Improving Last-Mile Delivery Through Omnichannel Commerce

Since e-commerce has become an important element of business strategy today, the rise of instant omnichannel shopping is a major challenge for the retail industry. Businesses are now utilizing existing stores as the entrance point to last-mile delivery as one of the go-to solutions. By Anthi Boukouvala

In the last two years, coronavirus has reshaped the e-commerce and retail industry at an unprecedented scale and pace. The way in which products will reach their destination now, for example, is expected to be completely different from before. Convenience seems to be driving e-commerce growth and affecting customer decisions. More than ever today, companies are creating new services or improving existing ones to meet customer expectations.

NOBACCO, a Greek e-cigarette company founded in 2008, is a leader in the country’s tobacco-harm reduction market. The company has a network of 70 owned and franchise stores and a strong wholesale presence covering a network of more than 320 points-of-sale. NOBACCO covers the market territories of Greece.

Business transformation Taking into consideration the new retail landscape,NOBACCO transformed its business by designing and implementing a new service, called ‘NOBACCO Speedy’, in which the online shopping experience evolved from “now and then” to “here and now”. The aim was to provide a service with added value to customers, so as to boost brand loyalty and increase retention of online orders. Furthermore, this would help strengthen the company’s brand and give it an edge over the competition. The new service was launched in August 2020; it is currently available in the three biggest cities in Greece — Athens, Thessaloniki and Patras, operating through 20 NOBACCO shops/hubs.

Location-based real-time connectivity As far as the challenge of integrating physical and online channels is concerned, a new business model supported by appropriate technology was created, enabling real-time connection between the e-shop, headquarters and physical stores of the company.

Figure 1: NOBACCO Speedy omnichannel service

The technical infrastructure that supports the whole process was designed and implemented in a way that orders could be placed at the company’s e-shop, received on the Speedy platform, and automatically assigned to the store in closest proximity to the customer, in less than one minute.

The platform is complemented by a Reporting Page, which is used for real-time monitoring of online orders executed by each physical store, and for supporting two-way communication between the stores and headquarters. The platform has been built in such a way that any actions made by the physical stores or in the company's headquarters inform both involved members in real time. In this way, the platform:

 Provides accurate and instant access to reliable information to the relevant participants;  Shares the necessary information inside the organization;  Helps the company improve its business operations; and  Supports business processes and decision-making.

Increased business performance With the implementation of this new service, orders delivered through the NOBACCO Speedy service have already exceeded 40% of total online orders, while many other business Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) have increased significantly. It is therefore clear

Figure 2: Real-time reporting

Figure 3: Increasing customer satisfaction and retention, and boosting business efficiency

that instant omnichannel shopping has yielded many benefits for the business, by enhancing customer service, increasing customer retention, and boosting business efficiency.

Looking ahead, the primary target of the company now is to extend the operating hours and the geographical coverage of the service, in order to offer a unique omnichannel experience to more customers across the country. In addition, the company plans to reap more benefits from the model and take further advantage of the NOBACCO Speedy platform, utilizing its physical stores as hubs for other merchandise, by collaborating with companies operating in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry.

The aim was to provide a service with added value to customers, so as to boost brand loyalty and increase retention of online orders.

Anthi Boukouvala

Project Manager, NOBACCO. She has been involved in various projects supporting business expansion in European countries, streamlining operations procedures and leading the last-mile strategy.