Why 60% of Companies Have Yet to Fully Implement Their E-Commerce Strategy, According to DHL Supply Chain Research

Begin with an omni-channel integration plan now, linking storefronts, fulfillment centers, and carriers. The analysis shows many networks lack synchronized data, creating friction for customers and elevating risk as orders move across touchpoints.

To accelerate value, management should prioritize investment in technologies that connect across warehouses and stores. Retailers gain by reducing labor and time through automation, with potential to save resources and raise fulfillment speed. Leonard, who led the analysis, reveals that cross-network visibility is a key driver for business performance and customer satisfaction.

Real-world enablers include standardizing services, mitigating tariff-related risk, and ensuring data supports price risk management. Recognizing customer expectations across channels, businesses can increase accuracy and forecast demand better, leading to improved service levels and margin protection. The study suggests that focusing on cross-channel data visibility is a key driver for retailers to operate smoothly and avoid costly delays.

Actionable steps include mapping end-to-end flows, establishing cross-functional governance, and adopting scalable platforms that connect order capture, inventory, and routing. By recognizing expectations across stakeholders, management can set measurable targets for implementation pace, boosting visibility and the benefit to customers and operations. Start with quick wins in pricing, tariff analytics, and printing workflows to reduce manual handling and save labor hours.

In sum, businesses that act now on cross-channel coordination, tariff-aware planning, and labor-efficient workflows are positioned to increase customer satisfaction, lower costs, and boost top-line momentum over the coming quarters.

Strategic Plan: DHL Research on E-Commerce Adoption and Tech-Driven Supply Chains

Roll out a unified digital backbone that links order management, inventory, and carrier networks to cut cycle times and boost forecast accuracy by 15-20% within 12 months. Tailor this core for theirs distribution footprints, enabling seamless data flow across multi-channel workflows and global operations.

Scale robotics across fulfillment hubs to lift picking accuracy and cut handling time, targeting 20-25% productivity gains and a 2-3 point improvement in error rate within 12-18 months. This unrivalled capability reduces dependence on labor during peak demand and strengthens consistency across the industry.

Deploy AI-driven demand planning and auto-replenishment to align inventory with evolving consumer demand across global markets; include scenario planning for peak periods and rapidly adjust assortments, including cross-border SKUs.

Prioritize customer experience with seamless multi-channel journeys, real-time tracking, and frictionless returns. Use media dashboards to optimize spend and inform third-party marketplaces about latest performance, making the consumer journey more responsive to online demand.

Developing regions require cloud-first architecture and plug-and-play automation; though capex limits exist, phased deployment affords ROI within 18-24 months and expands the growth runway toward new consumer cohorts.

Governance is responsible: establish data stewardship, privacy controls, and cyber resilience; integrate third-party manufacturers on a common API layer; build a global forum to monitor risk, compliance, and sustainability across the value chain, targeting the most critical opportunities.

Define a KPI suite to capture growth and opportunities: on-time delivery, fill rate, cost-to-serve, order cycle time, customer satisfaction, and net promoter score; monitor online channel share and margins to validate the business case for ongoing investment.

tyson volumes in protein categories illustrate demand volatility; apply robotics-assisted operations and precise cold-chain management to protect quality while improving throughput, creating unrivalled value for customers and the industry.

Gaps Between Strategy and Deployment: Where plans stall in action

Kick off with a 90-day pilot in a single region to validate the core plan and lock an accountable leader for fast wins that influence revenue. Use a tight scope to ensure decision-makers can approve changes in real time and avoid back-and-forth between silos.

Three stalls commonly slow progress: governance misalignment that leaves critical actions without a sponsor; fragmented data that leads to inaccurate forecasts; and underfunded automation that can’t scale capacity to match volume shifts. In many cases, shortages of skilled resources in engineering and IT limit the speed of deployment, especially when tariffs or cost pressures rise.

To close the gap, adopt a holistic approach that ties each action to a north-star KPI, and set a first-quarter target that ties to revenue impact. Align sponsorship across management, and establish a single cadence for reviews so the majority of actions move forward rather than stall at the approval stage.

People and governance: appoint a leader with clear authority and a compact decision-making group of decision-makers from planning, operations, and finance. This team should meet weekly, publish a short action list, and track a three-month roll-out. This reduces friction, improves alignment, and signals commitment to stakeholders, which helps to afford investments in critical capabilities.

Process and data discipline: create standardized data models and ensure data exists across sources, from suppliers to warehouses. Prioritize accurate demand signals and real-time inventory visibility to drive decisions. This yields faster wins and reduces cycle time by 20-30% in pilot sites, which supports broader market rollout.

Technology and automation: accelerate the development of robotics-enabled workflows in assorting and packing for high-volume scenarios. Start with one pilot site, then extend to two more within six months. The cost of automation should be evaluated against the potential to increase throughput and reduce error rates, with an emphasis on building a scalable backbone for future growth.

External factors and risk: tariff-related cost shifts require scenario planning for price adjustments and supplier negotiations. Build contingency plans that can preserve margins when input prices rise. Maintain a robust supplier catalog to reduce dependence on a few goods sources and lower risk from shortages in supply chains. This also affects goods flow and inventory availability.

Implementation management: track milestones by week, not by month; quantify impact on revenue and costs; and report progress to a leader with authority to reallocate resources as needed. Some plans stall because the required resources–engineering talent, software licenses, or funding–aren’t made available at the moment of need; a formal commitment to resource pooling helps overcome this hurdle.

Phased Rollout: Quick-win capabilities to accelerate progress

Begin with a three-step rollout to deliver first value within 90 days: first, unify product data and sorting terms across all touchpoints; second, launch a flexible, tariff-aware checkout for international customers; third, implement a lean analytics cube to monitor customer, supply, and sales signals. This approach was hailed by practitioners as pragmatic, minimizes risk, and sets clear expectations for investments and timelines. Nestlé and other brands have seen industry-level gains when the plan is executed in close coordination with engineering and services teams. Pair the rollout with targeted media to accelerate demand and shorten the cycle from launch to traction going forward.

• Core data readiness: unify catalog, sorting terms, and tariff data for international shipments; establish a single source of truth to ensure consistent pricing and availability across channels; set data quality targets and refresh cadence to enable rapid decision-making.
• Flexible checkout and payments: support local currencies and payment methods; keep the UI lightweight to reduce friction and cart abandonment; align price with tariff calculations and duties where applicable to avoid surprises at the moment of checkout.
• Lean order orchestration: lightweight integrations with supply partners, simple routing rules, and real-time status updates; options for local fulfillment vs. cross-border ships; track outcomes in a cube to surface cross-channel insights.
• Analytics and governance: three dashboards across customer behavior, sales performance, and operations; empower engineering and services to deliver MVPs quickly; define terms for data quality, privacy, and refresh cadence to sustain momentum.
• Pilot with Nestlé and other brands: run controlled international pilots to validate assumptions; capture pain points, measure ROI, and iterate fast; ensure teams are flexible and not opposed to changes that unlock speed.

Data Governance and Interoperability: Breaking silos for seamless flows

Establish a centralized data governance office and a unified data catalog to enable cross-system interoperability. Assign data stewards to key domains such as fulfillment, inventory, and customer service; define data contracts and SLAs; create data quality rules for completeness, accuracy, and timeliness. Start with a two-domain pilot and roll out in phased deployment. This doesnt require decades of overhaul; it affords flexible changes and the ability to augment services across growing channels, including online and similar platforms.

Adopt open standards and APIs to ensure interoperability across chains of systems; align with a common data model; set up data contracts that ensure changes in one system propagate seamlessly to others, reducing latency and data gaps.

Establish data lineage and governance: Track origin, transformations, and usage; ensure compliance with privacy and security; apply RBAC and attribute-based access; tie to service levels to safeguard reliability and scalability.

Map end-to-end data flows across procurement, logistics, manufacturing, and distribution; build a data movement map; measure time-to-data and analytics readiness; target halving cycle time within 12 months to support faster decision-making and resilience during shortages in the distribution network.

Align governance with the north star: latest leader expectations require holistic data literacy across the workforce. Said leaders expect employees to access reliable data quickly, enabling faster sales responsiveness and improved service levels, even as changing market conditions demand evolving analytics.

Define governance levels: strategic, tactical, operational. Track KPIs such as data availability, accuracy, and lineage completeness; use dashboards to drive accountability; ongoing change management and training minimize longer adoption cycles and reduce manual reconciliations. This is vital for growing organizations that must adapt to changing product assortments and market dynamics while keeping price and service consistent.

Proven gains include stronger, more resilient operations; reduced data handling costs due to fewer errors; enable same-day insights across teams; support online decision-making and faster response to customers. With a solid data fabric, channels can forecast demand, optimize pricing, and shorten lead times, boosting sales and margins.

Tech Stack for Full Integration: Cloud, APIs, and automation

Adopt cloud-native, API-led orchestration with automation to unify disparate systems and shorten time-to-value towards omni-channel fulfillment.

Cloud foundation must deliver capacity and storage elasticity; rely on a central cube for retrieved data and analytics; expose operations via standardized APIs to accelerate data sharing with ERP, WMS, and OMS, reducing latency.

APIs connect manufacturers and suppliers; maintain flexible contract terms and part catalogs; monitor price and cost, enabling accurate forecasting and higher commitment to service in markets north of key corridors.

Automation layer orchestrates replenishment, order routing, returns, and label printing; use event streams and RPA to cut manual touches; track capacity and delivery performance to lower risk and cost.

Operational cases: Walgreens deploys real-time stock visibility to curb shortages and improve shelf life; Tyson uses feed streams to align capacity with peak demand; a clear benefit is smoother life-cycle of orders and stronger leadership signals across partners.

Measurement and governance: set target improvements in accuracy of price and delivery times; monitor cube-based dashboards; require ongoing development and commitment.

Experts’ View: Technologies reshaping the supply chain today

Three proven capabilities should be deployed now: automated storage and retrieval systems, robotics-assisted picking, and real-time analytics. These could increase delivery speed, reduce pain points in demanding operations, and improve margin because they cut human error and enable precise scheduling.

Data retrieved from sensors and devices feed resources and dashboards, enabling managers to dive into data within minutes rather than hours, while maintaining service levels for consumers and reducing labor risk in the north region.

Morgan lead automation initiatives in the north, arguing that capabilities should be staged in three waves: automate storage first, introduce robotics in handling, then deploy predictive planning for flows; this shift can boost sales while keeping delivery reliable and margins on track.

With changing demand patterns, the importance of aligned data becomes clear since real-time visibility exists; pace matters. A deliberate mix of automated moves, ongoing training, and clear governance can yield vital gains in retention, delivery reliability, and revenue resilience during market shifts.

Engineering teams should map pain points across the part of the network, then tie milestones to measurable outcomes: faster fulfillment, higher accuracy, and improved capacity. The aim is to turn potential into performance, so leadership can stay ahead as margins tighten and consumers expect more for less, which makes the worth of this transition obvious.