Retail went from decades serving consumers in physical stores to the pandemic-era race to e-commerce. Now retailers are finding a balance between online and offline, as well as trying to better match inventory to consumer demand in what are being referred to as more consumer-centric models. Prior to the pandemic, about 95 percent of sales were made in stores. Today online sales can range from 20-40 percent of sales. Logistic teams are now trying to shift their focus to consumer centricity, micro fulfillment, urban fulfillment and market fulfillment. <h3><b>The Right Inventory, In the Right Place</b></h3> A fast growing trend is micro-fulfillment (MFC), where retailers establish small-scale warehouse facilities in urban locations. By being closer to the end consumer they can reduce the costs of last mile delivery, while improving delivery times. Many retailers are looking at how they can create on-site micro-fulfillment centers that can serve both their physical store and e-commerce. Micro-warehouses can be set up within a few months. Automated systems, such as computer vision solutions for inventory monitoring, can be installed without expanding the facility’s footprint. While the early adopters of these solutions have been grocery stores, convenience stores and general merchandise retailers, department stores are starting to see opportunities to apply what retailers in other sectors have pioneered. One of the challenges is that goods destined to fulfill e-commerce orders need more packaging and need to be packaged as individual units - not on racks or pallets. Thus any warehouse or fulfillment center that serves both physical retail and e-commerce needs to juggle those to very different requirements. <h3><b>Crawl, Walk, Run</b></h3> To help with inventory management, retailers are starting to migrate to more sophisticated warehouse management solutions that are on the cloud, as well as using distributed order management solutions, so they can stay closer to the consumer and provide the right service levels. One of the biggest challenges is establishing a ‘crawl, walk, run’ roadmap of being able to operate smaller 50,000 square foot distribution centers. Also determining the type of solutions we will need to run those centers, and then the robotics and automation that will make it all easy. By leveraging automation in conjunction with the physical workforce, micro-fulfillment centers help to reduce the time it takes to gather and pack an order, which increases overall productivity and reduces the cost to fill each order. Still, it's early days for a lot of retailers investing in technology that will enable micro fulfillment or urban fulfillment. <h3><b>Making Better Use of Existing Technology</b></h3> For most companies, a more practical approach is to figure out how they can do more with less, and rethink how they can better utilize their existing technology investments. One area where there are opportunities is in better utilizing data related to online purchases, to support predictive technologies that can keep in-demand items in stock. Technology-based solutions like computer vision and artificial intelligence to develop a digital version of the physical store are also starting to play a role in department store and chain store inventory management. For example, they can issue out-of-stock alerts so that stores can quickly replenish items that are running low. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, and not every retailer needs a complex fulfillment system to remain competitive. However, proactively reviewing new technology and considering how some of it might be applied to your retail operations is now part of a retailer’s survival strategy.