Food- Home Delivery

What: Home delivery service of groceries, such as Peapod.com. Others include CSA (community supported agriculture) for urban lifestyles where farms participate and community supported to have food delivered to customer’s door weekly. A problem is the delivery of boxes, limited selection in large quantities.

Peapod has one model (centralized distribution) with two formats (wareroom/fast-pick center and warehouse). Both provide next-day delivery, capitalizing on a supply chain that keeps the cold chain intact. This allows us to use the assets of the store as we open markets, and then transition to warehouses as the business grows; leveraging the power of Ahold stores helps us maximizes quality, minimize out-of-stocks, control inventory and provide superior service. Peapod having served more than 8 million customers has secured its position as the country's leading internet grocer, serving 18 U.S. markets. Now owned by Royal Ahold and working closely with Stop & Shop and Giant Foods. With more than 10,000 products for shoppers to choose from such as: grocery basics, farm-fresh produce; meats and seafood; prepared foods and party trays; deli meats and cheeses, Kosher, organic and specialty foods; a vast selection of produce; a variety of beer, wine and beverages; pet supplies; videos; office and school supplies and private label products from supermarket partners Stop & Shop and Giant.

Peapod services: the Greater Chicago area, Greater Boston area, Connecticut, Long Island, New Jersey, New York, Baltimore and Washington D.C.

Benefits: Some consumer journeys to shops can be saved, but more importantly the distribution chain for products can be a lot shorter and more efficient. Instead of a product travelling to a series of depots and distribution centres, the journey to the consumer can be more direct.

Who: Peapod, the online grocery store started in 1989 by brothers Andrew and Thomas Parkinson.

How it works: Go to website, browse “express shop” or “browse aisles,” add to cart desired items, check out and pay (delivery fee*), look for desired drop off time, wait for groceries to arrive at designated time.

*Delivery Fees Consumers pay as low as $6.95 for orders greater than $100; $9.95 for orders between $50-$100.

Also have the option of Shop&Drop, a password-protected area built into a house or garden, much like the coal-bunkers of yore, where groceries or any products bought online can be left securely, meaning you don't have to be in when they arrive. http://www.forumforthefuture.org.uk/lowcarbonliving2022/products/shopndrop

Features: Peapod enhances and organizes the shopping experience by organizing products and purchase history to ease the shopping experience with features including:

• Sort by Nutrition
• New Items
  
• Express Shop
  
• Shopping Lists
  
• Aisle Browsing
  
• Item Search
  
• Recipes & More

Peapod serves customers with two freestanding, 75,000-square-foot warehouses in:

• Chicago (Lake Zurich, Ill.)
• Washington, DC (Gaithersburg, Md.)

The company also hosts "warerooms" (7,000 square feet each) adjacent to partner stores in:

• Connecticut (5 locations)
• Massachusetts (4 locations)
• New York (3 locations)
• New Jersey (3 locations)
• Rhode Island (1 location)

The delivery system maintains products at their optimum temperatures, from the farm all the way to a customer's front door. Warehouses, trucks and delivery bins are all climate-controlled.

Implementation in other cities? Yes. Peapod's focus is to expand market share on the East Coast in locations where Ahold U.S.A. has a significant presence with its Stop & Shop and Giant Food stores. This is applicable to other models as well.