Delivering loyalty: The evolution of logistics from internal process to critical customer touch point

Abstract

New retail business models and shifting customer demands mean that retail logistics increasingly deliver goods directly to consumers. The new importance of delivery as a customer touch point means that logistics is becoming a critical area of differentiation for retailers. At the same time, innovative technologies are enabling automation of many logistics activities, both at warehouses and on the road. Retailers face structural changes as a result, but also have new opportunities. With its heightened delivery requirements, e-commerce provides a particularly relevant context for examining the coming logistics transformation.