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That would not be very efficient though, instead of a chilled single truck carrying a days worth of deliveries targeting one geographic area you’d have 20 times

That would not be very efficient though, instead of a chilled single truck carrying a days worth of deliveries targeting one geographic area you’d have 20 times as many uber drivers turning up at random times. All of whom have to be paid, not to mention the burning of fuel. I don’t think uber have the right setup for this and even if they did I can’t see how they have a competitive edge.

losteric 7y ago
Lyft/Uber could batch the deliveries, deliver within an hour specified by the customer... those companies already have data on ratings, they can pull the best drivers on-demand and offer premium pay that's still substantially less than the overhead of a store's truck + driver... plus offering last-mile logistics for multiple stores allows for greater efficiency over store-dedicated trucks. Insulated boxes, bags with ice, or have the stores define packaging... maybe the store packages goods separately in reusable cloth / insulated bags as appropriate for goods with a deposit for return (in-store or during the next delivery).
d1zzy 7y ago
Not more inefficient than everyone driving their single occupancy car to grocery store and buy stuff, as things worked before the pandemic.
wlesieutre 7y ago
They wouldn’t be better than the regular grocery delivery truck, but they have spare capacity when the demand for grocery deliveries has probably skyrocketed. I wouldn’t think there are enough refrigerated trucks available in the world for grocery stores to all scale their delivery fleets rapidly at the same time.
- wlesieutre 7y ago
  Plus grocery stores wouldn’t necessarily want more trucks if they anticipate this pandemic-fueled demand being temporary. If the stores buy more trucks, the manufacturers build more trucks to meet that demand, what happens with all the extra trucks once this pandemic is over? Will all the new delivery customers keep getting their groceries delivered, or will many switch back to shopping at the store? Given both those factors, UberEats style deliveries for groceries could make decent sense as a temporary measure.
somethoughts 7y ago
As far as I know Instacart shoppers are using personal cars for their deliveries. I don't believe they require refrigerated trucks. Agreed Uber/Lyft might not be setup for groceries just yet but it seems like it'd be pretty easy to provide Kroger and Safeway with an API hook to schedule an Uber/Lyft driver for pick-up and delivery (versus setting up a store front and sync'ing up all the inventory with Kroger and Safeway like Instacart did/does).
dan_quixote 7y ago
We don't need efficiency right now, we need resiliency. Stock is inconsistent and smaller suppliers/grocers are at serious risk. I don't care if necessities cost a little more or take a little longer to show up. I do care that my family stays fed and healthy.
deleted 7y ago
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rococode 7y ago
That sounds a lot like Uber Eats though. It might even be more efficient than Uber Eats, actually, since instead of going to restaurants all over the city, the drivers can just pick up from a couple specific places.
fovc 7y ago
I'm guessing you are not in the US :-) Over here, a lot of grocery delivery is done with personal cars, uber style. Don't want to sound too much like a shill, but Peapod and https://shop.usepepper.com/ https://shop.usepepper.com/ (NYC only) operate more like how you describe

losteric 7y ago

Lyft/Uber could batch the deliveries, deliver within an hour specified by the customer... those companies already have data on ratings, they can pull the best drivers on-demand and offer premium pay that's still substantially less than the overhead of a store's truck + driver... plus offering last-mile logistics for multiple stores allows for greater efficiency over store-dedicated trucks. Insulated boxes, bags with ice, or have the stores define packaging... maybe the store packages goods separately in reusable cloth / insulated bags as appropriate for goods with a deposit for return (in-store or during the next delivery).

d1zzy 7y ago

Not more inefficient than everyone driving their single occupancy car to grocery store and buy stuff, as things worked before the pandemic.

wlesieutre 7y ago

They wouldn’t be better than the regular grocery delivery truck, but they have spare capacity when the demand for grocery deliveries has probably skyrocketed. I wouldn’t think there are enough refrigerated trucks available in the world for grocery stores to all scale their delivery fleets rapidly at the same time.

wlesieutre 7y ago
Plus grocery stores wouldn’t necessarily want more trucks if they anticipate this pandemic-fueled demand being temporary. If the stores buy more trucks, the manufacturers build more trucks to meet that demand, what happens with all the extra trucks once this pandemic is over? Will all the new delivery customers keep getting their groceries delivered, or will many switch back to shopping at the store? Given both those factors, UberEats style deliveries for groceries could make decent sense as a temporary measure.

somethoughts 7y ago

As far as I know Instacart shoppers are using personal cars for their deliveries. I don't believe they require refrigerated trucks. Agreed Uber/Lyft might not be setup for groceries just yet but it seems like it'd be pretty easy to provide Kroger and Safeway with an API hook to schedule an Uber/Lyft driver for pick-up and delivery (versus setting up a store front and sync'ing up all the inventory with Kroger and Safeway like Instacart did/does).

dan_quixote 7y ago

We don't need efficiency right now, we need resiliency. Stock is inconsistent and smaller suppliers/grocers are at serious risk. I don't care if necessities cost a little more or take a little longer to show up. I do care that my family stays fed and healthy.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

rococode 7y ago

That sounds a lot like Uber Eats though. It might even be more efficient than Uber Eats, actually, since instead of going to restaurants all over the city, the drivers can just pick up from a couple specific places.

fovc 7y ago

I'm guessing you are not in the US :-) Over here, a lot of grocery delivery is done with personal cars, uber style. Don't want to sound too much like a shill, but Peapod and https://shop.usepepper.com/ https://shop.usepepper.com/ (NYC only) operate more like how you describe