21 November 2021 More and more retailers have innovated to offer the best experience to their customers. Faced with a new highly competitive market, with all companies focusing on Customer Centric, diversifying channels (omnichannel) and offering different options to the consumer is the way for those who want to grow and strengthen their business. To this end, various strategies have been implemented, such as Buy Online Pick up in Store (BOPIS), Buy Online Return in Store (BORIS), and even Ship From Store (SFS). But after all, what is Ship From Store (SFS)? Ship From Store (SFS) is a strategy where physical stores operate as storage points in the omnichannel distribution network, meaning retailers use the stock of their physical stores to fulfill online orders. Instead of fulfilling e-commerce requests from a distribution center (DC), products are sorted and shipped from the physical store’s stock. In this sense, we often say that stores now play the role of a micro urban distribution center. The creation of this new logistics mode arose from the challenges that e-commerce generated for retailers. Amazon awakened in its competitors the need for urban micro-fulfillment centers for companies in the omnichannel journey to get closer to the customer seeking same-day delivery. In this same scenario, traditional retail – practically condemned, with the closure of many stores and even the shutdown of large iconic retail companies – found itself facing a golden opportunity: to use its stores – already ready and existing – as distribution points for its omnichannel network, getting closer to the customer in the quest for same-day delivery and mitigating last-mile problems. Ship From Store (SFS) then appeared as a viable and economically interesting alternative. For specialists, the strengthening of e-commerce and omnichannel is a path of no return, and those who are already structuring themselves to meet demands and serve customers in a qualified and fast manner are on the right track. In this sense, the implementation of Ship From Store (SFS) becomes a wise decision for the various advantages it brings both for logistics and for the customer. Advantages of Ship From Store One advantage of Ship From Store (SFS) that is currently very clear is that the strategy helps minimize the damage caused by the closure of physical stores due to the pandemic. Although stores cannot be open to the public, companies use them as a mini distribution center whose great advantage is proximity to customers’ homes, allowing same-day delivery. It is worth adding that, being closer to the delivery destination addresses, the company saves on transportation and can also offer free shipping, an important competitive advantage in e-commerce. With Ship From Store, the company is able to have optimized logistics, reducing the risk of failures and discrepancies. But, for this, it is essential to have a technological structure that helps in all chain processes, being able to follow all intralogistics steps, with the WMS system, for example, and the order, with the OMS (Order Management System). In addition to these advantages, we can mention: • Greater store efficiency: store employees are not always busy. During downtime, the retailer can improve its effectiveness by directing these employees to fulfill online orders. • Support for click-and-collect: when setting up the store for Ship From Store, it will also have the ideal structure for customer order collection. The same features and processes will be used, except there will be no shipping, saving on shipping costs. • Higher stock rotation: with Ship From Store, stock rotation is high, as there is less quantity stored and products continuously exit. With this, the company will always offer its customers the latest products, improving their shopping experience. • Reduction of lost sales: if the company has only one distribution center to fulfill online orders and a product is out of stock in that DC, it can lose a sale. By using its physical stores as distribution hubs, it can better meet customer demands, with a lower risk of stockouts. • Improved results: Ship From Store, in addition to bringing great benefits to the customer in terms of delivery speed and collection capacity, also generates savings for the company. Therefore, it is undeniable that the results have everything to improve, with an increase in sales and greater customer satisfaction. Tips for implementing SFS If you want to distribute Ship From Store, the keyword is planning. You need to know your customer well and have good inventory control. Having a good management structure, with specialized systems like WMS and OMS, is crucial for the success of your endeavor. With the software, you will have complete visibility of your warehouse, as well as real-time information on product movements, order fulfillment, and deliveries. This gives you more security to manage both shipping from your distribution center and from stores. Physical structure and geographical location You also need to evaluate your physical structure. Ensure your stores have space. To start a Ship From Store strategy, it is important to assess how much space will be needed to transform existing aisles or the back of the store into a storage area for online orders. It is also crucial to define the best store locations to start SFS. Choose the stores closest to your best customers and that will allow you fast delivery, the same day (same-day delivery) or the next day (next-day delivery). Reverse logistics Don’t forget to prepare your structure for reverse logistics, as returns and exchanges are frequent in online sales. Consumers expect easy and free returns, and if they have difficulty with this process, they may turn to your competitor. In this case, having the WMS system can make a big difference, as the software helps in managing reverse logistics, being present both in sorting returned products and in exchange and redirecting to storage locations. Pickup and delivery Another process that deserves your attention is collection. The separation must be quick and decisive. For this, it is necessary to define the ideal picking mode for your business and SFS. Also, having technology support helps a lot because, in addition to avoiding separation errors, you and your employees will be able to follow the entire process as it happens and make changes if necessary. Additionally, develop a delivery routing strategy so you can make the best use of your resources and deliver the product to the customer as quickly as possible. Employee training When you start Ship From Store, your employees will act differently, so it’s important to train them in advance so they can separate and ship orders with agility and precision, as well as properly package items. Metrics and testing And a fundamental tip: define metrics for your store. How long does it take to ship orders? How many orders are served per day? What is the deadline for fulfilling exchange and return requests? These are questions you need to answer with your indicators. Finally, an important recommendation: do all the necessary tests. Remember, success doesn’t come overnight. Constantly evaluate your current distribution operations, IT resources, and store efficiency, and try to make the necessary changes to offer the best customer experience. Don’t be afraid to try new alternatives and solutions. With testing, you will discover how to implement a successful Ship From Store model while maintaining high-quality customer service and a good profit margin. What is SFS (Ship From Store): discover how you can use it in your business Deagor WMS per ecommerce può aiutarti!