Synergizing Omnichannel Order Management and CRM for Competitive Advantage: A Case Study of UNIQLO’s Digital Transformation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62123/aqila.v2i2.83Keywords:
Omnichannel, Order Management, Customer Relationship Management, Digital TransformationAbstract
Intense competition in the retail industry requires companies to adopt an omnichannel strategy to create superior customer experience. This study aims to conduct an in-depth analysis of how UNIQLO, as a global retail leader, integrates Omnichannel Order Management (OOM) into its Customer Relationship Management (CRM) ecosystem. Adopting the omnichannel management framework, this study uses a qualitative case study approach based on secondary data to examine the strategies, technological enablers, and impacts of UNIQLO's "Ariake Project." The findings show that UNIQLO successfully builds a strong operational foundation through technological drivers, specifically RFID for unified inventory visibility and warehouse automation, alongside organizational drivers such as the "Takumi" culture. This integration enables flexible order fulfillment services such as Buy Online Pick-up In-Store (BOPIS), which has achieved an adoption rate of over 40%. Furthermore, the synergy with CRM has encouraged the growth of e-commerce contribution to a steady level of 15% post-pandemic. The study concludes that the key to UNIQLO's success lies in the synergistic integration of operational efficiency (OOM) and customer data intelligence (CRM), which provides actionable insights to balance technology with customer empathy in retail transformation.
References
[1] C Lazaris and A Vrechopoulos, “From Multichannel to ‘Omnichannel’ Retailing: Review of the Literature and Calls for Research,” 2014, doi: 10.13140/2.1.1802.4967.
[2] E. Brynjolfsson, Y. J. Hu, and M. S. Rahman, Competing in the age of omnichannel retailing. MIT Sloan Management Review, 2013. [Online]. Available: https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/competing-in-the-age-of-omnichannel-retailing/
[3] P. C. Verhoef, P. K. Kannan, and J. J. Inman, “From Multi-Channel Retailing to Omni-Channel Retailing,” J. Retail., vol. 91, no. 2, pp. 174–181, June 2015, doi: 10.1016/j.jretai.2015.02.005.
[4] J. Zhang, P. W. Farris, J. W. Irvin, T. Kushwaha, T. J. Steenburgh, and B. A. Weitz, “Crafting Integrated Multichannel Retailing Strategies,” J. Interact. Mark., vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 168–180, May 2010, doi: 10.1016/j.intmar.2010.02.002.
[5] “Uniqlo - The Strategy Behind The Japanese Fast Fashion Retail Brand,” Martin Roll. Accessed: Nov. 28, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://martinroll.com/resources/articles/strategy/uniqlo-the-strategy-behind-the-global-japanese-fast-fashion-retail-brand/
[6] Fast Retailing Co., Ltd., “The Ariake Project: Becoming a digital consumer retailing company,” 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.fastretailing.com/eng/ir/library/pdf/20211014_tanaka_en.pdf
[7] W. Piotrowicz and R. Cuthbertson, “Introduction to the Special Issue Information Technology in Retail: Toward Omnichannel Retailing,” Int. J. Electron. Commer., vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 5–16, July 2014, doi: 10.2753/JEC1086-4415180400.
[8] E. Galipoglu, H. Kotzab, C. Teller, I. Ö. Yumurtaci Hüseyinoglu, and J. Pöppelbuß, “Omni-channel retailing research – state of the art and intellectual foundation,” Int. J. Phys. Distrib. Logist. Manag., vol. 48, no. 4, pp. 365–390, May 2018, doi: 10.1108/IJPDLM-10-2016-0292.
[9] N. Beck and D. Rygl, “Categorization of multiple channel retailing in Multi-, Cross-, and Omni‐Channel Retailing for retailers and retailing,” J. Retail. Consum. Serv., vol. 27, pp. 170–178, Nov. 2015, doi: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2015.08.001.
[10] N. N. O. Kamranpour and M. Konnerth, “Omnichannel Supply Chain Transformation for Third Party Logistics Providers,” May 2019, [Online]. Available: https://ctl.mit.edu/pub/thesis/omnichannel-supply-chain-transformation-third-party-logistics-providers
[11] C. Lehrer and M. Trenz, “Omnichannel Business,” Electron. Mark., vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 687–699, June 2022, doi: 10.1007/s12525-021-00511-1.
[12] T. Mirsch, C. Lehrer, and R. Jung, “CHANNEL INTEGRATION TOWARDS OMNICHANNEL MANAGEMENT: A LITERATURE REVIEW,” in PACIS 2016 Proceedings, 2016. [Online]. Available: https://aisel.aisnet.org/pacis2016/288/
[13] M. Kawahara Iguma and J. Onome Imoniana, “Omnichannel Retailing: An Exploratory Study of the Postadoption of Radio-Frequency Identification Technology contributing to the Quality of Financial Information,” Int. J. Finance Bank. Stud. 2147-4486, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 48–62, May 2023, doi: 10.20525/ijfbs.v12i1.2519.
[14] K. Wang, Y. Li, and Y. Zhou, “Execution of Omni-Channel Retailing Based on a Practical Order Fulfillment Policy,” J. Theor. Appl. Electron. Commer. Res., vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 1185–1203, Aug. 2022, doi: 10.3390/jtaer17030060.
[15] A. Hübner, J. Wollenburg, and A. Holzapfel, “Retail logistics in the transition from multi-channel to omni-channel,” Int. J. Phys. Distrib. Logist. Manag., vol. 46, no. 6/7, pp. 562–583, July 2016, doi: 10.1108/IJPDLM-08-2015-0179.
[16] Y.-J. Cai and C. K. Y. Lo, “Omni-channel management in the new retailing era: A systematic review and future research agenda,” Int. J. Prod. Econ., vol. 229, p. 107729, Nov. 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.ijpe.2020.107729.
[17] Muharman Lubis, Strategi sistem informasi organisasi : konsep dan praktik digital pada manajemen hubungan pelanggan. Bandung: Tel-U Press, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://telupress.telkomuniversity.ac.id/product/strategi-sistem-informasi-organisasi%3A-konsep-dan-praktik-digital-pada-manajemen-hubungan-pelanggan/59/180
[18] E. Juaneda-Ayensa, A. Mosquera, and Y. Sierra Murillo, “Omnichannel Customer Behavior: Key Drivers of Technology Acceptance and Use and Their Effects on Purchase Intention,” Front. Psychol., vol. 7, July 2016, doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01117.
[19] S. Baxendale, E. K. Macdonald, and H. N. Wilson, “The Impact of Different Touchpoints on Brand Consideration,” J. Retail., vol. 91, no. 2, pp. 235–253, June 2015, doi: 10.1016/j.jretai.2014.12.008.
[20] T. Hollweck, “Case Study Research Design and Methods (5th ed.),” Can. J. Program Eval., vol. 30, no. 1, pp. 108–110, Mar. 2015, doi: 10.3138/cjpe.30.1.108.
[21] R. Kumar and S. Majumdarr, “The Uniqlo Case: Fast Retailing Recipe for Attaining Market Leadership Position in Casual Clothing,” Rutgers Bus. Rev., vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 60–77, 2022.
[22] Fast Retailing Investor Relations, “Fast Retailing Co., Ltd.,” Annual Report, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.fastretailing.com/eng/ir/library/annual.html
[23] K. L. Ailawadi and P. W. Farris, “Managing Multi- and Omni-Channel Distribution: Metrics and Research Directions,” J. Retail., vol. 93, no. 1, pp. 120–135, Mar. 2017, doi: 10.1016/j.jretai.2016.12.003.
[24] S. Saghiri, R. Wilding, C. Mena, and M. Bourlakis, “Toward a three-dimensional framework for omni-channel,” J. Bus. Res., vol. 77, pp. 53–67, Aug. 2017, doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2017.03.025.
[25] L. Cao and L. Li, “The Impact of Cross-Channel Integration on Retailers’ Sales Growth,” J. Retail., vol. 91, no. 2, pp. 198–216, June 2015, doi: 10.1016/j.jretai.2014.12.005.
[26] D. Herhausen, J. Binder, M. Schoegel, and A. Herrmann, “Integrating Bricks with Clicks: Retailer-Level and Channel-Level Outcomes of Online–Offline Channel Integration,” J. Retail., vol. 91, no. 2, pp. 309–325, June 2015, doi: 10.1016/j.jretai.2014.12.009.
[27] K. N. Lemon and P. C. Verhoef, “Understanding Customer Experience Throughout the Customer Journey,” J. Mark., vol. 80, no. 6, pp. 69–96, Nov. 2016, doi: 10.1509/jm.15.0420.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Andartya Setyawan Darna, Muharman Lubis

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.






