Unlock your Prime Day potential! Month-by-month strategies inside.
Download the complete calendar and playbook for free
Free Download
Are you prepared for 2024 fees? Download our free Amazon Fee
Stack White Paper
for 2024 to protect your business.
Carbon 6
NEW! Download the free Amazon
Fee Stack White Paper
for 2024.
Free Download
Free Download
Take your Seller Central operations off your to-do listHire us for around-the-clock Amazon account management!
Learn More
ManageByStats is now FREE! Get this ultimate, all-in-one tool suite to boost your profit on Amazon.
Learn More
We double our reimbursements efforts
to get you 20% more back from Amazon!
Learn More
Urgent: Amazon sellers take action now!
Amazon reduced the reimbursement window by a staggering 88.89%, from 18 months to 60 days starting October 23, 2024.
Start Your Free Audit
4
MINUTE READ TIME
Published
September 15, 2023
|
Shane Morris

|
Partner Spotlight

Global Sourcing Strategies for an Omnichannel Commerce World

Global Sourcing Strategies for an Omnichannel Commerce World
Loading the Elevenlabs Text to Speech AudioNative Player...

Table of Contents

In an era of digital transformation and omnichannel retail, global sourcing strategies have undergone significant changes. Saving money by seeking cheaper labor and raw materials abroad is nothing new. But the impact of the pandemic and other unforeseen recent challenges such as war and inflation have led to more creative sourcing and a focus on contributing to a more circular, responsible economy for omnichannel brands and their retail partners. 

Let’s break down three tips for balancing a global supply chain with omnichannel expectations. 

Urgent: Amazon sellers take action now!
Amazon reduced the reimbursement window by 88.89%, from 18 months to 60 days starting October 23, 2024.
Start Your Free Audit
Take Seller Central operations off your to-do list
Trust our team of experts with 24/7 account management!
Learn More
NEW! Download the free Amazon Fee Stack White Paper for 2024.
Free Download
Unlock your Prime Day potential!
Download the complete playbook for free
Free Download
ManageByStats is now FREE!
Get the complete data suite to boost your profits.
Learn More
We double our reimbursements efforts to get you 20% more back
Learn More
NEW! Free Q4 Playbook to boost your Amazon sales! Your guide to peak-season success with key priorities and timelines.
Download Now

1. Understand Omnichannel Commerce Fulfillment

Many brands see opportunities in omnichannel commerce and are utilizing a combination of online and offline sales channels to fuel growth. Things like fulfillment, supply chain resilience, and trust in your sourcing partners becomes even more important to your success. 

The Pulse of Shifting Supply Chains

McKinsey reports that bigger buffers and safety stocks are still seen as an important tool for supply chain resilience for omnichannel retail brands. Higher overall stock levels have become the norm, however, their research suggests that companies are now looking for smarter ways to ensure resilience while keeping inventory costs under control. 

Omnichannel sellers working with major retailers will be met with new guidelines and must very carefully understand the way that supply chain terminology is used in inventory optimization. For example, both digital and physical retail outlets rely on the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) for product identification and a data sharing language called EDI (Electronic Data Interchange). These are a part of a globally accepted system of standards facilitated by GS1 organizations around the world. They help create supply chain visibility from source to store. 

RELATED: 4 Easy Ways to Fix Your Supply Chain | Carbon6 

2. Diversify and Forecast

One of the major topics of discussion at recent GS1 US Small Business Roundtables has been the need, now more than ever, to diversify your vendor network. If one vendor drops the ball, it will impact your entire supply chain. It’s become typical for a small brand to find an interim supplier to work with if a main supplier has shortages or delays. 

For example, last year, bottling was a significant challenge for many CPG brands. Delays in glass coming from Europe caused one small brand to put off a new product launch—issues such as shipping container availability, rising energy cost increases due to the war in Ukraine, and residual pandemic disruptions all factoring into this decision.

Even if you want to stay loyal to your suppliers, it’s important to have backups so that you can remain competitive, meet retailer requirements, and keep customers happy without delay. According to some participants, implementing GS1 Standards can make solving supply chain challenges easier, and they also help with efficiency, particularly in working with overseas suppliers. 

3. Review Digital Sourcing Standards

The digital sourcing of raw materials offers the opportunity to improve process efficiencies and gain competitive advantages. Particularly in industries like apparel and general merchandise, digital advances such as 3D imaging have sped up what used to be a months-long process from procurement to the sale of a finished product. 

Optimizing Digital Sourcing with ScanUnlimited

In the digital era of sourcing, tools like ScanUnlimited are essential. These tools empower Amazon sellers to efficiently analyze wholesale lists in seconds, ensuring smarter product sourcing for omnichannel commerce success.

As the digital supply chain matures, brands must be aware of how standardized product information enables shorter product development cycles and transparency for consumers. With digitization, we lose the benefit of experiencing firsthand the touch and feel of that material. Suppliers have to provide more information for brands to understand the key attributes of a material and that needs to travel through the supply chain in a standardized way. 

RELATED: Mastering HS Codes: Boosting Efficiency and Compliance in Global Supply Chains | Carbon6 

By defining attributes such as fiber or finish, this common language can then be applied to evaluate material sustainability. Shoppers today want to know about deeper product attributes such as organic cotton fabrics or how a product is made. Is the company using renewable energy? Is there humane treatment in the sourcing process? 

Urgent: Amazon sellers take action now!
Amazon reduced the reimbursement window by 88.89%, from 18 months to 60 days starting October 23, 2024.
Start Your Free Audit
NEW! Free Q4 Playbook to boost your Amazon sales for peak-season success.
Download Now
Unlock your Prime Day potential!

Download the playbook for free
Free Download
Take Seller Central operations off your to-do list
Trust our team of experts with 24/7 account management!
Learn More

Omnichannel Customer Experience in Ecommerce

To help make this information more readily available to consumers, GS1 US is working with brands and retailers around the world on a movement called Sunrise 2027 to phase out UPC barcodes on packaging in favor of using two-dimensional barcodes, such as QR codes. These robust codes would serve the function of “going beep” at checkout, while also holding more of the information that consumers crave and enable brand loyalty. Soon, consumers can access dynamic information about material origins and composition with a simple scan of a smartphone and brands can gain more insights into what consumers want to know. 

Ultimately, against the competitive backdrop of omnichannel commerce, global sourcing has become more than just a procurement strategy, it’s like a game of chess. A retail brand must always anticipate their competitors’ strategies and make thoughtful moves to stay relevant, efficient, and profitable. 

For more information about GS1 US and how we facilitate industry collaboration, please visit https://www.gs1us.org/industries-and-insights

Recent Newsletters

Insights: Acquisition alert, the latest in AI, and more
Carbon6 Team
Sep 11, 2024
News & Announcements
Insights: Acquisition alert, the latest in AI, and more
With only one month left until Q4, plans and preparations are happening in earnest across ecommerce for this bumper selling season. Make sure you’re ready with the checklists in our latest free resource, the Q4 Amazon Playbook.
See Article
Insights: Amazon’s 90% reduction, new partnerships, and more
Carbon6 Team
Aug 1, 2024
News & Announcements
Insights: Amazon’s 90% reduction, new partnerships, and more
August 2024 With Prime Day behind us, thoughts are already turning towards Q4 planning, but don’t forget to finish up your post-Prime Day tasks!
See Article
Insights: Amazon reversals, Prime Day 2024 & upcoming events
Carbon6 Team
Jul 2, 2024
News & Announcements
Insights: Amazon reversals, Prime Day 2024 & upcoming events
Prime Day is officially on the calendar and the countdown has begun. Run through your final checks ahead of July 16 and 17 with our Prime Day Prep Playbook for any last minute optimizations to maximize your Prime 2024 results.
See Article

Recent Posts

Amazon Seller Updates: Deforestation Rules, Return Insights, and Account Changes
Chelsea Cohen
Oct 4, 2024
News & Announcements
Amazon Seller Updates: Deforestation Rules, Return Insights, and Account Changes
Explore key Amazon seller updates to EU deforestation regulations, return insights, account security changes, 3D product modeling, and social commerce fulfillment.
See Article
Building Trust: A Guide to Leveraging Amazon Badges for Success
Shannon Curley
Oct 3, 2024
For Your Business
Building Trust: A Guide to Leveraging Amazon Badges for Success
Boost your visibility with Amazon badges like Best Seller and Climate Pledge Friendly. Learn how these certifications can enhance trust and drive sales in our guide.
See Article
How Dynamic Repricing Boosts Profitability for Amazon Private Labels
Marissa Incitti
Oct 1, 2024
Partner Spotlight
How Dynamic Repricing Boosts Profitability for Amazon Private Labels
Learn how private labels are maintaining profitability in a competitive marketplace despite owning the buy box.
See Article