Electronics retailer MediaMarkt is to go fully omnichannel. The business processes for the online and offline customer will be fused. The distribution centre in Etten-Leur, which MediaMarkt commissioned in 2019, will play a central role in this.
Parent company MediaMarkt Saturn has chosen the Netherlands as a pilot country for its new omnichannel concept. The retailer organises its main business processes from the 'one customer' principle. There is thus no distinction between the offline and online customer. The customer has one basket for all purchases, made in the shops or through the online channels.
The first steps have already been taken, says Pieter Odijk, Head of Supply Chain Benelux. The Dutch webshop has been improved and stock availability more transparent. "And apart from simplifying the warehouse processes, our 'last mile delivery' processes have also been streamlined and improved."
According to Odijk, the fact that the Netherlands has been chosen as a pilot country is due to the steps already taken here and the behaviour of consumers in the Netherlands. "With the
commissioning of our Central Distribution Centre (NDC) in Etten-Leur in 2019, we have not
only gained a state-of-art warehouse that provides the right foundation for omnichannel rollout, it
has also given us the knowledge and experience essential to make such a complex innovation
possible," said Odijk. Furthermore, according to him, consumers in the BeNeLux use more
than in other countries, more often and more consistently use all available channels to interact with MediaMarkt
get in touch. "Dutch and Belgian electronics consumers are advanced when it comes to
switching between making purchases online or in our shops. The 'customer journey' in the BeNeLux
can thus already be called omnichannel."
