Download PDF
Onfleet > Case Studies > Onfleet's Solution Boosts United Supermarkets' Delivery Capacity by 50%
Onfleet Logo

Onfleet's Solution Boosts United Supermarkets' Delivery Capacity by 50%

Technology Category
  • Functional Applications - Fleet Management Systems (FMS)
Applicable Industries
  • Retail
  • Transportation
Applicable Functions
  • Logistics & Transportation
  • Procurement
Use Cases
  • Last Mile Delivery
  • Time Sensitive Networking
The Challenge
United Supermarkets, a Texas-based grocery chain, began offering delivery services in 2016 in response to customer requests. Initially, the service was manual and only available in Lubbock, Texas. Customers would place an order by calling the store, and a manager would deliver it. The company later expanded the service to include online ordering and curbside pickup, which led to a significant increase in demand. However, the company was cautious about marketing the service heavily as they wanted to ensure a consistent customer experience and overall efficiency. The delivery operations teams used Google Maps to manually plan routes and scheduled only two deliveries per hour to ensure timely delivery. The vehicles, although refrigerated, were typically stocked with only a few deliveries at a time, leading to frequent trips back to the store for reloading. The company believed they could handle more orders per hour and make fewer reloading trips with better planning tools.
About The Customer
United Supermarkets, LLC, also known as The United Family, is a Texas-based grocery chain with stores in 53 communities in Texas and New Mexico. The company, which is in its 103rd year of operation, is a self-distributing company with its headquarters and distribution center in Lubbock. The United Family currently operates 96 stores under five unique banners: United Supermarkets, Market Street, Amigos, Albertsons Market, and United Express, along with ancillary operations R.C. Taylor Distributing, Praters, and Llano Logistics. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Albertson’s LLC and strongly believes in its motto of Ultimate Service, Positive Impact, and Superior Performance.
The Solution
United Supermarkets identified the need for a solution that could schedule multiple deliveries over multiple time slots and collect and analyze data on time slot and vehicle utilization. After evaluating several options, they chose Onfleet, a last-mile delivery solution that offered everything they needed at a low upfront cost. Onfleet's end-to-end route planning, dispatch, communication, and analytics platform allowed United Supermarkets to focus on their customers. Working with Onfleet, United Supermarkets was able to collect data showing that their existing fleet of 22 vehicles could handle 50 percent more capacity while still maintaining on-time delivery rates. This data helped convince local managers to implement Onfleet across all delivery operations. Onfleet's pricing model allowed United Supermarkets to scale their delivery service and let costs grow with it, without passing on costs to their customers.
Operational Impact
  • The implementation of Onfleet's solution has significantly improved United Supermarkets' delivery operations. The company can now effectively route orders across multiple time slots without compromising on-time delivery metrics. The solution has also given the company more confidence in their capacity, leading to better service for their customers while being more efficient. Looking ahead, United Supermarkets plans to leverage Onfleet to communicate directly with customers about the status of their orders. This will provide customers with up-to-the-minute ETAs for their deliveries and even allow them to see approaching vehicles on a map, enhancing the overall customer experience.
Quantitative Benefit
  • United Supermarkets' existing fleet of 22 vehicles could handle 50 percent more capacity while still maintaining on-time delivery rates.
  • Efficient routing helped reduce the delivery fleet’s fuel costs by 45 percent on an annual basis.
  • United Supermarkets is seeing triple-digit year-over-year revenue increases after heavily promoting its grocery delivery & pickup service.

Related Case Studies.

Contact us

Let's talk!

* Required
* Required
* Required
* Invalid email address
By submitting this form, you agree that IoT ONE may contact you with insights and marketing messaging.
No thanks, I don't want to receive any marketing emails from IoT ONE.
Submit

Thank you for your message!
We will contact you soon.