Big Lots Named No. 1 in Total Retail’s 2020 Top Omnichannel Retailers Report

Recommendation: Build a unified omnichannel operation that blends online orders with in-store fulfillment and curbside pickup to capitalize on Big Lots’ No. 1 standing in Total Retail’s 2020 Top Omnichannel Retailers Report.

Tillvägagångssätt: Implement two core strategies in operation improvement: first, expand teknologi-enabled fulfillment to improve accuracy and speed; second, standardize certifications across partners to reduce kostnad and risk. Prior results were driven by data-informed decisions and close collaboration across channels.

I january, forecasts point to growing demand for essentials and snacks, with online orders turning into quick pickups and rapid replenishment across stores.

Hävstångseffekt informa data och dumont analytics to sharpen inventory planning, align assortments with shopper momentum, and reduce out-of-stock events that could affect margins.

Maintain momentum by tracking kostnad per fulfilled order, speeding up cycles, and enforcing process certifications that guarantee quality across all channels. This approach helps them reduce friction for customers.

That momentum will be supported by a second wave of growth, stronger teknologi adoption, improved operation discipline, and smarter forecasts that could sustain omnichannel leadership into the next season.

Practical inventory management techniques that powered Big Lots’ omnichannel leadership

Start with a unified, cloud-based inventory platform that consolidates store, distribution center, and online stock with real-time updates. Install RFID on high-demand items and pair it with wearables for store teams to scan shelves in seconds, boosting accuracy and efficiency across times of peak demand.

Key techniques to implement now:

• Single source of truth: a common platform provides in-transit visibility and live stock levels, enabling same-day allocations and faster delivery decisions.
• In-transit tracking: real-time ETA feeds allow automatic rerouting to the closest fulfillment node, reducing slip times and improving customer promise reliability.
• Store-and-ship optimization: reserve online orders from both DCs and stores, then auto-allocate replenishment to where demand exists; this helps meet online and omnichannel delivery expectations.
• Cross-docking and wave picking: inbound goods are pushed directly to outbound orders, cutting handling times and increasing total throughput.
• Enterprise collaboration: vendor-managed inventory and supplier partnerships launched to align replenishment with forecasted demand; lowers stockouts and total landed costs.
• Analytics-driven replenishment: leverage trends, POS and online signals, and news signals to adjust orders and merchandise mix, ensuring future merchandise aligns with customer expectations.
• Delivery optimization: route optimization and multiple carrier options reduce lead times and improve delivery windows for online orders.
• Experience-driven operations: implement dashboards that show out-of-stocks by store and item, enabling proactive actions by store teams (and even Starbucks-like consistency in execution).

To measure impact, track accuracy, service levels, and productivity. Suggested targets: in-stock rate above 97%, fill rate above 95%, forecast accuracy within 10-15%, inventory turnover improvement of 8-15% year over year, and a 12-20% reduction in days of supply for fast-moving items.

These steps increase efficiency and create a resilient, multi-channel experience. By combining online, store, and delivery operations on multiple platforms, the retailer can maintain momentum as trends shift and customer preferences evolve, keeping merchandise where customers expect it and ensuring timely delivery across times and geographies. This will position the retailer for continued leadership in the future of omnichannel retail.

Real-time cross-channel inventory visibility across stores, distribution centers, and e-commerce

Adopt a unified, real-time inventory platform that streams stock levels across stores, distribution centers, and e-commerce via a single API layer, reducing errors and delivering comparable experiences for customers. This technology backbone clarifies what stock is where, enabling precise allocations instead of gut calls.

Create a single source of truth by integrating WMS, OMS, POS, and e-commerce feeds; enable ship-from-store with automatic allocation; equip stores with wearables to capture shelf data; connect DCs to replenishment cycles in seconds, before exceptions cascade into backorders.

Data from orders, returns, and transfers feeds forecasts, trends, and times of day adjustments; analyze what drives demand and how uncertainty will shift in peak periods. Translate raw data into actionable prompts that guide replenishment and allocation across stores and DCs. what you measure, you improve into clearer decisions that customers will notice.

Realistic outcomes include stock accuracy rises to 98–99% in stores and DCs, fill rates improving 10–20%, backorders dropping 20–35%, and overstock shrinking 5–12% at peak times. The gains come from faster feedback loops and tighter cross-channel coordination. Errors shrink as teams see the impact of each change in real time.

Implementation kicks off with a 90-day pilot in a subset of stores and DCs; define KPIs for order fill, accuracy, and times-to-ship; run a free webinar to train teams; launching a phased rollout with clear milestones and certifications to validate readiness. informa notes that early adopters gain faster time-to-value.

Examples show practical impact: ship-from-store reduces backorder pressure during busy periods; arctic-grade cold-chain controls protect temperature-sensitive SKUs; starbucks-style speed to shelf demonstrates how easy it is to keep the right product in stock, wherever it’s needed. This approach goes beyond theory and helps them act faster.

To sustain momentum, focus on what matters: data quality, governance, and ongoing optimization. What you measure, you improve–and the result is a repeatable, scalable model that will support demand shifts, supply volatility, and evolving shopper expectations.

Unified order management to coordinate online orders, in-store pickup, and curbside services

Adopt a centralized unified order management system (OMS) to coordinate online orders, in-store pickup, and curbside services, reducing wait times and boosting order accuracy. The system provides real-time visibility into inventory, delivery status, and returns, so every channel stays aligned and the customer experience remains smooth.

Retailers that launched an integrated OMS connect their POS, warehouse, and ecommerce platforms into a single workflow. This setup accelerates replenishment, minimizes stockouts, and guides packaging decisions for pickup and delivery, which strengthens brand consistency across their stores.

Trends show that every shopper expects flexible options; after they place orders, within this framework, offering online ordering with curbside pickup expands the shop’s reach and increases demand. The OMS retrieves status updates and informs staff when items are ready or retrieved for pickup, creating a seamless experience.

Key metrics track order accuracy, on-time delivery, and curbside wait times, plus comparable performance across stores. A focus on replenishment timing and returns handling helps the retailer balance demand across channels, enabling elevated customer experiences and stronger sales performance.

For assortments like snacks, the system harmonizes stock across stores and reorders from the most efficient nodes, improving delivery speed and reducing excess packaging waste. From online carts to curbside retrieval, the flow stays intact, with packaging optimized for quick pickup and reduced handling.

Introduced integration with loyalty programs and returns flow within the OMS empowers staff to retrieve items quickly and respond to customer requests. The approach continues to evolve as trends shift toward a unified shopping experience, making the retailer better positioned to boost their sales and maintain brand trust.

Location-level stock thresholds with automated alerts to prevent stockouts and overstocks

Recommendation: Set location-level stock thresholds at the item-store level and enable automated alerts that trigger when on-hand falls below the reorder point or rises above the maximum. Use a data-driven, velocity-based policy that is comparable across stores and aligned with omnichannel goals; this continues to support both curbside and online fulfillment and will reduce stockouts and overstocks.

Organize items into three velocity tiers and tailor thresholds to each tier and store size. Fast movers (speed > 15 units/week) should carry 2–4 weeks of demand as a buffer, mid movers (5–14 units/week) 1–3 weeks, and slow movers (<5 units/week) 0.5–2 weeks, with adjustments for seasonal spikes and lead times. For high-variance categories like wearables and furniture, apply a larger safety stock margin and a wider max stock window to absorb supplier variability.

Compute thresholds with practical formulas: reorder point ROP = lead time (in weeks) × weekly demand + safety stock; safety stock equals z × sigma(during lead time), where z corresponds to your target service level. For example, a product with weekly demand 60 units, a 1.5-week lead time, and a safety stock of 20 units yields ROP ≈ 110 units. Set a max stock around 180 units to cap overages. This approach protects content integrity and ensures continuity before peak periods, reducing elevated risk of stockouts.

Automate execution by linking the POS, warehouse management, and supplier portals. When a threshold breach occurs, automatically generate a replenishment order or a recommended order with vendor lead time, latest certifications, and a confidence score. Use alert channels that fit the workflow–mobile push for store managers, email for planners, and a dashboard for executives. This will shorten the cycle from detection to action and remove the thorn of manual reconciliation.

Navigating omnichannel demands transparency across channels. Align thresholds so in-store inventory supports online orders and same-store pick-ups without creating conflicting signals. For items named in the report as critical, like furniture and wearables, keep higher safety stock if content quality checks (certifications) or supplier reliability (e.g., Schreiner, nyse-listed peers) vary. A well-tuned system reports exceptions in real time and prevents overcommitment on popular items while preserving broad assortments across channels.

Implement a quarterly review cadence to adjust thresholds based on total sales, seasonality, and market news. Before each season, refresh velocity bands and update ROP/max to reflect new supplier SLAs and price protections. The outcome: faster response to demand shifts, reduced stockouts, and fewer overstocks, with a clear audit trail to inform future decisions and reports for leadership, including any updates that are reported to stakeholders and named in performance reviews.

Forecast-driven replenishment prioritization to optimize shelf availability

Adopt a forecast-driven replenishment prioritization that flags top-priority SKUs by forecast signal strength, sales velocity, and service-level impact, and push replenishment orders to fulfillment with precision. This approach also aligns replenishment with demand, reduces stockouts, and improves shelf availability during peak purchase periods.

Integrate a survey of shopper intent and store associate feedback to adjust priorities, ensuring data from customers and frontline teams informs the replenishment plan. Use teknologi to convert signals from retail systems into actionable orders and hämtat inventory data for faster decision-making.

Provide real-time visibility into under transport and on-hand stock, enabling improved speed of replenishment and increased fulfillment options such as same-day. Content-rich dashboards pull together supply data, forecast updates, and in-store conditions to support meeting service targets.

Equip associates with wearables and mobile devices to navigate shelf gaps, pull from back-stock, and accelerate replenishment cycles. These tools support navigating competing priorities across categories and reduce backroom clutter while you improve customer experiences.

Investments in same-day fulfillment, cross-docking, and automated replenishment rules create a tighter feedback loop with suppliers, reducing in-transit delays and improving supply reliability. In-transit visibility and supplier collaboration shorten cycle times and enable you to respond after exceptions with speed.

Set explicit metrics and testing: increased fyllnadsgrad, improved shelf availability, and higher customer satisfaction scores from post-purchase surveys. Use these results to tune the forecast model and rule sets, ensuring content and context remain aligned with store realities.

Med en kontinuerlig improvement mindset, these practices help you optimera experiences for shoppers, while also delivering better fulfillment speeds and increased efficiency across competing retailers.

Channel and SKU performance analytics to inform inventory decisions

Implement weekly replenishment thresholds by channel velocity and SKU priority, using a 4-week rolling forecast and safety stock by high-demand SKUs.

Build a unified analytics framework that compares demand and fulfillment performance across global markets and brand lines. Track comparable SKUs across online, in-store, and mobile channels to identify which channels drive faster speed, higher fill rates, and better margins, while content quality affects demand signals and customer satisfaction. Data from informa dashboards and techtarget insights will validate the model and keep the office aligned with real conditions.

Focus on actionable metrics: demand, forecast accuracy, fill rate, errors, fulfillment speed, and stockouts. These positive indicators will guide merchandise decisions, inform pricing and promotions, and reduce errors in stock forecasts. The approach supports nyse-listed partners and brand stakeholders by providing a clear, data-driven report that can be shared across the companys organization.

Table below translates the strategy into concrete moves by channel and SKU, with targets you can operationalize in the next cycle.