BEES: a business-to-business e-commerce platform built to empower small and medium-sized retail partners and help grow their businesses. It mainly caters to CPG (Consumer Product Goods), such as beverages, packaged food, etc.
POC: Point of Consumption, a.k.a. Point of Sales or Point of Purchase
DDC: Direct Distribution Center, a warehouse that stores and ships goods to retailers, wholesalers, or consumers, a.k.a. fulfillment center.
The context
BEES offers a comprehensive end-to-end solution through its applications for e-commerce sales, sales force management, customer support, and logistics fulfillment.
The BEES app is designed for customers—specifically, individuals at Points of Consumption responsible for restocking inventory at restaurants, bars, grocery stores, and similar businesses.
BEES Deliver is a suite comprising a mobile application for truck drivers and delivery personnel, along with a web application for back-office employees at DDCs (Distribution and Delivery Centers) to facilitate delivery fulfillment.
Each day, trucks depart from DDCs carrying cargo for delivery to POCs, where they also collect payments and proof of visit. However, drivers often encounter challenges such as closed POCs upon arrival or the absence of the designated person for payment and signature. These issues directly impact logistics KPIs.
Executive summary
Identified issue:
No direct way of contact between POC, truck driver, and DDC agent during delivery causes issues like closed POCs, wrong addresses, and unreported truck problems.
Lack of communication between POCs and truck drivers leads to delivery refusals and inefficiencies.
💡
Hypothesis:
Real-time communication between POC and truck driver could help reduce delivery refusals, improve customer satisfaction, and enhance efficiency.
Takeaways
🏪 POCs want a way to communicate directly with the driver
🏪 POCs prefer to have everything centralized in BEES app
🏪 POCs want to know when the order will arrive
🏪 POCs usually miss notifications that order will arrive soon
🚚 Drivers have difficulties contacting POCs by phone
🚚 Drivers contact POCs to align delivery details
🚚 Drivers believe a chat feature would work for more digitized users who actually use and check the BEES customer app
Research methodology
Participants sample
Driver 1
Driver 2
Driver 3
Driver 4
Driver 5
Driver 6
2 yrs on the job
1 year on the job
5 yrs on the job
2,5 yrs on the
job
7 yrs on the job
1,5 yrs on the
job
Brasília, DF 🇧🇷
Brasília, DF 🇧🇷
Brasília, DF 🇧🇷
Brasília, DF 🇧🇷
Brasília, DF 🇧🇷
Brasília, DF 🇧🇷
POC 1
POC 2
POC 3
POC 4
POC 5
Supermarket
Bar
Distributor
Distributor
Grocery store
Campinas, SP 🇧🇷
Campinas, SP 🇧🇷
Campinas, SP 🇧🇷
Campinas, SP 🇧🇷
Campinas, SP 🇧🇷
The process
Desk research
Benchmarks
How does direct communication between the delivery person and customer happen in other players?
ifood
Rappi
Findings
POCs
🏪
3/5 POCs
said their main delivery issues are related to missing items
🏪
1/5 POCs
said the main delivery issue is delays or cancellations
🏪
3/5 POCs
currently communicate directly with drivers in some way
🏪
5/5 POCs
consider this valuable to know when the delivery is arriving
🏪
5/5 POCs
believe that having an official direct way of contacting drivers would be valuable so they can know the ETA and get ready to receive the order
🏪
3/5 POCs
follow some, not all, notifications of order delivery status, but feel they are inaccurate
🏪
5/5 POCs
See value in having an official direct form of communication because:
They believe some drivers dislike using Whatsapp for that*
It’s better to have it all centralized in BEES app
They usually don’t see the notification that their order is about to arrive
* POC perception, not confirmed by the drivers sample
Drivers
🚚
3/5 POCs
said their main delivery issues are related to missing items
🚚
1/5 POCs
said the main delivery issue is delays or cancellations
🚚
3/5 POCs
currently communicate directly with drivers in some way
🚚
5/5 POCs
consider this valuable to know when the delivery is arriving
🚚
5/5 POCs
believe that having an official direct way of contacting drivers would be valuable so they can know the ETA and get ready to receive the order
🚚
3/5 POCs
follow some, not all, notifications of order delivery status, but feel they are inaccurate
🚚
5/5 POCs
See value in having an official direct form of communication because:
They believe some drivers dislike using Whatsapp for that*
It’s better to have it all centralized in BEES app
They usually don’t see the notification that their order is about to arrive
Conclusion
The team provided all deliverables to the client, who will now test the dark mode vs. light mode prototypes live on the field to determine which works best and later implement on all ATMs.
The materials were well received, with some minor requested modifications to best adhere to specifications the client needs to comply with. I have since switched companies and unfortunately won't be able to learn of the final results.
