Shoppers have been demanding a solution to keep them safe and their food safe, when collecting their online purchases. Panasonic has been providing leading industry solutions for decades and continues today by offering a Contactless Delivery Solution - the all-in-one refrigerated and heated smart lockers. Online shopping (food delivery, curbside pickup and click and collect) have seen a large increase, due to the global pandemic. Now, more than and ever, consumers are seeking for a safe and convenient way to shop for medicine, meals and groceries (including perishable products and freshly made meals) in the practice of social distancing. Besides, retailers are also struggling to adjust to the increased demands resulting in many consumers having to wait in long lines for in-store pickup.
Today, major retailers are trying to adopt a "contactless delivery service" but a lot of retailers are still struggling with how to implement it. Some challenges include lack of robust e-commerce platform, no delivery service and high logistic cost, involved with such a delivery service, is prohibitive. Last mile delivery cost can be 50% of the total logistic costs. This last mile or segment of the supply chain is fraught with many challenges like incorrect home addresses and multiple attempt redeliveries. Other concerns to implementing an effective contactless operation, include the operational costs and safety of employees.
In Austraila, Panasonic has been working with major retailers who are struggling to keep up with customer demand by placing Contactless Delivery Solution in high traffic areas such as metro station, offices, shopping centres, grocery stores, car parks, universities, pharmacies, and seasonal tourist locations. Vinney Kumar, general manager of Hussmann Australia & Director Operations of Hussmann Oceania, states "Orders can be delivered to centralized locations without additional operational cost offering users flexible and safe pickup options on their way to destination."
Food safety and a convenient shopping experience are of primary importance to enhancing the customer experience and developing an effective contactless delivery system (from order placed to goods received). Sadaaki Yokoh, Vice President of Panasonic Corporation of China & North East Asia, and Director of its Cold Chain Division, states that people are more health conscious than before and also have a heightened awareness of food safety. He expresses the desire for our consumers to feel safe, not only with the shopping experience, but also from a food safety point of view. The Contactless Delivery Solution now offers four temperature ranges - freezer, chiller, ambient and warm, in addition to providing consumers with a safe and secure pickup experience. The retailers are also able to remote monitor all temperature ranges to ensure food safety. Moreover, Panasonic is also launching standalone Contactless Delivery Solution accessible for customers without an e-commerce platform aiming to offer flexible options to seamlessly upgrade to the Cloud in the future without additional capital investment.
