Everyone wants a smooth multichannel experience, but, for many reasons, getting there is difficult. Few customer experiences are more annoying than speaking to an interactive voice response (IVR) system at a call center, reciting your account number, and then getting transferred to a customer service rep who immediately asks you for that same number. From a definitional viewpoint, some industry experts say that multichannel means simply having more than one digital channel, or having both storefront and online channels, but not necessarily integrating them. Multiple channels may have been added over time and remain essentially siloed. Omni- channel can be defined as providing all existing channels, from brick-and-mortar to web and social media channels. However, omnichannel is more often taken to mean that the channels are integrated so that each channel has visibility into the others. Clearly, the most effective arrangement is an integrated omnichannel system, whether it is a marketing hub for outbound communications or an inbound hub for customer purchases or support.