Batching orders to boost retail efficiency
By Shashank Suman, Senior Manager, Strategy
July 31, 2023 | 3 Min. Read | Insights
As retailers continue to build and scale local delivery, it’s important for them to evaluate how to maximize efficiencies and reduce costs. Traditionally, multiple orders have been delivered in multiple trips. Batching, or batched delivery, enables retailers to aggregate multiple orders in a single delivery. Retailers are increasingly using order batching to realize lower delivery costs, which they are passing on to the end consumers. This helps them enhance the customer experience and retention.
Benefits of batched delivery
With batched delivery, retailers benefit from operational and order efficiency, improved sustainability and reduced environmental impact, and better associate and driver experience.
- Operational and order efficiency
By combining multiple orders into one trip, order batching optimizes delivery routes, minimizing the average distance between each delivery and the total miles driven. This approach maximizes delivery density within a given market, creating a rare intersection of sustainability and cost savings. We’ve seen retailers save 20% - 30% per delivery through batching. - Improved sustainability and environmental impact
Order batching helps reduce the number of miles driven and associated carbon emissions, enabling businesses to improve their environmental impact while also achieving cost savings. Using cutting-edge trip planning, optimization, and operational execution, businesses can leverage batching as an effective strategy to improve their operational efficiency and achieve their environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals. For example, by batching more than four orders, businesses can achieve 15% - 25% reduction in miles driven, which reduces their carbon footprint. - Better associate and driver experience
Batched delivery also benefits the associates that pick and pack orders, and the drivers who pick them up. For store or fulfillment associates, order batching enables them to pick and pack multiple orders at the same time. They can stage multiple orders that are scheduled to be delivered at a certain time. For delivery drivers, batched delivery maximizes their time and earning opportunities. Instead of picking up and dropping off orders one at a time, batching lets them drop off multiple orders along a single route, leading to less “empty miles.”
How do I know if batching is right for my business?
Order batching is a fit for many retailers – those who have a mature e-commerce operation or retailers who fulfill a high number of orders, such as florists or auto parts retailers. It is best suited for those retailers that have a steady flow of orders so that they can schedule delivery around the same time each day. Smaller items can be ideal for batching because more orders can fit into a vehicle, which helps increase batch size and reduce delivery cost.
High volume retailers should also ensure that they have chain of custody capabilities so that correct orders are picked up and dropped off.
How Walmart GoLocal Can Help
Batched delivery through Walmart GoLocal can be a more affordable alternative to using standard two-day shipping carriers. Through operational efficiencies, businesses can save money and often deliver faster than through standard last mile solutions. We work with clients to understand their delivery requirements, daily shipping volume, and customer promise to identify the best batching solutions and rates.
Backed by Walmart, a batching pioneer and the largest retailer in the world, Walmart GoLocal is uniquely positioned to help businesses of all sizes achieve greater efficiency, cost savings, and progress towards their ESG goals. By leveraging state-of-the-art AI algorithms, combined with operational expertise and execution know-how, Walmart GoLocal can help businesses unlock their full potential and achieve sustainable growth.
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