How to Craft the Perfect Delivery Operation for Alcoholic Beverages, Soft Drinks, or Food

Food and Beverage Delivery Challenges‍

No matter what you deliver - wine and spirits, beer, soft drinks, snack foods, or food products...or where you’re delivering to - stores, restaurants, or homes...crafting an efficient delivery operation is critical. Once in place, your customers will enjoy a top-shelf experience. Management can focus on product development and sales instead of getting product onto the truck and delivered on time and in good condition.

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Each delivery operation is unique, with its own challenges:

• Is there a better alternative to cross-docking for getting complex orders to customers?
• Are you looking to offer more product choices?
• Planning to expand delivery into new territories?
• Do you need refrigerated/climate controlled bodies?
• Can you load fast enough to keep up with demand?
• Need trucks to arrive earlier at the first delivery or to deliver more per shift?
• Could you get the same amount done with fewer trucks...fewer CDL-A drivers?

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‍Define Your Goals

‍Each step your product takes toward delivery is an opportunity to reduce costs or improve performance. Assigning a monetary value to each issue will help determine what to attack first.

‍For example: By implementing a Demountable Line Haul Operation Republic National Distributing Company was able to close two regional warehouses and reduce inventory costs. This freed-up capital to acquire a state-of-the-art conveyor system. This move saved a considerable sum AND improved the efficiency of RNDC's delivery operation.

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‍Current Needs

‍Begin with a logistics audit. Analyze your operation and create a wish list of improvements. This will help you establish what needs attention now - and talking points to help you build consensus with stakeholders.

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‍Future Needs

Examine how trends in your industry could influence your goals over the next 72 months.

• Do you want to open facilities in new markets or consolidate?
• Is it prudent to reduce fleet size going forward or add capacity to support growth?
• Looking to improve loading and delivery team performance?
• Need an alternate to tractor-trailers for deliveries in congested areas

The future is hard to predict, but a solid plan will yield greater success.

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‍Choosing the Right Partners‍

Crafting the perfect delivery operation will likely involve vendors. Choosing new, or making sure you have the right partners in place is as important as determining the right course of action. Before committing, be sure they'll be there when you need them and they understand your business. They should be dependable, have a proven track record in your industry, and have the resources to grow with you.

‍Craft the Perfect Food and Beverage Delivery Checklist

Operations Wish List:‍

• Alternate to cross docking
• Consolidate warehouses
• Centralize inventory
• Expand into new markets
• Reduce time spent loading
• Get trucks to first delivery earlier
• Load more at each dock door
• Reduce labor costs
• Reduce fleet costs
• Fewer product touches
• No longer stage orders on dock
• Forklift loading

‍Delivery Wish List‍

• More deliveries per day
• Arrive earlier at first delivery
• Expand into new markets quickly
• Climate-control - cold-chain to customer
• Less windshield time for drivers
• Increase driver productivity
• Reduce damage/manage returns better
• Fresher delivery team
• Better delivery experience for customer
• Deliver product at dock and ground level
• Better control of middle- and final-mile
• Avoid peak traffic hours driving to market

‍Logistics Partner Questions‍

• How long have you served the food and beverage industry?
• Do you have any case studies I can read or watch?
• Do you follow formalized core values?
• Can we pilot-test your equipment?
• What is your process from sales through implementation?
• How do I know you’ll be in business ten years from now?
• Will you work with the vendors I have in place?
• Will I have a dedicated account manager?
• What hours are your customer support team available?
• Do you provide training?

Free Guide:

Refrigerated Warehouse on Wheels

Eliminate cross-docking, expand your driver pool, and use smaller final mile delivery vehicles in urban areas.

‍Consider Adding Demountables to Your Research

‍In the spirit of applying continual improvement strategies to your logistics Demountable truck bodies, a.k.a. Swap Bodies and/or the Warehouse on Wheels line haul operation should be part of your due diligence. This lean and efficient container-style system is designed to reduce loading expense while smoothing out workflow and increasing the number of deliveries possible per shift.

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We would be happy to show you how our company and system check off the items on the checklist above. Please call (844) 364-4021 or submit this form. Learn more by viewing our videos.