It is now a given that the pandemic turned online grocery shopping from a rare preference to a common necessity. The TGI Survey conducted by Ask Afrika among 16,000 South Africans revealed last year that the proportion shopping online had shot up from 4% to 27% as a result of lockdowns and socially distanced shopping.
Much of that shift was driven by groceries, and in particular the advent of one-hour delivery by Shoprite Checkers' Sixty60. Pick n Pay ASAP and Woolworths Dash followed in Checkers’ wake, driving ever-growing numbers of South Africans into the world of e-commerce.
Sixty60 remains well ahead of the pack, both in terms of service efficiency and continual innovation, thanks to a secret weapon that competitors cannot simply deploy on a motorbike. The entire strategy and business model emerged from ShopriteX, the group's tech and innovation hub “aimed at reimagining grocery retail”.
That is another way of saying that revolutionising e-commerce is about far more than just putting groceries on an app. It requires a deep and wide strategic approach that takes into account the resources of a business as well as its ecosystem.
From having 6,000-8,000 orders a month, Dis-Chem grew deliveries to 89,000 at the height of the pandemic, and the number is not falling as people return to stores
The message was brought home powerfully this week from a retail category that has also been transformed by the pandemic, but quietly and almost in the background: the pharmacy. The country’s two largest pharmacy chains, Clicks and Dis-Chem, now have substantially more outlets than before the pandemic.
Dis-Chem, with 290 outlets, and expected to release stellar annual results this week, has revealed that it experienced a massive shot in the online arm thanks to the implementation of smart logistics technology.
Its timing was impeccable: in March 2020 it adopted software from Picup, a cloud-based logistics management platform that provides an integrated technology solution, from the distribution centre to the customer. It is a subsidiary of Karooooo, which focuses on business data analytics.
As a result, from having 6,000-8,000 orders a month, Dis-Chem grew deliveries to 89,000 at the height of the pandemic, and the number is not falling as people return to stores.
“While Covid-19 was the catalyst for the change in consumer behaviour, Dis-Chem’s logistics has become extremely slick,” says Annemarie Barnard, the company’s project management officer.
“We are seeing a reduction in delivery times from 7-10 days [previously] to same or next day. This has radically decreased customer complaints over the past two years.”
One of the secrets of the system’s success is that it is not only designed for e-commerce, but also to dispatch over-the-counter and telephonic orders faster.
Says Barnard: “Our customers don’t want to wait for their goods, they want them as soon as possible after pressing pay. They also want to know when their parcel will arrive. By using Picup’s technology, our customers are able to track their parcel and arrange their availability around its delivery. Communication is key in the online space to ensure that customers remain informed and ensure greater customer satisfaction.”
The customer then experiences one of 260 drivers, operating from 192 Dis-Chem, six Medicare and 35 Baby City stores that are active on the Picup platform, with 80 nationally distributed hubs. This decentralisation has been critical: previously it had only 20 hubs.
Picup CEO Antonio Bruni says advancements in health-care logistics are happening at a rapid pace around the world as more consumers opt to order online rather than go in-store.
“Increasing from 8,000 to almost 89,000 orders a month is a massive jump, and is something we are very proud to have been a part of,” he says. “Without adequate logistics management capability this rapid increase could have resulted in poor customer brand experience for Dis-Chem.
“Not everyone gets it right, and delivery times remain among key reasons why consumers abandon a sale at the virtual till point. By reducing wait times, brands are seeing increased sales and market share.”
• Goldstuck is founder of World Wide Worx and editor-in-chief of Gadget.co.za
