We have talked about “the final 3 feet” before which is defined as the leg of the supply chain where product is brought from the back room to the shelves. However, in this COVID-19 world, the final 3 feet have really become the final 5 feet as there is a building expectation that the store will bring the product to the car and put it in the trunk for your. People do not necessarily want to go in the store. My thesis is the stores which do this really well will win and they will beat Amazon.
- A seamless web presence which allows me to buy what is in inventory at the local store. Take payment so there is a complete touchless process when I arrive at the store.
- An alert process which tells me when the order is ready.
- A tracking method, using my cell phone, which tells you when I am at the store and in the parking spot.
- A well established location to park – good signage – easy to find.
- A numbering system on the parking location to make it easy to find me.
- A “through the window” confirmation process (Show ID, Scan email etc.)
- Associates put in the trunk.
- Associates need to be the best customer service people and need to be in full PPE (Mask and gloves).
Surprisingly, the most sophisticated has been Shell gas station. Here, of course, the issue is not going into a store but it is the extensive interaction you have to have with a dirty pump and they have eliminated virtually all of it. Using the Shell app on my phone I follow the process below.
- Open the Shell app and it knows I am at the station. It asks me what pump number I am at.
- It then asks me how much gas I want (From a fixed dollar amount to a “fill up).
- I use Apple Pay on my phone to pay (Completely eliminates the “skimming” threat which is where a lot of credit card fraud occurs).
- The app activates the pump and all I have to do is put the nozzle in the car and select gas type.
- Invest heavily in the final 3-5 feet of your supply / value chain. The rule used to be your mission was to get people through the threshold of the store. But now a huge amount of customers will not want to cross the threshold no matter what.
- Technology is your friend – Use it aggressively and substitute in-store upgrades with technology upgrades.
- Always think seamless. If there is a spot the consumer is interrupted in this process fix it with technology.
- Train your associates to forget their political views. Give the customers what they want and they want to feel safe. Masks, gloves and touchless processes do this.
- Take mobile payments. It is almost silly in this day and age that we, as a society, are not close to 100% pay by smart phone / mobile payment. Everything should be paid this way.
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- Source: https://10xlogistics.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-final-3-feet-have-become-most.html
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