Omnichannel: perfect synergy between e-tailing and brick-and-mortar trade
Greven. The retail sector has been transforming for quite some time now: Customers expect flexible order, delivery and payment options both at the store and across all online channels – no matter whether the order was placed with the retailer’s online shop, via an app, or with an online marketplace. Customers expect their delivery to reach them as fast as possible, at their preferred time. This presents a tremendous challenge for logistics. Permanent availability across all channels must be guaranteed, just like a fast delivery, regardless of any Last Mile complexities.
A perfect synergy between e-tailing and the brick-and-mortar trade is decisive in being successful in the face of competition. The logistics provider Fiege is specialised in facilitating an effective interaction between all sales channels for the retail trade. Fiege rolls out these omnichannel solutions from its 30 MegaCenters based throughout the whole of Europe. A key component of this network is the recently modernised and expanded logistics centre in Greven-Reckenfeld. On an area of 90,000 square metres dedicated to logistics, Fiege runs operations for various clients who closely link eCommerce with brick-and-mortar retailing. Last Friday, on 30 August 2019, the Minister-President of the Land of North Rhine-Westphalia, Armin Laschet, officially inaugurated the Fiege MegaCenter Greven-Reckenfeld.
Political prominence comes to Greven
In his address, Minister-President Armin Laschet commended the enterprise for its activities, saying that “Fiege impressively demonstrates with its new logistics centre just how Logistics 4.0 function in times of digital transformation. By connecting traditional logistics competence with cutting-edge digital technology and Artificial Intelligence, Fiege – as a globally-operating family business – has become the flagship of North Rhine-Westphalia’s logistics sector. Such pioneering spirit nourishes the economic strength of our State. In unison with the industry we, the Land government, will ensure that North Rhine-Westphalia remains the leading logistics region in the heart of Europe even in the future.”
The list of top politicians joining the celebrations, in addition to the Minister-President, included Dr. Klaus Effing, head of the Steinfurt district authority, as well as Christina Schulze-Föcking, who represents the CDU party in the NRW State Parliament.
The Chief Executives Felix Fiege and Jens Fiege also welcomed the Lord Mayor of the City of Münster, Markus Lewe, as well as the Mayor of Greven, Peter Vennemeyer and of Emsdetten, Georg Moenikes to the opening. “Many business friends, clients and partners, neighbours and family members as well as colleagues based at the location and from the project team have joined us today, which we are very happy about”, said Jens Fiege. Felix Fiege expressed his gratitude towards clients at the facility, “for the trust extended to us, to build one of the most advanced logistics properties in the World Of Fiege here in Greven-Reckenfeld.”
Logistics as a distinguishing characteristic
Fiege ships orders for a range of clients from its logistics centres such as the new MegaCenter in Greven either to a branch, directly to the end customer or to any preferred collection point of the customer. “More and more, logistics is the defining and distinguishing feature for clients. Fast and reliable deliveries that arrive by the promised delivery time is a definite advantage”, says Felix Fiege. Next to product quality, logistics has the greatest impact on customer satisfaction. Inner-city deliveries – the Last Mile a parcel covers – are still very demanding. “We are always on the lookout for new ideas that aim to solve inner-city challenges for logistics as intelligently as possible”, explains Jens Fiege. Setting up micro hubs from where parcels are sent out to the end customer using innovative approaches like cargo-carrying bicycles or other modern delivery vehicles is just one solution.
Delivery within a preferred time window is yet another way to achieve the greatest possible customer satisfaction. “Over two-thirds of delivery attempts fail the first time around because the customer is not at home. That is extremely frustrating”, says Jens Fiege. Angel, a Fiege start-up, offers a technical solution which lets customers choose a 30-minute time window at their convenience within which the parcel’s arrival is scheduled. “Deliveries are scheduled for the evening hours, when people are no longer at work, or for a specific day and a specific time. This genuinely increases delivery success with vehicles having to drive across town less frequently”, says Felix Fiege.
Omnichannel solutions meet customer expectations
But home delivery is not necessarily a customer’s first choice. “For many it is more convenient to collect online orders directly from the store because they work in the city or often go there”, explains Jens Fiege. Customers even consider it a given to be able to drop off a return at the branch. “Setting up the respective service points at existing brick-and-mortar stores presents a significant opportunity for the retail trade. Customers can easily be addressed in person when they come to the store”, notes Felix Fiege. This merges the brick-and-mortar trade with e-tailing into a single unit. “And that is precisely how we define omnichannel”, adds Felix Fiege.
