integrating content management, API management, and microservices. The transformation delivered a $30M lift in holiday sales, a 25x increase in enhancement frequency, a 50% decrease in development costs, and an 80% reduction in on-premise costs—all while improving site performance and customer experience.
A top global grocery retailer partnered with Publicis Sapient to expand online grocery internationally and optimize supply chain operations. The result: 1 million orders per day, a 35% improvement in e-commerce order picking rate, and a 4% improvement in on-time delivery. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the retailer doubled online orders and delivery slots in less than a week, demonstrating the agility enabled by cloud-based systems.
Publicis Sapient brings deep expertise in cloud migration, data integration, and AI-powered analytics to help retailers turn fragmented supply chains into agile, customer-centric value chains. Our approach includes:
Retailers who modernize their promise-to-delivery operations with cloud, data integration, and AI realize tangible benefits:
Ultimately, living up to delivery promises is about more than meeting expectations—it’s about exceeding them, building brand trust, and driving sustainable growth.
With over 30 years of digital transformation expertise and a global team of experts, Publicis Sapient is uniquely positioned to help retailers modernize their supply chains. Our end-to-end solutions span strategy, technology, data, and change management—ensuring that transformation delivers measurable business impact.
Ready to turn your supply chain into a strategic asset? Connect with our experts to start your journey toward efficiency, agility, and profitable growth in the digital era.