Esselunga

The Challenge

As e-commerce rapidly expanded, Esselunga, a leading Italian retail store chain, faced growing challenges in managing their home delivery operations. With increasing numbers of customers shopping online, Esselunga needed to enhance the efficiency and flexibility of their delivery service to keep up with rising demand while ensuring high customer satisfaction. The existing timeslot management system showed some limitation in flexibility, and their routing capabilities didn’t fully provide the dynamism needed for real-time optimization, leading to inefficiencies and higher operational costs. To continue delivering a seamless customer experience, Esselunga aimed to modernize their e-grocery delivery processes.

How We Create Value

Esselunga partnered with ORTEC to enhance their e-grocery delivery operations. By leveraging advanced optimization tools (ORTEC for Home Delivery, OHD), they moved from static planning to a fully integrated system that seamlessly combines dynamic timeslot management and route optimization. This transformation enabled Esselunga to enhance delivery coordination and significantly improve operational efficiency.

Benefits

The implementation of ORTEC's solutions has delivered significant benefits for Esselunga, including:

Improved use of their delivery fleet.
Reduced the kilometers driven per order, resulting in lower fuel consumption and transportation costs.
Achieved more accurate delivery times and enhanced customer service with advanced Tracking and Route Optimization.
Expanded the number of available delivery timeslots, which not only raised customer satisfaction but also shortened delivery time windows.

Industries

Retail & Wholesale

From Store to Door: Esselunga Masters E-Grocery Delivery Optimization with ORTEC

Founded in 1957, Esselunga is one of the leading Italian retailers with more than 190 superstores and supermarkets in Lombardy, Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna, Piedmont, Veneto, Liguria, Lazio and Trentino – Alto Adige.

Today, the Group employs more than 29,000 people, has a turnover of €9.4 billion and 5.5 million loyal customers. The company constantly works towards quality, convenience, innovation, and consumer protection, with a daily commitment to sustainability.

In addition to its successful in-store operations, Esselunga was the first supermarket chain in Italy to introduce online shopping and self-produced organic products. The company has a robust e-commerce platform supported by a network of dark-stores and Points of Fulfillment (POFs) to ensure efficient home delivery services.

How ORTEC Enhanced Esselunga’s E-commerce and Delivery Capabilities

With the rise of online shopping, Esselunga encountered growing challenges in managing its e-grocery fulfillment and home delivery operations. As a pioneer in the Italian supermarket sector, Esselunga provides a broad diversity of over thousand products, including locally sourced produce, meats, ready-to-eat meals, and specialty items. Customers enjoy the convenience of scheduling deliveries within two-hour time slots, with typical next-day availability. To further enhance flexibility, Esselunga also offers a click-and-collect service as a complement to home delivery.

Esselunga’s logistics network cover several cities in Lombardia, Piemonte and Toscana, Emilia, Lazio Liguria and Veneto to efficiently manage the high demands of their e-commerce operations. As customer expectations for speed and convenience continued to rise, the company encountered increasing competition and operational complexity. Balancing the need to optimize costs while maintaining their reputation for excellent service became a significant challenge, prompting the need for innovative solutions.

From Fixed Systems to Dynamic Optimization

Esselunga was facing challenges with a routing system that depended on fixed geographical planning. This approach lacked the flexibility to adapt to their rapidly expanding e-commerce delivery. Additionally, their existing timeslot management system couldn’t keep up with the dynamic demands of online orders, resulting in limitations for both customers and the operations team. Esselunga was looking for a solution that could modernize their fulfillment process and provide the agility to quickly adjust to shifts in customer demand and operational requirements.

Esselunga chose ORTEC because of its proven track record in logistics optimization and the collaborative approach ORTEC demonstrated throughout the entire sales process.

A Fully Integrated Solution: Faster, Smarter, and More Efficient

Esselunga embarked on their optimization journey by adopting ORTEC’s advanced solutions, which maximized vehicle capacity, reduced travel distances, and seamlessly integrated dynamic timeslot management with real-time route optimization. This comprehensive approach transformed their home delivery operations, enhancing both efficiency and the customer experience.

Optimized routing reduced the kilometers driven per order, lowering fuel consumption and transportation expenses. Enhanced route efficiency ensured more accurate delivery times, with resources allocated effectively to support smooth operations. Furthermore, customers benefited from an expanded selection of delivery slots and shorter time windows, contributing to increased satisfaction and loyalty.

By implementing ORTEC solutions, Esselunga not only streamlined their logistics but also reinforced their commitment to providing exceptional service in an ever-evolving e-commerce landscape.

Moving Towards a Data-Driven Future

Esselunga has not only optimized its e-grocery delivery operations but also established a strong foundation for future growth. By transitioning from static planning to dynamic optimization, they have made their logistics network more flexible, efficient, and responsive to customer needs.

This transformation has allowed Esselunga to scale its e-commerce operations while maintaining the high standard of service they are known for. In addition to enhancing home delivery from their dedicated fulfillment centers, Esselunga has expanded their solution to include deliveries directly from stores, further increasing convenience and flexibility for customers. With ORTEC’s support, Esselunga continues to refine its processes, ensuring they remain well-positioned for future growth in the fast-evolving retail landscape.