Unattended Home Delivery of Food - Is It Possible to Accomplish with a New Delivery Solution?
Abstract: The online market for groceries is continuously growing. Many of the online grocery purchases are home delivered, and the model that is currently the most commonly used allows the customer to pick a delivery time slot. This means that the delivery routes must be adapted according to time windows, which results in inefficient routes, a lot of half-empty vehicles, and hence in costly deliveries for the logistics providers. Furthermore, time windows require the customer to be home during the delivery time slot, which is undesirable to many customers. In several customer surveys, customers state that they would rather not have to be home to receive their groceries. This master thesis has been conducted in cooperation with Nowaste Logistics, a young logistics company that provides high-tech solutions. Given the current situation in the market, and the company’s willingness to start providing a competitive logistics offer for e-groceries, this master thesis aims to develop a new delivery concept. This, by investigating different options, existing and upcoming, and requirements from a logistics, food and customer perspective. Additionally, the required technology and the customer preferences are examined. In order to answer the research questions, a literature study and a case study have been carried out. The case study includes interviews and observations at the case company, logistics providers, online grocers, and other organizations within the food industry. Six critical success factors to consider when developing a new home delivery solution have been established: 1. Be able to perform deliveries of larger volumes, meaning, more delivered orders per route. 2. Enable unattended home delivery. 3. Be independent, available for all logistics providers to use. 4. Keep the cold chain unbroken until the customer comes home. 5. Meet the demands of both customers and logistics providers in terms of price and cost. 6. Keep the delivery safe from both theft and contamination. A new home delivery solution, that is assessed to fulfill the critical success factors, is recommended to Nowaste. This, together with further recommendations for a successful implementation and future research within the examined area.
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