SUPPLY CHAIN
Delivery Solutions Jokr is a hot new vertically integrated entrant in the delivered products space.
Last-Mile Mania A R ACE FOR MARKE T DOMINANCE IS UNDERWAY AMONG GROCERY DELIVERY PROVIDERS INTENT ON REDEFINING SPEED AND CONVENIENCE. By Mike Troy he future of food retailing has little to do with how attractively perimeter departments are merchandised or the elimination of friction from the store experience. That’s a reasonable conclusion, judging from the billions in funding, deal activity and key personnel moves involving companies focused on lastmile delivery solutions. Activity in the grocery delivery world was already fast and furious prior to the pandemic, but it intensified over the past 18 months, and more change is ahead as speed and convenience continue to take precedence as drivers of shopper behavior. For example, several key developments involving Uber, Instacart, goPuff, newer entrant Jokr and Grubhub highlight intense interest and an accelerating pace of change when it comes to the delivery of food. Consider the following recent developments: Uber doubled the availability of its on-demand and scheduled grocery delivery service to customers in more than 400 markets and entered into a 1,200-store partnership with Albertsons Cos. Instacart and robotics solution provider Fabric revealed on July 22 a major fulfillment initiative involving the development of new processes within dedicated warehouses and existing retailer locations. Pilot projects with Fabric and grocers are expected to begin this year. GoPuff is rumored to be raising another $1 billion, after a $1.15 billion funding raise in March. Investors are buying into the com-
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pany’s vision of fast deliveries of essential products from a growing network of more than 250 micro-fulfilment centers. After beginning operations in April, the grocery and retail delivery platform Jokr raised $170 million in Series A funding to expand its global network of hyper-local delivery hubs that let it promise deliveries in 15 minutes or less. A year after it was first announced, Grubhub’s acquisition by Amsterdam-based Just Eat Takeaway was completed, opening up new possibilities for the companies to expand service offerings to potentially include grocery delivery. While all of these developments are notable, the situation with Uber stands out because the company wasn’t even in the grocery delivery space a year ago. Now it’s sharing stunning growth and engagement numbers and hinting at a future in which its grocery delivery surpasses its restaurant delivery business, and both of those businesses combined exceeded the ride-sharing operation on which Uber was founded.
Uber Eats has become a major player in grocery delivery and is posting impressive growth figures.
