Reinventing the Last Mile: Win the Race to the Top

REINVENTING
THELASTMILE:
WINTHERACE
TOTHETOP

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60
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tweeting
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scrolling
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text sent
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videos
viewed
390,030
apps
downloaded
Expectations across industries
are driving—and being driven
by—today’s culture of instant
gratification.
Copyright © 2020 Accenture. All rights reserved. 2
WE ARE
CONDITIONED
FOR INSTANT
GRATIFICATION

Retailers learned that instant gratification mattered in ecommerce and
began to experiment with how fast they could get deliveries to customers.
SO THE RACE
BEGAN
3
Source: Accenture Postal Consumer Control Survey, October 2019
Copyright © 2020 Accenture. All rights reserved.
one-day shipping free next-day with
no membership
doubling same-day/
next-day delivers
same-day
delivery with
Shipt
ship from store
program
unlimited two-day shipping
with Premier Delivery
70% of ecommerce in
China delivered same day
90% of orders delivered
within 24 hours
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/13/for-chinas-online-shopping-giants-delivery-is-a-new-battleground.html

4
Next and same-day delivery are hard to offer and
in traditional supply chains cost a lot to provide.
BUT SPEED IS EXPENSIVE
Average cost for
same-day startup = £12-14
Average cost to
fulfill from store
Average cost for same-day
traditional 3PL =
£15
Average cost for
2-5 day ground
£5
£4-5

Despite the cost, same-day
delivery accelerates growth
in all the metrics that matter.
THE RACE
TO THE TOP
Share of wallet
Basket size
Frequency
of purchase
Sources: Accenture, Adaptive Retail Survey, 2017; MetaPack, 2017 State
of eCommerce Delivery, Accenture analysis
Sales growth
Loyalty
Net Promoter
Score
Of consumers say that
after receiving same day
delivery, it made them
more likely to purchase
from the retailer
Improvement in
conversion rate when
free same-day delivery
offered
Increase in order volume
when free same-day
delivery offered
74%
3X
6X
5

By moving to third-party sellers,
marketplaces have distributed
inventory costs, allowing for
hyper-localisation of inventory.
HAVE MARKETPLACES
CRACKED THE CODE?
6
Source: MWPVL.com, amazon.com
Key:
Fulfillment Network
Delivery Station

The only answer for retail is to leverage their infrastructure.
Here are 5 ways they are investing to level the playing field.
LEVELLINGTHE
PLAYINGFIELD
01 Boosting inventory
accuracy
02 Optimising
fulfillment
03 The warehouse
is where?!
04 Automation for
tight spaces
05 Outstanding
progress in days
outstanding

Investment in new technologies that significantly improve
inventory accuracy—crucial for an omnichannel future.
Boosting inventory accuracy
8
01
92% of retailers in North
America and 70% in Asia
are investing to improve
inventory management
68%
Current accuracy = After investment =
99%
Source: “Transforming modern retail: Findings of the 2018 RFID in Retail study.” Accenture. August 22, 2018.
https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insights/strategy/rfid-retail

Investments in distributed order management allow retailers
to fulfill from wherever in the network makes the most sense,
leveraging existing infrastructure in new ways.
Optimising fulfillment
9
02
Source: IHL Order Management Market Study 2019. IHL Group. July 2019.
https://www.cegid.com/en/lp-retail-report-order-management-market-inter/
growth in order
management SaaS
implementations
182% 2X
growth in
from store
fulfillment

Small urban warehouses, storefronts, back
rooms or a floor in an office building can
function as a fulfillment centre, bringing
inventory closer to the customer.
The warehouse is where?!
10
03
Source: Accenture research

Small robots and automated units not only allow for sortation in
small spaces where it wouldn’t have been possible before—they
lower the cost of fulfillment.
Automation for tight spaces
11
04
Source: Accenture research
Automation lowers the cost of fulfillment
from a store from £4 per item to under
£2
Size required has dropped from football field
size to 10,000 sqf

Big data and artificial intelligence are helping retailers get
better at optimising inventory for the omnichannel future.
Outstanding progress in days outstanding
12
05
Days inventory
outstanding (DIO)
fell by 1.4 days in
2019; inventory
levels had
increased every
year since 2011
Source: “New Research Shows Improvement in Working Capital Optimization.” SupplyChainBrain. December 19, 2019.
https://www.supplychainbrain.com/articles/30601-new-research-shows-improvement-in-working-capital-optimization
Artificial
intelligence,
used at scale,
produces 3X
the return on
investment
Significant
investment in
artificial
intelligence to
manage retail
inventories;
spend growing
at 45% CAGR

When this transformation is complete, retail supply
chains will look very different from how they do today.
AN EVEN PLAYING
FIELD—WHAT THEN?
13
By 2023 we
estimate 50% of all
deliveries will be
local
50%

In a world where more inventory is
local, post and parcel organisations’
networks are less relevant.
14
They must act now—or risk losing business
to new entrants.
The good news is that they are in prime position
to offer the solutions retailers are looking for.
THEOTHERHALF
OFTHEBRIDGE

HOW TO
REROUTE THE
FUTURE?
Repurposethe
deliverydepot
01
Set up local delivery depots to
accept local parcels and include
these parcels on the right routes.
BEFORE
Non-local
AFTER
Local

Pick up 10
Drop off 5
Pick up 12
Pick up 8
Pick up 9
Drop off 2
Drop off 3
Drop off 6
Drop off 7
Drop off 4
Drop off 2
HOW TO
REROUTE THE
FUTURE?
16
Achieve
continuousdelivery
02
Use new route optimisation technologies
to add collections from retailers and
deliveries to customers while en route.

HOW TO
REROUTE THE
FUTURE?
17
Redefineyourrole
intheecosystem
03
The ecosystem is evolving quickly—are you?
Clearly define your offering and then identify
partners and opportunities.

BETTER FOR
BUSINESS… AND
THE ENVIRONMENT
Reduces distance
Enables alternate
transport
(bike, electronic)
Better route optimisation
Fewer trips to stores
At current ecommerce
growth rates, 36% more
delivery vehicles will clog
cities by 2025.
18Copyright © 2020 Accenture. All rights reserved.

Read our new report here to get started
GROWTHOR
DECLINE—
THECHOICE
ISSTARK
19
The transformation of the last mile has begun. When it is
complete, the world of delivery will be drastically different.
It’s time for post and parcel organisations to join
the race to the top.

LET’S GET TO WORK
Brody Buhler
Global Managing Director
Accenture Post & Parcel Industry Group
robert.b.buhler@accenture.com
https://twitter.com/brodybuhler
https://www.linkedin.com/in/brodybuhler/
About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global professional
services company, providing a broad range of
services and solutions in strategy, consulting,
digital, technology and operations. Combining
unmatched experience and specialised skills
across more than 40 industries and all business
functions—underpinned by the world’s largest
delivery network—Accenture works at the
intersection of business and technology to help
clients improve their performance and create
sustainable value for their stakeholders. With
505,000 people serving clients in more than
120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to
improve the way the world works and lives. Visit
us at www.accenture.com.
Mark Smith
Managing Director
Accenture Health & Public Service, United Kingdom
mark.z.smith@accenture.com
https://twitter.com/markzsmith
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-smith-6151939/

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Reinventing the Last Mile: Win the Race to the Top