Vertically Integrated Commerce: Battling the Disruption

Two years ago, venture capitalist Boris Wertz wrote about vertical integration as the next big thing in commerce. Today, his words are proving true. Commerce brands like Frank & Oak, Bonobos, and ShoeDazzle (the list goes on) are disrupting how we buy merchandise online. Each one can offer customer experiences and prices that most traditional retailers cannot. They do it by building their entire supply chains, on their own.

For more traditional retailers, this disruption is intimidating. You may even be losing business to one or more vertically integrated commerce brands. You may be wondering how you could possibly compete. Rest assured, this disruption doesn’t mean you need to turn your commerce business upside down.

The more traditional retail model still works. You can still be immensely successful selling through your own website, sourcing from suppliers, using marketplaces like eBay and Amazon, and shaking a new customer’s hand in your brick and mortar store. But, to be successful in the modern commerce world, you’ll need to adopt some new strategies.

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The Importance of Proper Drop Ship Management

At nChannel, we often speak about the importance of connecting your channel applications, from your eCommerce sites and point of sale (POS) solutions to your ERP and accounting systems. With a web-based solution, data is seamlessly transferred between these systems, not only saving you time, but offering you accuracy, visibility, and reliability too.

However, a multi-channel environment can also include “inventory locations” – locations, suppliers or entities that are strategic to fulfilling orders.  One such inventory location could be a drop shipper.

Why Should a Company Consider Drop Ship Strategies?

Drop shipping is a sales and inventory strategy in which a business does not actually keep items in stock. (more…)