This edited book examines the challenges and opportunities arising from the shift towards omni-channel retail. We examine these issues through the lenses of operations management, emphasizing the supply chain transformations associated with fulfilling an omni-channel demand. The world of retailing has changed dramatically in the past decade. The advent and growth of new digital channels has changed shopper behavior and is challenging retailers to redesign their fulfillment and execution processes to better serve their customers. Omni-channel customers increasingly expect to use a combination of channels in their interactions with retailers, and retailers are trying to provide customers with a seamless omni-channel shopping experience across multiple touch points. The underlying business models associated with omni-channel retail are novel, there is currently no summary of ongoing academic efforts in addressing operational problems in an omni-channel context. To fill the void, this book presents state-of-the-art research on omni-channel retail from various contributing authors that are recognized field experts. The book is divided into four sections: Operational aspects of new omni-channel business models. Omni-channel innovations are creating new research opportunities that operations management researchers had not previously considered. This section includes academic studies of novel omni-channel practices. For example: ·         Buy online, pick up from store ·         Buy online, ship to store ·         Using online assortments as virtual shelf extensions for stores ·         Fulfillment possibilities of online orders from stores ·         Developing integrated delivery modes across channels 2.      Revisiting classic models with an omni-channel emphasis. The operations management community has produced multiple insights that are relevant in an omni-channel context. For example, there is a rich literature on channel strategies (e.g., using game theoretical approaches), inventory allocation (e.g., for multi-echelon systems, dual-channel systems) or e-commerce fulfillment (e.g., vehicle routing problems, service quality studies). These classic models can be adapted to deal with the novel omni-channel context. This section focuses on expanding previous research models to make them more relevant to the new environment. 3.      Making better decisions in an omni-channel context. This section includes new decision support systems being developed to improve omni-channel operations, such as dynamically deciding where to fulfill an order from. The omni-channel transformation. This section describes organizational challenges faced by retailers that are undergoing an omni-channel transformation, such as channel conflicts and incentive issues. This section is based on state-of-the-art implementations by leading retailers.  Ultimately, this book introduces the reader to the fundamentals of operations in an omni-channel context and highlights the different innovative research ideas on the topic using a variety of methodologies.weiterlesen