Current supply chain models are not suited to an omni-channel world – a world where consumers increasingly have little care which channel they use to research,
select, transact, or collect products. The current supply chain model assumes that the store is the endpoint of the transaction, and further is built
to deliver as efficiently as possible to that endpoint, with the assumption that the inventory delivered to the store will live out its life there
until some consumer picks it up and brings it home.

RSR believes that fulfillment as a competitive weapon is a near- to mid-term opportunity for retailers – something that can be capitalized on within the
next five years. After that, it (like everything else) will become commoditized – a base expectation of consumers.

How close are retailers to achieving true, ubiquitous cross-channel fulfillment? According to survey respondents, retailers are still only in the early
stages. But this benchmark report reveals certain trends in motion that hold promising glimpses of a future supply chain transformed by omni-channel
retailing.