Enhanced customer experience Plus: track your order down to the minute

One of the biggest annoyances with home grocery delivery is an unclear time frame. With the route management system introduced by Plus in 2022, RoutiGo, this is a thing of the past. The software combines route planning, navigation, registration and track & trace, so customers always know where they stand -there are still four customers ahead of you!- and business owners get a better grip on their operation.

Because literally and figuratively, Maurice Buring, Manager E-Commerce Operations & B2B at Plus Retail, knows: 'The e-commerce operation is complex and challenging, especially in food. You have to deal with a multitude of internal processes and they all have to connect seamlessly with the external ones, for an optimal customer experience and a manageable process.'

Professionalizing e-commerce operation

Plus has been adding more and more technology into its e-commerce operation in recent years to make the process more customer-friendly. For order management, order picking and delivery, several applications are in use. For organizing the last mile, this was not the case until early this year. 'That next step has now also been taken, making order picking and delivery for the stores more efficient and our customers know even better where they stand.'

Physical and online shopping trips are increasingly intermingling, Buring clarifies. 'Whereas some consumers already do their shopping exclusively online, an increasing proportion of customers alternate online with visits to physical stores. And then there is still a small portion that literally brings the shopping list to the store or orders by phone, only to have the groceries delivered to their home.'

" Whatever route a consumer chooses, customer satisfaction is key

'Whatever route a consumer chooses,' he stresses, 'customer satisfaction is key with us. This professionalization in e-commerce helps us to bring both those online and offline orders together efficiently, as quickly and transparently as possible to the consumer.'

As efficient and simple as possible

When consumers order their groceries through the Plus app, it is always through their own, local supermarket, Buring explains. 'Our stores have now acquired a dual purpose of welcoming and serving both the physical and online customer. We consciously choose not to run this from one central DC, because it is precisely with our local and personal service that we make the difference in the market.'

However, local store employees are not professional planners, he continues. 'In further professionalizing the ordering process, we were therefore looking for a partner who could set this up for us as efficiently but also as simply as possible. We found this partner in RoutiGo.

More control over the delivery operation

'Consumers expect transparency in delivery times,' knows Patrick Okkersen, co-founder of RoutiGo, 'punctual delivery and friendliness at the door. If this goes wrong more than once, they lose confidence and switch to another retailer.' RoutiGo's software gives business owners greater insight into, and control over, the delivery operation, he explains. 'Which ultimately makes the experience more positive for the end user.'

Continuous updates

When consumers order online, they choose a block of time, Buring explains. 'The system collects these orders and store employees can add offline orders themselves. When all orders are included in the route planning, our customers get a time indication. As soon as the delivery driver then starts driving, they receive an update on this and can follow via track and trace where the order is approximately.'

The algorithm of the RoutiGo software continuously recalculates the route, Okkersen clarifies. 'As a result, the consumer sees exactly how many addresses are still ahead and when the doorbell rings.' Indeed, with minor exceptions, this is usually accurate to the minute, Buring emphasizes. Which brings a lot of happy faces. Moreover, because our customers know they can rely on this, they often have their empty crates and packaging ready to go. This also saves a lot of time on the road and for the customer.'

Ease of use for all parties

The software system provides ease of use for all parties, he says; "For store employee, delivery person and consumer, and helps us increase our focus on local attention. Consequently, customer satisfaction has risen considerably since professionalizing e-commerce, data show. 'The feedback we get back from our customers is very positive, and we also see a clear increase in Kiyoh score since our collaboration with RoutiGo.'

In addition, the software system also provides significant benefits for Plus itself, Buring emphasizes. We have seen savings of more than 20 percent in delivery time per order, without any increase in workload,' he says. The efficiency that RoutiGo brings gives much more advance insight, making it easier to make adjustments. This also provides substantial savings on all the costs involved in the delivery process.'

'It is nice to work with Plus,' says Okkersen. 'We do customize the software and to do this well requires transparency and ultimately adoption. Plus understands this and at the same time trusts our expertise, allowing us to move quickly and continue to optimize.'

After all, e-commerce optimization is never finished, Buring concludes. 'The cooperation with RoutiGo has laid a nice foundation for the future. Through a better match with the order delivery app, we can continue to anticipate the increasingly rapid developments, with attention to the customer as a priority.'

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Source: www.distrifood.nl