The food delivery sector grew rapidly after the onset of the pandemic, and though people have learned to live and work outside the home with increased precautions, consumer demand for delivery, including speedy, same-day food and grocery delivery, has remained high. The speed at which groceries or any number of household products can be distributed has increased exponentially. Rapid delivery, sometimes referred to as quick commerce or q-commerce, refers to the practice of fulfilling same-day orders on demand, with many companies promising delivery as fast as 10 or 15 minutes from the time of order. The rapid delivery market has driven long-term demand for micro-fulfillment centers (MFCs), with one report predicting that 7,300 automated MFCs will be installed by 2030, up from just 86 at the end of 2021.
Supply chain optimization and rapid delivery
Building rapid delivery into the supply chain has required numerous enterprises to identify opportunities for supply chain optimization. Benefits include:
- Increased efficiency
- Reduced costs
- Improved visibility for consumers
- Improved overall business performance
Leaner and more optimized supply chains tend to be more cost-effective and can better keep up with quick commerce and rapid delivery demands. Supply chain auditing plays a crucial role in monitoring the performance of a supply chain. It helps identify any shortcomings in how a supply chain operates, thereby giving businesses a clearer picture of what needs to be changed to speed up the delivery process. Businesses can optimize their supply chain by upgrading their automated systems and applying best practices in sustainability.
- Automation: As rapid delivery continues to increase in popularity, so too must automation to keep up with demand. Warehouse management systems help streamline processes by monitoring the movements of pallets from the moment they arrive at the warehouse or micro-fulfillment center until they leave for delivery. Some businesses choose to update their barcode systems with radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags, which can transmit more information across longer distances and don’t require individual or line-of-sight scanning.
- Sustainability: Finding a sustainable partner can positively impact the bottom line for businesses long term. For example, reusable plastic pallets from iGPS are up to 20 pounds lighter than typical multi-use wood pallets and therefore require less fuel for transport. For every 100,000 iGPS pallets shipped, nearly 1,000 gallons of fuel are saved. Furthermore, the impact on the planet is significantly less than working with wood pallets. iGPS plastic pallets have 28 percent less impact on global warming than their wood counterparts.
Reusable Plastic Pallets to Enhance Supply Chain Optimization
While rapid delivery only concerns the last mile of the supply chain, which puts products into the hands of consumers and does not require shipping crates or platforms — having a fully streamlined supply chain helps companies maintain profitability and customer satisfaction. The benefits of iGPS pallets play an important role in this process:
- Lightweight: Lightweight plastic pallets from the iGPS pallet pool offer companies substantial weight savings over traditional wood pallets, which can improve efficiency on every leg of a company’s supply chain.
- Automation-friendly: Warehouse automation is one of the key techniques for cost management in the supply chain. Unitized construction, uniform dimensions, and consistent weight allow lightweight iGPS plastic pallets to pair well with automated tools.
- Safe: The construction of iGPS plastic pallets ensures that there are no nails, splinters, or shards to damage packaging or contents. In addition, plastic pallets are impervious to liquids which can compromise loads and cause safety hazards.
Companies committed to choosing the right pallet supplier for rapid delivery use plastic pallets from iGPS, which are lightweight, recyclable, and help streamline your supply chain. For more information, contact us at 1-866-557-0047, email switch@igps.net, or visit our contact page. We also invite you to follow us on LinkedIn.
