Lecture 2

Question 1

Touchpoints

Answer 1

All the moments in which the customer comes into contact with your brand, directly of indirectly, throughout his or her customer journey

Question 2

Research shopping

Answer 2

The propensity of consumers to research the product in one channel (e.g., the Internet), and then purchase it through another channel (e.g., the store`)

Question 3

BOPIS

Answer 3

Buy online, pick up in store

Question 4

ROPIS

Answer 4

Reserve online, pick up in store

Question 5

STS

Answer 5

Ship to store

Question 6

SFS

Answer 6

Ship from store

Question 7

KPI

Answer 7

Key peformance indicators

Question 8

Benefits click & collect consumers

Answer 8

• Instant gratification (I want it now)
• Guarantee availability
• Save time (no need to search, walk through store)
• Save on delivery costs
• Obtain advice on the usage of the product upon pickup

Question 9

Benefits click & collect retailers

Answer 9

• Compared to selling online with home delivery click-and-collect brings the consumer to the store
• This provides several (potential) benefits to the retailer:
  a. Save on last-mile delivery costs
  b. Potential for up- and cross-selling at the store
  c. Build brand loyalty through store exposure

Question 10

Challenges in offering click & collect

Answer 10

• Inventory accuracy (theft, misplacement)
• Information systems
• If manual store checks are required to ensure they are done fast enough
• Incorporating inventory checks and pickups in a way that does not detract from assisting shoppers in the store

Question 11

Challenges with ship-to-store

Answer 11

• Using click & collect with ship-to-store could lead to more fragmented demand, which increases inventory costs
• If shipment between the distribution center and store cannot be consolidated efficiently, transportation costs for the “middle mile” could grow explosively
• Some retailers ship items to the store to fulfill click & collect request because they don’t know whether the item is (already) present in the store.

Question 12

Benefits of shipping from store

Answer 12

• Pool inventory between online and offline channels
• Deliver faster
• Reduce delivery costs

Question 13

Challenges with ship from store

Answer 13

• Combining the order picking and packing with the other activities in the store
• Organizing delivery
  a. Use third party or organize in house
  b. When organizing in-house ensure enough demand to make that viable
  c. Matching irregular demand for service with supply of fulfillment slots

Question 14

drop shipping

Answer 14

Fulfillment by the vendor

Question 15

Benefits of drop shipping to the platform

Answer 15

• Lower capital investment – not holding inventory, only purchasing the product from the vendor when a customer orders
• Lower financial risk
• Ability to quickly offer a broad assortment – scale faster and cheaper

Question 16

Benefits of drop shipping to the vendor

Answer 16

• Good way to increase distribution, esp. for expensive and/or slow moving items that platforms hesitate to hold in inventory
• Potential for increasing profit margins; platforms may be willing to negotiate smaller margins
• More knowledge on customer base (e.g., location)