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~ Descartes pixi ~

Solution 1: Continuous route optimisation Benefits
Instead of handling route optimisation in batch form, John For John Lewis, the value of this approach goes far beyond
Lewis updates and optimises its route plan continually, in increasing customer satisfaction. Here are some of the
the same way that retailers everywhere handle their product benefits John Lewis realised with its solution:
inventory. Every time a new delivery is scheduled, the route • Increased revenues by tens of millions of pounds, due to
plan is changed to reflect that schedule, and every time a increased service orders and increased purchases in pre-
new delivery schedule is presented to the customer it reflects mium delivery windows.
a route that is fully up to date. As required, John Lewis can • Increased on-time and completed orders.
stop the routing system to run audits and to address excep- • Cut an average of 1 mile (from 7.5 to 6.5) off every deliv-
tions that may have arisen. Once that’s completed, constant ery route, decreasing logistical costs by millions of pounds
optimisation continues. and reducing carbon emissions.
• Increased delivery capacity by 35%, without increasing
Solution 2: Dynamic sub-second timeslot delivery resources.
The second obstacle to break through was the way in which
timeslots were determined, Closing thoughts
and to eliminate the often Customer-centric deliv-
BENEFIT: INCREASED
very long delay before ery has always been the
the delivery was actually elusive Holy Grail in retail.
scheduled and confirmed. Letting customers select
DELIVERY CAPACITY
Part of the timeslot decision a tight delivery window
was to eliminate unprofit- most convenient to them
able routes. Routes aren’t has always meant poor
offered to the customer if logistics for the retailer. If
they exceed any of a number BY 35%, WITHOUT the retailer, or contracted
of thresholds or restrictions. third party handling home
Fuel costs are one. Skill sets deliveries, couldn’t decide
are another; if a delivery INCREASING which van on which route
requires a hookup to plumb- at which time, it couldn’t
ing, the right crew has to control the costs of last mile
be on the truck. They factor RESOURCES. fulfillment. John Lewis has
in loading and unloading implemented a solution:
times. They determine if the combining innovative think-
premium price point will ing with packaged software
exceed what the market will bear. Some windows are very from Descartes empowering customers with the flexibility
profitable for John Lewis (for instance, because they already to choose their delivery window, while making the process
have a delivery scheduled for that neighborhood). Other practical and profitable. The success of the initiative makes
timeslots can be offered at a premium delivery price, such as it a model for retailers across categories where delivery is
those with shorter (two-hour) windows, express deliveries, part of the equation. ••
or those handled by John Lewis’s own ‘Green Vans’ (instead
of through its third-party courier partners), and those where
same-day delivery is requested. With ‘Green Van’ delivery,
John Lewis also offers 75 different value-added services –
Descartes time slot selection identifies all of these based on
rules defined by John Lewis.

All this happens instantly. In less than one second after
the ‘Delivery Options’ button is clicked, a calendar view of
available time slots is presented to the customer or in-store
partner. Only windows which are profitable are presented,
and there is generally more than a dozen available across Would you like to know how your business can benefit from offering a
the coming week. There are three tabs (Standard, Premium customer-centric delivery with Descartes Home Delivery?
and Same Day) each displaying its own calendar. The routes
which John Lewis would like the customers to choose, due Visit: https://ecommerce.descartes.com/solutions/routing-home-
to the fact that they involve the least miles and least cost are delivery/
flagged with a green, ‘eco’ icon: least-mile routes are also the
most environmentally-friendly.

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