Retail Asia 2018 RA September.October 2018 (Online) | Page 51

LOGISTICS
early on and implement solutions in real
time. Lastly, two-way communication
with the customer is encouraged as
customers want to know if they can
expect their deliveries on time or
whether there are any issues that they
need to be aware of.
Data-driven efficiencies
It is widely known that data and business
intelligence are vital components for
any company wishing to be successful
in the FMCG industry, but especially so
for food delivery companies. Predictive
analytics play a huge role in optimising
demand planning and ensuring product
list disruption is minimised for the
end-consumer. Beckitt emphasises: “I’ve
found consistency is hugely valued by
our consumers. Picking apart demand
cycles in high levels of detail and
learning regarding external and internal
influences on purchasing behaviour are
undoubtedly required in order to be
prepared to fulfil our service obligations.”
Besides data’s role in increasing
operational efficiency to reduce cost
and provide more predictive algorithms
to guide better forecasting, data speaks
about the demand and helps HappyFresh
Malaysia in running and making relevant
decisions in the company as well as
assists to foresee season and off-season
trends. “In terms of logistics, data helps
our Operations department to forecast
the number of fleet that we’ll need, even
down to the simpler things like how big
the carrier on their motorbike should
be. Aside from that, we also use the data
to see which stores have high demand
in certain areas and prepare us for the
logistics support needed,” Hu expounds.
As for honestbee, the on-demand
delivery service believes in using data
efficiently to ensure impactful business
results by harnessing data not only to
derive insights around demand, but
also to anticipate shifts in consumer
behaviour in real time and also to better
manage supply.
“With a mission to better serve the
needs of customers, our Data team works
with our Operations team to constantly
address challenges and effectively reduce
resource consumption. We also leverage
our technology and deep understanding
of data to further improve the product
features and special promotions for our
consumers,” Lim says.
She adds that the e-tailer also
harnesses its technology to equip
partners with data and resources that
aim to provide a better understanding of
their sales performance on honestbee in
a bid to extend their reach and further
enhance their product offering.
“[Logistics] challenges can be
overcome by increasing drop density,
using sustainable vehicles and
packaging solutions, and data-driven
efficiencies.”
— Rajni Gupta, Chief Operating Officer
and Founder, TwentyOff
With a mission to help consumers get the
best value for monthly essentials while
helping save the environment, sustainability
is at the heart of TwentyOff’s business
model.
Fleet flexibility
Data also plays a key role in maximising
fleet management in order to provide
timely deliveries. For example, when
it comes to labour management,
BottlesXO’s Beckitt advises retailers to be
reactive with shift plans to accommodate
changing circumstances such as the
weather or flash promotions. “Knowing
how many delivery staff you will need on
duty to match predicted levels of orders
is highly important,” he says.
He also advocates route optimisation
from the dispatch team to the delivery
team as the key to efficiency and driving
down those delivery times during peak
hours. “We operate in areas with very
high population density; smart order
assignment makes a huge difference
to the average distance travelled to
complete a series of orders that our
drivers undertake,” he shares.
honestbee (Singapore) also works
very closely with its fleet and “network
of bees” who are trained to meet the
demands during peak periods. Lim
discloses: “The biggest concern that
comes with fleet management is the
operational costs. At the moment, our
priority in this area is mainly around
optimising fleet management so as to
reduce wastage but not compromise
efficiency when it comes to making
prompt deliveries. In line with this, we
are currently analysing order activity so
we can plan for shorter delivery distances
and better order distribution among our
Delivery Bees.”
In Malaysia, HappyFresh makes sure
that the company has enough fleet in
every cluster and the distance between
the shop and customers are in a range
where they can reach the destination
in an hour. To make it possible for
the riders to pool their orders in one
go rather than making a few trips,
the online platform optimises picking
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