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24 ISE Magazine | www.iise.org/ISEmagazine supply chain G Bricks and clicks will build your future supply chain By Jim Tompkins Global sourcing and networks are shift- ing. In addition to knowing where a product is made and its origin, supply chain design now requires constant re- evaluation of continually changing lo- cations. E-commerce growth requires you to understand the customer, seller, retailer, government and marketplace. Today, 30 percent of consumers buy globally, and global e-commerce is a half-trillion-dollar business. By 2020, 50 percent of consumers will buy globally and global e-commerce will be a $1 trillion business. Cross- border e-commerce is growing substantially, increasing the number of diversified countries, sellers and buyers you must consider for post- click logistics. Post-click logistics is the movement of goods to fill customer orders. The foun- dation for Amazon's growth model has been realizing that forward-deployed inventory on a massive scale lowers unit delivery costs, shortens shipping distanc- es and increases customer satisfaction. The real genius behind Amazon's model was turning its supply chain infrastruc- ture into a collaborative platform, ful- fillment by amazon (FBA). Offering its functionality to other e-commerce sell- ers allowed Amazon to scale so big and so quickly that no other online retailer could match its shipping speeds, ser- vice levels and unit costs. Greater vol- umes drive lower costs and lower prices, thereby attracting higher volumes. Likewise, Alibaba sold 744 million items on Singles Day, Nov. 11, 2017, what The New York Times calls China's larger version of Black Friday. The Chinese e- commerce conglomerate delivered the items within 24 hours of purchase. In this new era of retail, innovation and game-changing demand-driven re- plenishment, you can no longer divide e-customers from retail visitors in multi- channels or omnichannels. Instead, your supply chain must provide a unichannel – a seamless integrated experience where customers are in charge of exploring and experiencing shopping with maximum convenience, value and selection. This is a digital era beyond bricks vs. clicks – call it bricks and clicks. Every company must have brick-and-mortar and online retail. It is important to un- derstand the blending of bricks and clicks as a technology opportunity, as Ama- zon's purchase of Whole Foods demon- strates. Amazon plans to bring technol- ogy to life in the store and make store shopping more like online shopping. Retailers are deploying cameras and infrared sensors to monitor foot traffic and using data algorithms to schedule cashiers in real time. Mobile apps can analyze shopping habits and produce relevant digital coupons. Sensor-laden interactive shelves detect shoppers in the aisles via the phone to offer deals and suggest products, creating customer "fa- vorite lists" apps and cashier-less stores. Digital shelf edges rapidly update pric- ing and product descriptions. Post-click, delivery is extremely im- portant to e-commerce companies. Amazon has excelled at free post-click logistics fulfillment and delivery, raising customers' expectations about how fast they'll receive their orders. Collaboration has gone beyond a practice and process to become a business model. There are two types of collaboration, synergetic and economy of scales. Synergetic is interactive and moves slowly. Economy of scales is hierarchical and moves quickly. Today, retailer collaboration is very important for post-click logistics. Alib- aba has created the Cainiao network and Amazon has created the FBA model. The MonarchFx model, which is rolling out for the 2018 holiday season, will put retailers, brands and marketplaces on a level logistics playing field. Instead of a supply chain battle, bold, aggressive and innovative retailers win by focusing on customer experience, product selection and value proposition – pre-click competition – leaving post- click logistics to the experts. Jim Tompki s, CEO of Tompki s I ter a- tio al, has writte r co tributed to more tha 30 books. He also writes the Creati g Sup- ply Chai xcelle ce blog. Co tact him at jtompki s@tompki si c.com. It is important to understand the blending of bricks and clicks as a technology opportunity.