Imagine a four-wheel robot pulling up to a house to deliver pizza. Don’t freak out—it might be your Domino’s order. Yep, Domino’s is testing robotic delivery in Australia.
If TV viewers are obsessed with everything zombie, perhaps it’s time for us to turn our eyes to robotics and new portals that will shake up our nation’s supply-chain superhighway. How people get what they want, when they want it, will forever change. And soon.
Retailers navigating this constant stream of innovation are finding new efficiencies, assessing threats to the convenience model and repositioning themselves to avoid becoming obsolete—at the same time consumers are exposed to multiple newfound conveniences.
Eventually, these advances should converge into a single orchestrated movement of automation, but the larger ecosphere of supply and demand—at least within the fragmented c-store channel—has yet to find that harmony.
In the meantime, retailers such as Brandon Hofmann, chief marketing officer for the 43-store Parker Cos., Savannah, Ga., will embrace what they can. Hofmann favors how his distributor, Temple, Texas-based McLane Co., developed a series of ordering, receiving and promotional technologies that run on cost-effective mobile phones and tablets.
Some of these options include:
Ordering, receiving and inventory: Using the McLane Smart Handheld or an Apple iOS or Android mobile device with attachable scanners, employees can survey inventory in real time, place orders and create shelf tags. The solution also covers non-McLane items, enabling more cohesive tracking and ordering of in-store merchandise. Retailers can also use the option for lottery tickets.
Online “shopping cart” ordering: Retailers can also create online orders akin to those on Amazon or eBay.
Plan-o-grams: Access plan-o-grams online with smart devices.
Reporting features: An app called McLaneLink allows retailers to view reports.
Technology infrastructure: Much of this technology suite falls under My McLane, freeing operators from having to construct digital networks, hire information technology staff or maintain those systems.
In short, the high-tech shortcut bypasses back-office solutions and third-party devices, says Deon Johnson, McLane’s vice president of customer technology.
“As a retailer, find ways to be part of the value chain.”
“The ability to create an order, count inventory, do shelf tags—these are mission-critical tasks [that used to involve buying] a package from a back-office provider,” Johnson says. “Today, everyone has a cellphone. They download an app and access McLane data without the need for coaching or training.”
Hofmann of Parker’s describes the McLane solution as going “above and beyond.”
Providing an outside perspective, Gray Taylor says mobile phones and tablets save costs and can ultimately speed up item turn. “Supply chain is our most important battle because adjacent competitors like CVS and Wal-Mart are optimized to where velocity from idea to store shelf is days,” says Taylor, executive director of NACS’ technical advisory group, Conexxus, Alexandria, Va. “Our channel gets a new [item] release after eight to 12 weeks … so we miss the curve on advertising.”
As retailers clamor for any new supply shortcut, the surge of evolving and emerging home-delivery options are redefining convenience for a new generation of customers.
Consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers are actively trying to develop direct relationships with the public, a role retailers traditionally played, according to Anton Bakker, president and CEO of Outsite Networks, Norfolk, Va. Bakker is working with retail chains and CPGs to develop brand scenarios that reward customers directly.
Many programs can bypass c-stores altogether: Uber-style deliveries from warehouse to home, or coupons texted to brand-loyal customers and redeemable at any store they choose. For CPGs, the rewards are greater overall control and a more efficient use of marketing dollars, Bakker says.
Retailers can cooperate with CPGs by sharing data, but if they choose not to, CPGs have options, he says. One is enticing people to take photos of their receipts as proof they buy certain brands; CPGs can then directly reward them. Either way, Bakker says CPGs will ultimately obtain the data they want.
“My take is that if the CPGs are trying to go around you, invite them in and keep them in the fold,” he says. “As a retailer, find ways to be part of the value chain."
Off the Chain: Bypassing Retail
Customers may redefine convenience as home-delivery models move from concept to viability. Here are a few such shortcuts at various stages:
>A year ago, Amazon started its Wi-Fi-enabled Dash program, which allows its Amazon Prime customers to replenish many items with the push of a button. The branded Dash button sticks next to where people store those goods; pushing it will place the item in the customer’s next order. Three traditional c-store goods made the 2015 list of top sellers:
- No. 5, PepsiCo’s Gatorade
- No. 8, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, Kraft Heinz
- No. 10, smartwater from Coca-Cola
>CPGs can use digital coupons to connect directly with consumers. The top three redeemed items are energy drinks (43%), soda (17%) and juice (15%), according to a recent study from Koupon Media, Addison, Texas.
> Why go to the store when a cost-effective four-wheel robot can deliver hot food to you? Domino’s Pizza, Ann Arbor, Mich., is testing such robots in Australia.
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