Retail Asia 2018 RA September.October 2018 (Online) | Page 52

LOGISTICS
methods and handover so that it can be
done in the shortest time possible and
ensures that the transportation vehicles
are always in good condition.
Future of food delivery
Hu is confident that Malaysia’s
e-commerce landscape is at its peak and
there will be more people shifting their
shopping habit from offline to online.
“What I see is that more people from
other cities would need grocery delivery-
on-demand to keep up with their busy
lives. This would happen even faster
when the online grocery delivery can
offer what offline stores cannot — such
as customising shopping experience as
well as bundling [the grocery] together
with recipes, and so on,” he says.
With the emergence of the app
marketplaces taking over a share from
standalone stores and businesses, Beckitt
predicts a greater movement towards
home delivery and mobile commerce in
Asia, citing the huge development in the
WeChat mini-programme in China as a
blueprint of what is to come throughout
the region.
“My second prediction is that 2019
will finally be the year that blockchain-
based tech finally becomes regularly
integrated into food supply chains all the
way to the end-consumer. There will be a
huge push into provenance and visibility
of where your products have been, how
they have been transported and their
authenticity from source to the point of
consumption,” he affirms.
Sharing the option that the grocery
delivery business is ripe for disruption,
Lim foresees services developing
faster and in more efficient ways for
customers to get groceries — perhaps
through partnering same-hour delivery
services. “The grocery delivery business
is undergoing a transformational
phase, as it goes beyond a transactional
experience into something more
immersive and experiential. Consumers
are starting to place greater value on
offline experience as well as online
and thus are looking for many ways to
experience a brand prior to making a
purchase,” she shares.
As such, we will be seeing more
online-offline integrations moving
forward as companies look towards
creating more immersive experiences
with consumers that connect with them
on a more personal level. Leveraging
technology and data analytics, the
grocery delivery business will continue
working towards offering customers
more exciting products, more
conveniently, and at lower price points,
she says.
Sustainability factor
Gupta highlights that shoppers will
be more driven by sustainable logistics
solutions in the future. “No one is
seriously trying to solve this problem.
We must try to reduce the number
of deliveries and ensure all vehicles
are electric-powered. We must also
eliminate packaging waste by using
only 100% reusable secondary packaging,”
she declares.
TwentyOff customers are encouraged
to order fewer but bigger deliveries which,
according to Gupta, not only reduces
carbon emissions but also reduces last-mile
costs to less than 5% of revenue, and these
savings are passed back to shoppers to
incentivise them to make bigger orders.
Notably, deliveries from TwentyOff are
put together in reusable Ikea bags so the
company has “zero plastic bag footprint”.
HappyFresh Malaysia implements
a similar policy for reusable bags for
purchases of more than RM200 (US$48).
Hu shares that HappyFresh is also
working towards finding more ways for
sustainable supply chains: “Aside from
pooling orders, we encourage our riders to
use motorcycles instead of cars or lorries,
unless it is deemed necessary.”
Along a similar vein, Lim says
honestbee (Singapore) understands
the importance of businesses having a
sustainable supply chain management,
especially as there is now an emphasis on
moving towards a cleaner, greener and
more socially responsible society. “Right
now, we are still working out a plan that
would work best for us in line with the
overall needs of the business. However,
we will continue to strive to operate
and conduct our business in a more
sustainable manner and eventually develop
a corporate sustainability programme,
which also ensures that our suppliers and
partners are sustainable themselves,” she
concludes. ra
The added personal touch
DELIVERING high-quality wines, beers
and spirits in China, Hong Kong and
Singapore, BottlesXO believes that each
delivery is not just a matter of order
fulfilment but also an opportunity to
offer customers a magic moment. Neil
Beckitt, head of Global Supply Chain and
Data, BottlesXO International, shares:
“The company aims to personalise the
interaction between its delivery personnel
and the customer by adding personal
touches to both digital and physical
interaction with the customer while
ensuring our products are delivered at the
perfect drinking temperature and in peak
condition.”
All delivery personnel at BottlesXO go
through a photoshoot before they start
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Retail Asia September/October 2018
delivering, but instead of a boring profile
picture, they are encouraged to have
some fun, express themselves and show
some personality. The photo is then turned
into an animated GIF which is sent to
the customer as part of BottlesXO’s order
push notifications.
“These pushes will introduce the
drivers with their first names and build
a connection between them and the
customers at various stages of the
delivery process, then just a few minutes
later you will have a knock at the door
with a polite smiling face introducing
himself by his first name. We’ve had really
amazing feedback on this feature and it
is something our customers find really
alluring and memorable,“ Beckitt says. ra
The photo of the delivery personnal is
turned into an animated GIF which is sent
to the customer as part of BottlesXO’s
order push notifications.