The Last Mile

Market Reboot’s main challenge lied squarely in the Last Mile. Last mile, or the final leg of
delivery to a customer’s home, remains a challenging element for many companies. With
increasingly dense and traffic challenged urban centers making up the lion’s share of the
grocery delivery demand, Market Reboot had to approach this strategy carefully, as it was one
of their main differentiators. With a fleet of 2500 delivery trucks regionally dispersed, the trucks
had dual storage areas with ambient and chilled zones.

The company used the software which optimized routes based on delivery destinations, traffic
patterns, and historical impacts such as road closures, accidents and weather. The routing
software struggled most in dense urban areas that were constantly at risk for construction,
unexpected traffic jams, limited delivery zones, and length of distance for walking delivery.

While trucks were pre-loaded, Market Reboot drivers had considerable responsibility including
making sure their correct route is uploaded, checking a random sample of orders to make sure
of packing quality, ensuring temperature in the chilled compartment, digitally scanning the
totes and the temperature with their phone app, calling customers ahead of delivery, and
following the routing systems while driving that included both the route and unloading
information. They upon reaching their destination, they had to find legal parking, unload the
delivery either (carrying the bags with a dolly), ensure receipt of delivery by customer, and
reconcile the delivery with the system.

Rosa Lee, VP of Logistics, wonders, “Deliveries are taking too long. What is happening that is
taking the drivers so long to leave the OFC and deliver to the customer.”