Delivery’s Day Has Come

Local Delivery: A “New Normal” for Online Grocery

Instead of lamenting on stagnant sales, companies like Ocado view quarantine as a massive opportunity. When’s the best time to implement a local delivery service? Perhaps in a time when demand has never been higher…

In April, the British online grocery giant completed construction of its first North American fulfillment center in Ontario, Canada. From here, Ocado will supply more than 39,000 products for Canadian e-grocer Sobeys’ new local delivery service (Voilá). Fueled by the increased demand for online groceries and delivery during the pandemic, the grocers have accelerated the launch of the service.

Delivery Drives Long-Term Value

According to GroceryDive, “Testing for order fulfillment from the automated center has begun, and Ocado and Sobeys will implement a phased rollout to customers across the Toronto metro area once the trial phase concludes.”

Think about the long-term effects here… How will inventory management change if more customers buy online ahead of time? For starters, inventory management becomes much easier, with automated systems telling inventory managers which items to stock based on projected demand levels. This kind of inventory can lead to incredible cost savings down the road, and all this can be accomplished with the right eCommerce tools.

The Key Tool for Your E-Delivery Operation

Complex delivery operations demand a robust ERP to help you track and manage orders across warehouses, physical stores, kiosks, vendors, delivery trucks, and 3^rd party marketplaces like Amazon. Moreover, eCommerce division specific ERPs like Brightpearl help streamline everything from order management to replenishment, accounting, and more, allowing e-businesses to put much of inventory and backoffice management on autopilot with powerful automations.

In Ocado’s case, an ERP would drive the seamless flow of information across all locations, making a massive delivery operation manageable without requiring an equally massive team to manage it.

While connecting a variety of different systems to an ERP is not always easy, especially with some B2B legacy platforms Brightpearl has a track record of implementing most projects in less than 90 days… A relatively short timeline for companies thinking about launching a local delivery service.

Managing High Delivery Volume During Crisis

If you’re thinking about launching a delivery service or at least setting your business up for success with automated order management in the near-term, now may be the time to get the wheels turning.

Our partners at EatCleanBro saw orders skyrocket 40% in March at the peak of panic-buying. They were able to manage the massive spike in orders properly because their eCommerce team was prepared to handle a high volume of deliveries.

“This time of year, we’re very busy so we’re prepared to handle an influx of orders,” Jamie Giovinazzo, owner and founder told NJ.com. “Our orders are up 40%. We’re just guns blazing with orders.”

If you’re interested in learning more about the tools and support we provided to help EatCleanBro manage high delivery volume during the crisis, contact us today to speak with an expert.