ORLANDO, Fla. — A successful omnichannel retail strategy requires a supply chain that prioritizes agility, reliability and communication, Dick’s Sporting Goods executives said at a panel at the Retail Industry Leaders Association’s LINK 2025 conference last month.
The sporting goods retailer has been at the forefront of the omnichannel retail movement over the last half decade. The trend, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, has pushed companies like Dick’s to create a uniform experience across all customer touchpoints while adapting operations to support those efforts.
Dick’s relies on its footprint of nearly 900 stores in the U.S. to create a competitive advantage in e-commerce order fulfillment. The company now fulfills almost 90% of online purchases from its stores, according to Denise Karkos, SVP and chief eCommerce officer. That’s up from roughly 70% in 2021.
While stores may lack the picking and packing efficiency of dedicated distribution centers, Whitehous said Dick’s can make up the difference by being closer to customers while cutting down on delivery costs.
Adjusting the throttle
To ensure in-store fulfillment efficiency, Dick’s is opting for a more gradual or “throttled” approach to product flows, SVP of Supply Chain Sean Whitehouse said. Finding the right balance is the key to this strategy.
“We need to throttle back at the right level to support and allow those teams in the stores to spend more time engaging with the athletes,” Whitehouse said. “But we can't throttle back so much that we start splitting e-commerce orders.”
Part of the balancing act is understanding the capabilities and capacity of each store, he added. Similarly, Dick’s is focusing on product segmentation to better understand how its goods, whether a fishing lure or a kayak, flow to different parts of the supply chain.
“We need to throttle back at the right level to support and allow those teams in the stores to spend more time engaging with the athletes.”
Sean Whitehouse
SVP, Supply Chain at Dick's Sporting Goods
Dick's has also readjusted its shipping strategy. Previously, the retailer prioritized speed but found that it didn't always create the best customer experience.
The company would set a date and then plan to beat that promise, Whitehouse said. However, customers would then question why their orders arrived before they were promised to arrive.
To better meet customer needs, Dick’s now provides several delivery time options for digital orders and communicates them earlier in the transaction process, according to Karkos.
“And so simple things like moving the filtering and the delivery mechanisms earlier up in the journey online has been something that we've seen a lot of success with,” Karkos said.
This approach allows Dick’s to better manage expectations to serve its customers effectively while protecting its brand.
“If you don’t get your pair of Nike Dunks, you’re mad at Dick’s, you’re not mad at FedEx,” Karkos said.
Acing Adaptability
Altogether, Dick’s goal is to keep improving the omnichannel experience for customers by being adaptable.
Karkos said consistent and effective communication, both with customers and associates, is a major driver of success in this area. But much of that communication, especially internally, must be in person.
“You need to deliver upon the athlete’s expectations, and you wouldn't know it unless you're visiting the stores and getting that rhythm of constantly being there to say, ‘OK, teammate, show me the process,’” Karkos said.
As an example, for its buy online pickup in store offering, Dick’s used to give associates a 30-minute window to put orders together, Karkos said. However, the company saw a rise in cancellation rates due to this deadline. After engaging with employees, company leaders decided to extend the window to an hour, reducing cancel rates in the process.
“If you don’t get your pair of Nike Dunks, you’re mad at Dick’s, you’re not mad at FedEx.”
Denise Karkos
SVP, Chief E-Commerce Officer, Dick's Sporting Goods
The company is continuing to evaluate its procedures to continuously improve its omnichannel experience for customers. New technology applications are part of those efforts. Whitehouse said he expects the company to eventually have a digital twin of its supply chain to improve decision making.
“We're not interested in being the cheapest supply chain; we're not interested in being the fastest supply chain. We need to be the most agile supply chain,” Whitehouse said.
