In a continually evolving market it has never been more important for retailers to meet the growing demands for faster delivery and greater visibility, according to Radaro managing director, Brenton Gill.
But how do Australian retailers compete and remain relevant in a market that is being shaped by leaders such as Amazon, who have unparalleled resources to invest heavily in logistics and technology? Radaro believes it is through hyper delivery and the adoption of last mile technologies.
“Hyper delivery allows retailers to cut down their delivery times significantly by utilising traditional brick-and-mortar stores as distribution hubs to streamline fulfilment,” Gill told Retailbiz.
“Compared to the traditional retail model in which orders are dispatched from distribution centres, delivery times can be reduced from several days right down to customers receiving orders within two to three hours of purchase.
“With delivery speed and convenience at the forefront of consumer expectations and being highly influential when it comes to purchasing decisions, retailers who do not have the technical capacity to take control of their fulfilment will see slower delivery times and lower customer satisfaction.”
So how can retailers embrace and integrate hyper delivery into their last mile operations? And how can they do this at scale?
Gill says there are three core options: continuing delivery with existing supply chains, on-demand delivery models, or engaging retail staff to make local deliveries.
“The cost/benefit equation of each approach can be actively debated, however, by doing nothing a brand is likely to become a retail failure statistic, focused on blaming their tools and third party issues such as disruption and low capacity.
“During COVID-19, many brands have gradually improved their systems and responsiveness with the introduction of contactless delivery, customer communication and choice of delivery, but for many, there is still a way to go.”
Radaro recently enabled a hyper delivery implementation with a 300+ store FMCG retailer and the results were described as “truly category leading” by Gill, providing the retailer with full visibility and end-to-end control over their e-commerce volume, including the re-allocation of delivery fulfilment to the store network. Retail staff also complete the pick, pack and fulfilment with the same retail approach they would adopt as if they were on the physical shop floor.
“The rollout has allowed the brand to focus on same day delivery as a core component of the omni channel offer from as little at $5 per delivery. Back end systems use predictive AI to map fulfilment radius with delivery capacity, the results of which has seen the brand experience a 500% increase in self-enabled fulfilment after just one month of rollout. Most importantly, average customer ratings have gone through the roof to be 4.96/5 from a feedback % of greater than 35%.
“At scale, the results show that the network is up to 25% more efficient and first-time delivery rates are 98% plus. In effect, the technology enabled a complete acceleration of digital first last mile, allowing for rapid process systemisation and complete control of in-house retail fulfilment and subcontracted fleets. The strategy of placing the customer at the heart of the experience by providing real-time visibility and pro-active communication throughout the fulfilment journey was the catalyst for speed of scaled implementation.”