The revival of retail stores via omnichannel operations: A literature review and research framework

The increasing importance of integrated fulfillment concepts revitalizes bricks-and-mortar stores and puts them at the center of retail operations. So-called omnichannel (OC) concepts leverage stores to offer seamless and enhanced operations for offline and online shoppers. Stores are used to fulfill online orders, offer shorter lead times to customers, and extend the assortment across channels. The role of the store and the underlying store operations are thus impacted by profound changes. This transformation has not yet been assessed comprehensively from a practical or an Operations Research (OR) lens. This paper identifies cross-cutting store-related planning issues and develops a planning framework for OC operations. We apply industry interviews and a systematic literature analysis to derive five planning issues. Research gaps are revealed by matching the pertinent OR literature with managerial needs. The planning issues network design of fulfillment locations, assignment of customer orders, and assortment and inventory planning have been discussed in several store-related OC publications. Demand forecasting and inventory replenishment and returns have received less coverage, and offer significant research opportunities.