A Sharing‐Enabled Portfolio Approach to Distribution

An important change over the last few years has been that both consumers and businesses have adopted e‐commerce as a supplement to brick‐and‐mortar retail stores. This has led to the rise of complex omni‐channel distribution, in which firms endeavor to provide a seamless customer experience across channels. Consumers and business customers still expect to receive their products quickly and affordably, but with the option to use whatever channel they prefer. A difficulty many firms face is that these disparate channels often require a portfolio of different distribution facilities. These different distribution facilities can be expensive, complicated to manage, or both. We propose that firms can more efficiently pursue omni‐channel strategies by utilizing the sharing economy to supplement their distribution network with shared warehousing. In this article, we examine recent developments in utilizing shared, on‐demand warehousing and how it can impact distribution in the future.