Abstract

This study was conducted in order to find out The Effect of Warehousing Trends and Challenges in Omini-Channel Logistics. The main research question posed was: What are the effects of warehousing in omini-channel logistic in the Douala municipality.

The main objective of the study was to examine the effects of warehousing in omini-channel logistic in the Douala municipality. Three hypotheses were developed for the study and all carried the null form. Hypotheses one was; An effect of warehousing does not have a significant relationship on omini-channel practices in the Douala municipality.

Hypothesis two was: There is a significant relationship on the challenges of omini-channel logistics practices of warehousing in the Douala municipality and hypotheses three was; The trend on warehousing has a significant relationship in omini-channel practices in the Douala municipality.

The theory of omni-channel warehousing was adopted to better explain causes and influences identified during the study at a certain point in time. The study was carried out in Douala Municipality and made use of both the primary and secondary sources of data using questionnaires, observation, internet and online journals to collect data. The sample size of the study consist of 100 participants and a cross sectional research design was used here.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Warehousing is an important component of the supply chain, and is something that has become broader, more diverse and more complex as a result of developments in society (Ackerman 1990). It is also the aspect of the logistics process that most products go through (Davarzani and Norrman 2015). Richards (2018) describes it as “a temporary place to store inventory and as a buffer in the supply chain, while Shiau and Lee (2010) describe it as “a commercial building for buffering and storage of goods.”

The objective of warehouse operations is, according to Stinchcomb (2012), to satisfy customer’s needs and requirements while utilizing space, equipment, and labor effectively. Warehouse management plays an important role in the process of reaching the objective of having an efficient and productive supply chain (Won and Olafsson 2005, Zapfel and Wasner 2006, Gu, Goetschalckx, and McGinnis 2007, Davarzani and Norrman 2015).

Since warehouse operations is such a vital process in the supply chain, one needs to carefully consider the many different processes that are ongoing in a warehouse because economic efficiency is often the most important objective in warehouse literature (Davarzani and Norrman 2015). How companies store things in their warehouses affects several factors, such as time, cost and ergonomics for the warehouse workers (Azadeh, De Koster, and Roy 2019).

In the past years the development of new technologies have risen the need of traditional “brick and mortar” stores to extend their sales channel to online and move global. Customer preferences have changed during this time from traditional consuming towards online shopping. Last year the global pandemic has accelerated this transformation.

Consumers valuate different things than before, and easiness has become a competitive advantage. (Akbar et al, 2014, Eroglu, 2014, Sheth, 2020; Tran, et al, 2021; Nasseri et al, 2021) This has raised concern among the traditional retailer stores and retailers have started to build optional marketplaces to their market portfolio.

Multichannel system has replaced the single channel and new business environment has brought new challenges. The need for coordinating and creating the efficient logistic structure to meet the demands of changing customer expectations and environment has gathered studies. Product variety has been multiplied and warehousing services increased. Same time customer expectation towards faster delivery times and wider product selection has increased. (Fisher et al, 2019).

According to (Rodrique, 2020, Cui et al, 2020) Advances in technology have blurred the boundaries between physical and virtual environments, giving rise to the rapid development of new businesses. Technology has built more channels for customer and retailers. The newest transformation in retail industry is called omini-channel. It combines existing retail channels together and offers comprehensively improved experience for customers.

Term “omini-channel” is initially connected to marketing management but later it has changed the shapes of different business areas. (Hubner et al, 2016) This study focuses on logistics side and its capabilities. In omini-channel context it means a strategy that synchronize inventory, logistics and distribution processes across all sales channels to meet consumer demand. Many retail compa¬nies are far away from timely customer orientation although the effects of digitization and new technologies have changed the world of retailing in the past decades.1 Sales via internet are booming and simultaneously, the mobile technology usage is purchasing and growing even more rapidly leading to a big change in the customer behavior. While the consumer used to go to the nearest retailer and seek advice there in order to make the subsequent purchase at this retailer, the process has changed considerably.

These expectations do not correspond to the multi-channel approach, which is largely implemented in the retail sector. In a multi-channel approach the channels operate inde¬pendently and are often in competition with each other perceived, as an evolution of multi-channel retail is omini-channel retail. Omini-channel is rated as a top driver of the digital transformation in retail and enables new interactions with the customer in selling and delivering goods. The customer has the possibility to order goods anywhere, any¬time and on any device. Simultaneously, the customer can move freely between different channels within a single transaction process.

However, implementing an omini-channel business model is more than opening an online store. The transformation to omini-channel confronts the retail with lots of challenges and has a major impact on their supply chain. Therefore, it is important for retailers to under¬stand these impacts on the supply chain and to address the challenges they face.

1.2 Statement of the problem

There are, according to Zapfel and Wasner (2006), several challenges related to warehousing. One is the importance of optimal scheduling for all warehouse activities. According to Li et al. (2009), warehousing also meets challenges in fulfilling increased customer demand, as customers today often purchase more products than previously. It can thus be important for companies to implement semi-automated solutions, such as an effective warehouse management system (WMS), which is used to maintain accurate inventory and improve efficiency in the warehouse (Shiau and Lee 2010).

A WMS can be used alone or as an integrated part of an ERP-System (Richards 2018). Another challenge for warehousing is order picking, which is considered the most expensive activity for every warehouse (Roodbergen and Koster 2001, Won and Olafsson 2005, Koster, Le-Duc, and Roodbergen 2007, Shiau and Lee 2010). This process is notably labor intensive at traditional or semi-automated warehouses (Koster, Le-Duc, and Roodbergen 2007).

Workers at traditional warehouses must physically walk around in the warehouse and pick items according to a picking list. This can be both time consuming and physically laborious for workers. Further state that this process is considered by other warehousing professionals to be the highest-priority area for productivity improvements when wanting to become more efficient.

Even though there are some challenges with traditional warehousing (Zapfel and Wasner 2006, Li et al. 2009), there are also many possibilities. New technologies, improvements, and innovations can all be important aspects of improving traditional warehousing.

1.3 Research Questions

1. What are the effects of warehousing in Omni-channel logistic in the Douala municipality?
2. What are the main challenges of Omni-channel logistic practices of warehousing in the Douala municipality?
3. What are the main trends of warehousing in Omni-channel practices in the Douala municipality?

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