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Sandra Odendahl

Jul 25, 2018
08:44

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Last mile delivery and delivery hubs are an important option for reducing urban air pollution and GHGs. There is a nugget of a good idea in here, but lots more research and market insights need to be gathered.   Some things for consideration:

Competition:   The idea of using small business as delivery hubs is not new in Ontario, as Shoppers Drug Mart has a partnership with Canada Post, and parcels from online shopping fill the storage room and aisles around the Canada Post Outlet in many Shoppers Drug Mart stores in Toronto!  Hence, Plankton should examine what its value proposition would be, compared to a shopper selecting, and retailer offering, "delivery by Canada Post" as the shipping option in Canada. What are the benefits and drawbacks of using Canada Post shipping, using regional postal outlets, versus the option proposed by Plankton?

Marketplace: Additional market research is recommended. Some important questions to be answered through primary (interview) and secondary (data) research include: What do retailers, shoppers and shippers want and need? How does Plankton solve any of their problems? What type of retailers would use it? What is the optimal kind of retailer, shopper and neighbourhood where this makes the most sense? If last leg of delivery is by bike, what % of deliveries are small enough to fit on a bike?  Etc

Economics:   How much will businesses be paid to host a Hub?  (cost per square foot?)  What will a retail customer pay to get their online order shipped to a hub?

Carbon Impact: What is the current CO2 impact of parcel delivery?   Freight?   What kind of CO2 reduction impact would this initiative have?   The environmental impact table lists a number of air pollutants but I did not see CO2. 

Business Case:  Phase 1 of the project as currently described, is to bring businesses on board as hubs.  presumably there is a lot of work to be done (and maybe has been done) first.  Businesses  will want to know the logistics and economics of what they are signing up for.  Need a business case ready to pitch to businesses, that includes info on expected volume, costs, and oter items in above comments,etc?