Amazon’s ability to get goods into customer’s hands within 24-hours is one reason it competes so ably with its brick-and-mortar counterparts, and the e-commerce giant has been quietly working on applying that same competency to groceries.
If the retailer is able to conquer the Rubik’s Cube that is daily or same-day delivery of food (perishables in particular) and other grocery items, the supermarket industry is looking at some serious disruption.
Wired reports that Amazon has been chipping away at the logistical challenges that traditionally hinder online grocery sales. Victor Allis, CEO of Quintiq, a software-planning company that helps clients discern the most efficient delivery routes, tells that website that the “little things that can go wrong” can add up to great big losses when it comes to calculating the “vehicle routing problem.”
What is the vehicle routing problem? It’s the calculation of which route for each delivery truck is the shortest, given a certain number of trucks and deliveries. Add to that the time-window variable, and you have what those in the logistics business know as VRPTW.
Amazon’s new version of Amazon Prime, Prime Fresh, pledges same-day or next-day delivery of a half-million items. At $299 per year (as compared to $79 a year for Amazon Prime), that sounds pretty pricey. Plus, a minimum order of $35 is required to get that PDQ delivery.
Grocery delivery is the hardest math problem to solve, according to Wired, because of the millions of details that can go wrong. And Amazon isn’t willing to risk its stellar relationship with its customers just to be first to the game.
However, the retailer does appear to be working that math problem pretty diligently, with Prime Fresh. There are several caveats to its same-day delivery options, including a limited window for ordering and an option that requires someone to be home to accept delivery of perishable items.
