Point of sale logistics
Logistics pollution control and logistics industrialization
The point of sale is undergoing a twofold transformation. From a commercial site, it has become a logistico-commercial site, with floor space, staff time and information systems increasingly devoted to logistics activities at the end of the supply chain.
The original situation: logistical bottlenecks at sales outlets
Originally, the point of sale was a place of commerce. The logistical footprint has always been present there (reserve stock), but it has continued to expand, and has been perceived as logistical pollution diverting energy from the commercial act. The causes of the logistics footprint in retail outlets are numerous:
- minimum order quantities imposed by suppliers (increase in stock areas)
- the number of receipts for supplies delivered directly to suppliers or via warehouses
- order preparation for customers
- reconfiguring shelf space
- returns management
The point of sale, a key component of the logistics network
The implementation of local regional warehouses or cross-docking platforms makes it possible to move a large part of the logistics operations carried out at distribution outlets upstream of the points of sale.
Permanent re-engineering of the supply chain
With the arrival of omnichannel, everything is changing again. New and multiple forms of infrastructure have been developed, with drives, automated or non-automated pick-up at relay points, and the customer’s reliance on the proximity provided by the point of sale… We need to rethink the logistical side of points of sale:
- Using the point of sale as a delivery point to improve customer service. Organization of order preparation and delivery rounds. Implementation ofdigital tools to manage flows from this point of sale.
- Procurement policies for sales outlets, depending on the purpose of the products (shelf or counter sales, or delivery by customer pick-up or in situ delivery).
- Enhanced stock reliability to provide a reliable online promise for e-commerce order preparation at the point of sale.
- Implementation of BCP(Business Continuity Plan).
- Enhanced, multi-site surveillance.
- Extension and industrialization of the order preparation and delivery system from a point of sale.
- Increasing control over returns management. Returns involve identifying the customer’s problem at the most relevant point in the chain.
- Deployment of a clarified logistics organization at the point of sale, revealing and developing the logistics professions attached to the point of sale, either under direct control or outsourced.
- Pooling of logistics activities at close proximity between sales outlets (shared warehousing, pooled repackaging, etc.).
We operate in various sectors
Large groups, institutions, SMEs ; we have the resources to support companies of all sizes and in all circumstances (from long-term vision to crisis support)
Supply chain is becoming an integral part of industrial sites. Managing site supplies means working more closely with suppliers, and integrating factory workflows into the supply chain.
Our work focuses on issues relating to the organization and management of physical flows, as well as on forward-looking studies linked to territories. Our areas of expertise include urban logistics, modal shift and carbon footprint.