Multichannel retail, where retailers operate both online and brick-and-mortar stores, is now common but complex to manage effectively. While multichannel provides opportunities like new customers and cost savings, most retailers do not capture all the potential benefits without proper processes. A consulting firm helped a large European retailer improve its multichannel operations by optimizing its online product setup and exit management, reducing out-of-stock items online from 13% to 0% and cancelled online orders while increasing operating profits by 22%.

1. Multichannel is a reality for retailers today, and is a growing part of the
retail landscape. But as much as retailers may embrace the potential,
many struggle with bringing it to reality: managing the complexity of
operating across online and brick & mortar channels.
The opportunities of multichannel are clear to most retailers:
 Early product launch
 Improved product cross-selling
 Focused marketing efforts
 Extended product range
 New customer segments
 Lower operating costs
However, our experience is that most retailers do not manage to fully capture these
benefits. Without proper execution, multichannel can lead to under-performing Category
Management, margin erosion, self-cannibalization, stretched operations, increased
HQ costs, and organizational misalignment. Having the proper processes, tools, and
understanding of customers’ behavior is the difference between multichannel operations
that drive sales, profits, and customer engagement, as opposed to impeding sales and
driving unwanted complexity into the business.
Unlocking the value of
Multichannel Retail
www.wilsonperumal.com
Wilson Perumal & Company, Inc.
Two Galleria Tower
13455 Noel Road, Suite 1000 Dallas, TX 75240
Wilson Perumal & Company, Ltd.
Longcroft House, 2/8 Victoria Avenue
London, EC2M 4NS United Kingdom
In a recent client example, we
discovered substantial growth
opportunities by improving
online product set-up process,
optimizing online ranging, and
by supporting Exit Management,
leading to:
 Increased operating profit
by 22%
 Reducing the number of SKUs
missing from the website from
13% to 0%, eliminating late
product launch
 Optimizing product exit
across all channels based on
profitability and rate of sale
 Reducing rate of cancelled
sales (~2%) due to inaccurate
stock reporting
 Improved ranging tools
In a recent multichannelimprovement project,WP&C increasedoperating profit by22% for one of Europe’slargest retailers
Multichannel Operations Assessment
Wilson Perumal & Company offers an Multichannel Operations Assessment,
a 4-week diagnostic that will help you answer the following questions:
 What are the gaps and opportunities for improvement in your current
multichannel operations?
 What changes and resources are required to fully capture the benefits
from your multichannel business?
 What is the benefit case for making these improvements?
In this 4-week assessment, our team of retail professionals will help you
quickly identify improvement opportunities to unlock the value of your
multichannel operations.