Locus for Retail: Upgraded OMS for Seamless Order and Returns Management

“People like consistency. Whether it’s a store or a restaurant, they want to come in and see what you are famous for.”
?Mickey Drexler, former CEO of J Crew Group and Gap Inc

This couldn’t be more right. Customers want consistency, predictability, and convenience from retailers. This can be in the form of prices, quality of products, or delivery experiences. Research says that 85% of shoppers value delivery time as a critical factor while shopping and for future shopping plans.

With Brick and Mortar stores being the second choice for modern customers due to the convenience offered by online shopping, delivery becomes pivotal for success for retailers and those who are consistent with their delivery speeds will be customers’ top choice. Fast delivery is already a challenge and growing volume just makes it harder for retailers to keep up with customers’ demands, especially while leveraging outdated technology.

According to research, global online retail sales reached $5.8 trillion in 2023 and will reach $8 trillion by 2027. With this, one can just imagine the volume of orders retailers globally have to cater to, especially during peak seasons.

Let’s break down the challenges retailers face while handling online orders:

• Inefficient Order Management: Many order management systems have the capability to capture orders, assess inventories but these systems fail to align capacity with delivery demands. Augmenting your existing OMS with automation and intelligence helps with multiple logistics operations from auto order allocation, routing to seamless fulfillment and delivery.
  
• Returns: According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), returns in the United States alone stood at $ 800 billion in lost sales. With numbers this high, retailers must find ways to decrease returns caused by logistics inefficiencies to mitigate costs and improve the bottom line. Adopting a smart Dispatch Management System that factors in multiple parameters during planning, sorting, and dispatching will definitely bring down the cost of returns.

Technology has always been at the forefront of innovation in any industry. Supply chain and logistics is no exception. Industry experts like Gartner highlight top logistics software vendors in their programs who are disrupting the industry. Locus is one of them.

Let’s look at why Gartner chose Locus as top vendor for supply chain products year after year.

Redefining Order Management for Superior Efficiency

Locus OMS is AI/ML module driven with multiple algorithms that help dispatchers and operation managers make smart and cost-effective decisions while making sure all orders are captured, allocated, and delivered like clockwork, regardless of volume.

Intelligent allocation and order capture optimization

An intelligent OMS can capture large volumes of orders with ease and assign them based on various parameters, irrespective of modes, channels of fulfillment, peak seasons.

Automated order capture
Predefined algorithms and criteria for immediate authentication and processing of incoming orders.

Smart order prioritization
Set rules to prioritize orders based on urgency, customer preferences, and SLAs to ensure timely processing and delivery of high-priority orders.

Resource allocation optimization
Customize fleet allocation rules based on business needs, industry, and operational constraints and customer priority.

Smart reallocation of orders based on exceptions
Locus takes into account 180+ on-ground factors and exceptions to re-assign orders to resources that are suitable to deliver on time. All this can be done from the OMS and is reflected in the Driver Companion App.

Navigate Returns with ease

Smart algorithms for accommodating big and bulky returns:

For some retailers like Big & Bulky, returns can cost a lot of more. Getting a return request from customers post-assembly can put a hefty dent in retailers’ transportation costs. With Locus’ smart algorithm, past data is factored into analyzing carrying capacity of vehicles and assembled furniture/appliances while making sure the rest of the goods in the vehicle aren’t damaged.

Clubbing forward and reverse logistics

Deploying additional vehicles for returns alone isn’t going to help retailers cut down transportation costs. Smartly allocate resources to handle both delivery and return pick-up by factoring in rig space and package size and also without hurting existing delivery SLAs with the help of smart routing.

Align returns with capacity

Provide customers with a seamless return experience with multiple options like sustainability by capacity and route optimization.

Enable seamless returns regardless of fleet type

Not every retailer leverages captive fleets for all their deliveries and most outsource all their deliveries to third-party carriers. Returns can be painful when you don’t have your own fleet? Not really. With the Locus platform, retailers can select carriers that have a strong track record for delivering and returns. Leveraging a smart carrier management system can help retailers find third party carriers that have a track record in efficient and friction free return process. But how do you find a carrier like that without spending long hours searching?

Locus’ ShipFlex module can help retailers find these type carriers by connecting with a large network. That’s not all. Logistics managers can set up custom rules to make sure future returns are assigned to these carriers only for smooth and cost-effective returns.

Mitigate returns with smart analytics

To reduce return rate and cost, you need to understand the reasons behind returns and how best to handle them. With legacy systems, cutting-edge analytics is a pipe dream. However, smart systems like Locus have the capability to give retailers necessary returns data and turn into it analytical dashboards to draw powerful insights.

The need for an intelligent AI/ML-driven Order Management System (OMS) is a must for retailers to improve customers’ experience and bottom line.

Now you might ask, why should I choose Locus?

Locus in Action

Order Management for a Pharma e-commerce Giant

This Indian pharmaceutical e-commerce company was struggling with:

• Sub-optimal order allocations resulting in severely underutilized delivery fleet

Locus Solution

• Easier reattempts could be done with order management system
• Higher efficiency through improved capacity per driver
• Ease of handling peaks without increasing driver/vehicle count

End Result

• 25% driver savings
• 50 hrs of planning time saved

Order Management Automation for a Retail Giant in GCC

This supermarket chain has over 239 supermarkets across GCC and was struggling with:

• Manual planning and execution of next-day delivery orders
• Improve fleet utilization to ensure capacity availability for daily delivery windows

Locus Solution

• Automated order capture to delivery workflows
• Integrated driver schedules and vehicle availability with planning processes to improve fleet utilization for scheduled and on-demand orders

The End Result?

• 15% decrease in fleet size

We have been solving complex logistics and supply chain problems for close to a decade now. Top brands like Croma, Lulu Group International, Landmark Group, Nestle and many others are actively leveraging Locus to achieve supply chain and logistics excellence.

If you feel your logistics operations are costing you money, we might be able to turn into a revenue generator instead.