圆桌对话：品牌如何构建高韧性全域供应链？

This article is a transcript of a roundtable discussion held at the 2026 Private CEO Meeting on Brand Supply Chain Innovation, focusing on the topic "How Brands Can Build High-Resilience Omnichannel Supply Chains". Multiple industry practitioners shared practical experience and core insights. Key takeaways are as follows:

1. The discussion clarifies the core definition of omnichannel supply chain: it is not simply sharing the same inventory and warehouses across online and offline channels. Its core goal is to enable real flow of goods inventory across different channels and regions, and build a collaborative system for inventory, warehousing, delivery and returns and exchanges centered on brands' business scenarios.

2. It shares practical methods for brands expanding from online to offline operations, including the "1.5 assortment" model, approaches for price coordination, and inventory turnover methods. It also introduces practical experience in managing IP co-branded products, evaluating suppliers, and adapting overseas supply chains to local markets.

3. It maps out application directions for AI in supply chains, offers category recommendations for brands piloting omnichannel supply chains, and summarizes the core competency requirements for supply chain resilience.

This article provides comprehensive practical references for supply chain development for brands that are currently building multi-channel layouts and expanding into overseas markets. Key takeaways are as follows:

1. For channel strategy and pricing: when expanding from online to offline operations, brands can adopt the "1.5 assortment" model to fit their current status. Half of the assortment is exclusive to offline, with pricing aligned to offline cost structures, while the other half overlaps with online offerings. For overlapping products, brands keep unit prices consistent, and boost average order value offline through multi-unit discounts to avoid channel price conflicts.

2. For product development and supply chain management: most IP co-branded products can be managed the same way as regular products, with licensing costs simply factored into the pricing and profit model. Brands should conduct quarterly ratings of partner factories based on sample development responsiveness, delivery capability and product quality, to continuously evaluate fulfillment performance and guarantee stable delivery.

3. For omnichannel operations and global expansion: brands can establish a supply chain BP (Business Partner) role to resolve information asymmetry between business teams and the supply chain function. When expanding overseas, brands should continuously adapt to local market rules instead of directly replicating domestic models, and leverage AI to build management systems such as inventory early warning.

This article maps out the opportunities, risks and practical methods for supply chain development for sellers that are building multi-channel layouts and planning to expand offline or enter overseas markets. Key takeaways are as follows:

1. Transformation opportunities and risk reminders: brands do not need to build a fully independent offline inventory system from the start when expanding offline. Adopting the "1.5 assortment" model can reduce transformation investment and control inventory risk. The apparel category, with its large number of SKUs and high return demand, is most suitable for piloting omnichannel supply chains, and brands can scale up after validating the model.

2. Practical omnichannel operations: setting up a supply chain BP role to participate in business planning in advance, translate business requirements from different channels into executable plans for the supply chain, and resolve the problem of overstock in one channel while another faces stockouts. Offline stores can be converted into small forward warehouses to fulfill nearby online orders and speed up offline inventory turnover.

3. Guidance for global expansion: do not directly replicate domestically validated models in new markets. Instead, continuously study local consumption habits and delivery rules to identify opportunities for cost optimization, and gradually build AI-powered inventory and expiration warning systems to meet multi-market management requirements.

This article maps out changing demands on the brand side, and provides references for business opportunities and digital transformation directions for manufacturing factories that supply brands. Key takeaways are as follows:

1. Changing supplier cooperation requirements: brands now conduct continuous, full-dimensional evaluations of suppliers, rather than only judging performance based on one-off sample collaboration. They conduct quarterly comprehensive ratings across multiple dimensions including sample development responsiveness, bulk delivery stability and product qualification rate. Ratings are transparent: high-performing suppliers get larger cooperation shares, while suppliers with delivery delays or quality issues face restrictions.

2. Business opportunities: the development of brands' omnichannel supply chains is driving increasing demand for flexible delivery capabilities. Factories that can adapt to the different order requirements of brands' multiple channels and adjust delivery schedules flexibly will gain more long-term, stable cooperation opportunities.

3. Insights for digital transformation: brands are gradually rolling out AI-enabled supply chain management, and factories can follow suit with digital upgrades to improve their own quality control and delivery capabilities, meet brands' omnichannel collaboration requirements, and strengthen their competitive edge as partners.

This article maps out current supply chain pain points on the brand side and industry development trends, and provides clear business direction references for supply chain and logistics service providers. Key takeaways are as follows:

1. Core customer pain points: as brands build omnichannel and multi-market layouts across online and offline and at home and abroad, they commonly face pain points including large regulatory differences across channels, dispersed inventory, information asymmetry between business and supply chain teams, complicated returns processes, slow inventory turnover, and difficulties with localization for overseas expansion. There is urgent demand for supply chain services that can coordinate omnichannel resources.

2. Technology development trends: AI is the core direction for upgrading supply chain services. The two most priority areas for investment right now are warehouse operations and after-sales service. AI algorithms can optimize order planning, staff scheduling and work routes to improve warehouse operation efficiency; AI can also replace manual labor to handle after-sales inquiries and abnormal orders, improving response speed.

3. Product direction: service providers need to build a tiered warehouse network system centered on brands' actual business scenarios, connect forward fulfillment and reverse logistics, and help brands quickly process returned goods, restock them and realize resale, to reduce inventory loss and improve brands' capital efficiency.

This article maps out brands' demand for omnichannel supply chains, and provides reference directions for platform operators to upgrade investment attraction and operation services. Key takeaways are as follows:

1. Core brand demands: after expanding to multi-channel and multi-market operations, brands' core demand is for platforms to unify cross-channel data and support cross-channel inventory collaboration, to resolve fulfillment problems caused by differing channel rules and avoid the problem of overstock in one channel while another faces stockouts.

2. Insights for operation management: platforms can develop dedicated collaboration tools aligned with brands' omnichannel supply chain demands, support brands in integrating offline stores into their overall warehouse network, and embed AI-powered inventory early warning and expiration management features to help brands improve management efficiency and reduce operating costs.

3. Investment attraction and business direction: platforms can prioritize recruiting apparel and beauty brands, which have stronger demand for omnichannel supply chains. Platforms can build targeted supply chain supporting services tailored to the characteristics of these brands: large SKU counts, strong seasonality and high return rates, to attract brand onboarding. For global brands, platforms can also provide localized supply chain rule services for different regional markets to help brands adapt to local requirements.

This paper documents the latest frontline practices in China's brand omnichannel supply chain sector, summarizes new industry trends and emerging problems, and provides first-hand reference materials for industrial research. Key takeaways are as follows:

1. New industry trends: today's omnichannel supply chain has evolved from the early-stage "single inventory pool" management to a new phase of collaborative inventory flow across channels and regions. The industry no longer pursues simple shared inventory, warehouses and fulfillment for identical products, and has shifted its core focus to end-to-end collaboration. New innovative practices adapted for multi-channel operations, including the "1.5 assortment" model and the "supply chain BP" role, have already emerged in the industry.

2. New industry problems: multi-channel expansion has brought new problems including channel price conflicts, supply-demand information asymmetry and higher inventory coordination difficulty. Global brands also face challenges with localization. Currently, most AI applications only stay at the tool level and have not been deeply integrated into end-to-end business processes.

3. Industry development trends: in the future, AI applications in supply chains will shift from being auxiliary tools to embedded business system implementations, converting paper-based SOPs into executable digital business processes. Supply chain resilience has become a core competitive advantage for brands; it no longer refers to optimization of a single link, but end-to-end collaborative optimization involving brands, factories and service providers.