Commentary: Omnichannel from a Manufacturer’s Perspective

Abstract

Cui et al. (2021, hereinafter Cui et al.) offer a comprehensive understanding of why the information that marketers need to become omnichannel is so difficult to come by and how new technologies and new developments in data analytics can help. They highlight the fact that the challenges are even more daunting when information is needed across channels that are "external to the firm" than when the firm owns its channels. Yet, other than the advertising context, much of the discussion is drawn from the latter case, that of retailers or vertical brands that own their distribution channels. This is to be expected because omnichannel is primarily a retail concept (e.g., Ailawadi and Farris 2017; Verhoef, Kannan, and Inman 2015). But how is omnichannel relevant outside of retail? I aim to complement Cui et al. by taking the perspective of manufacturers who market products to end consumers through independent channel partners some or all of whom may want to be omnichannel, and possibly also through their own direct-toconsumer (DTC) channel. I make three points related to omnichannel from the manufacturer's perspective and offer some important managerial issues and research implications to go with each.

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“…However, accessing and/or sharing consumer data among channel partners is not easy due to various reasons. Some partners in the supply chain guard their consumer data very closely for their own improvement [17], and issues of data standardization and unification present challenges also [16]. There are resource limitations regarding interoperability between systems and networks in the context of the supply chain vis-à-vis data accessibility, and attention needs to be given to reducing blindness in capturing consumer data as well as identifying relevant data that are needed for specific tasks that are in line with the firm's strategy [6,28,29,48].…”

“…It is associated with data gathering and analysis, data storage, and the dissemination of information and is providing retailers with an opportunity to both expand their customer base and get close to customers by requiring marketers to manage the customer journey experience more effectively [13][14][15]. However, digital technology also presents retailers with a challenge in terms of the investment needed in digital infrastructure and connectivity [16,17]. This is partly due to issues in platform compatibility, for example, which may cause the customer to experience disruptions in communication that affect their search for information.…”

The role of proximity in omnichannel customer experience: a service logic perspective

“…It is generally acknowledged that the foundation of omnichannel management, as an academic concept, is grounded in the distribution channel and channel management literature (Banerjee, 2014;Ailawadi and Farris, 2017;Palmatier et al, 2019;Ailawadi, 2021;Cui et al, 2021). This has been determined in omnichannel literature that has placed a stronger focus on channels of distribution, as opposed to communication channels (Ailawadi, 2021) that were often treated separately in a multimedia communication approach (Moffett et al, 2021).…”

“…This led to definition of the broader concept of "touchpoint" (rather than "channel"), which has been defined as "an episode of direct or indirect contact with a brand or firm" (Verhoef et al, 2015). In a broader sense, all touchpoints that provide sales, experience, service, and communications become indistinguishable from the customer point of view in creating the customer experience (Lemon and Verhoef, 2016;Ailawadi, 2021;Cui et al, 2021). However, the inherent conceptual difficulty of integrating all channels under a unique conceptualization of "touchpoint" is still evident in recent research on omnichannel marketing.…”

“…During the omnichannel journey, customers interact with several channels and touchpoints of the brand, thus ascribing their entire purchase journey to service logic (Vargo and Lusch, 2004;Verhoef et al, 2015;Ailawadi and Farris, 2017;Ailawadi, 2021;Cui et al, 2021). During the different interactions of the omnichannel journey, simultaneous production and consumption of the service occurs (Gr€ onroos, 1982(Gr€ onroos, , 2006Vargo and Lusch, 2008a, b;Vargo, 2009).…”