Page 116 - AMEFT Journal 2021-4

TECHNOLOGY & SUSTAINABILITY
The supreme discipline of E-Commerce: intralogistics solutions for food retail
Freshness, timeliness, and service quality are the challenges of the food retailing industry in the clas- sic, stationary retail trade. Due to the changing consumption patterns and the online boom in the food retail in- dustry, new logistics challenges arise, which can only be met with state-of- the-art software.
More than 10 years ago, the first dig- ital e-grocery business concepts with a full-range offering were launched in the German-speaking market. They were frequently ridiculed and critically questioned: Is it really possible to or- der groceries online and have them delivered to your front door? And is there really a need for it? The rapid development over the last decade pro- vides a clear answer to these questions as the online demand for groceries has experienced a real boom. This devel- opment was further reinforced by the 2020 Corona virus crisis. However, even without the disruptive boost in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, the significance and awareness for e- grocery has increased considerably.1
The current crisis has led to an in- crease in digital sales and has also
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emphasized the significance and ad- vantages of digitization in this area. Experts agree: this trend, which is currently easy to observe, will have a lasting and sustainable impact on the entire industry sector. Consumers are getting used to how they’re behaving during the crisis. Currently, the market share of delivery services in German- speaking countries amounts to ap- proximately 1%. According to Price- waterhouseCoopers, the market share will increase by a significant 3- 4% by 2023.2 With 2 - 3%, the market share in Switzerland is already comparatively high.
The Supreme Discipline of E-Commerce
The e-grocery business is considered the supreme discipline in e-commerce. The challenges regarding the supply and service value chain, especially with regard to aspects such as fresh- ness, timeliness and service quality, are reaching new dimensions. Ulti- mately, the main objective is to main- tain a seamless and agile supply chain.
Apart from exclusively online food retailers, who serve as pure players in
the e-grocery market, e-marketplace operators such as Amazon also in- tegrate groceries into their product range. Even traditional chains are ex- tending their offering to online sales channels and are becoming multi- channel providers, online and offline.
In order to remain competitive, food retailers must increase their flexibil- ity and service of several sales chan- nels at the same time.3 The stationary trade needs to change its way of think- ing, adapting its business structure to become a combination of online shops and retail stores, so it can offer great- er potential. Ideally, the distribution channels will complement each other for mutual benefit. However, is this as easy to implement as it sounds?
Multichannel - How does it work?
State-of-the-art software systems lay the foundations for e-commerce in or- der to meet the logistical demands of the supply chain.
- Continuous process chains across
various systems: from online shops to ERP and warehouse manage- ment systems (WMS) to an ideal tour planning.
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