Canadian Retailer - The Supply Chain & Logistics Issue - 37

Best Buy Canada continues to innovate last mile delivery using every point in its chain of supply.

as 2017, continues to innovate in its endeavours to Best Buy's website also features product that
address the last mile. Philippe Arrata, Senior Vice is fulfilled directly from the vendor. Launched in
President and Chief Administrative Officer at January of 2016, Best Buy's 'Marketplace' allows
Best Buy, discussed how his company is fulfilling sellers of brands not traditionally associated with
orders from its warehouses, as well as stores, with Best Buy's typical consumer electronics assortremarkably short delivery times.
ment to sell to Best Buy's consumers. These brands
Best Buy's warehouses are in Vancouver and are provided the opportunity to showcase on the
Toronto, where vendors drop off products that will BestBuy.ca site, which has unmatched traffic and
either be distributed to Best Buy's stores, or kept e-commerce capabilities. Brands get the exposure
onsite to be sent to customers when they order on- of being on Best Buy's website, and these products
line. Best Buy offers free next-day shipping in the ship directly from the vendor to the consumer.
greater Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal markets, and for the rest of Canada BEST BUY CANADA'S PHILIPPE ARRATA NOTES THAT
it's generally up to two days for a deliv- BEST BUY HAS MANAGED TO REDUCE SHIPPING TIMES
ery. Given Canada's vast geography, Best
FROM AN AVERAGE OF SEVEN DAYS TO JUST TWO
Buy is innovating by also shipping from
its stores. The company's Ship-From- DAYS ON MOST ORDERS, WITHOUT CHARGING EXCESS
Store program unlocks inventory across FEES OR REQUIRING MEMBERSHIPS.
the distribution chain, and has improved
inventory efficiency by allowing customers to ac- Walmart Canada's Vice President of E-comcess all inventory regardless of location, not to merce Operations and Logistics, Michelle Grose,
mention shortening delivery times. Remarkably, explains that the company owns and operates its
91 per cent of Best Buy's Ship-From-Store orders own fleet of vehicles and how its efficiencies reare fulfilled within 48 hours.
duce overall costs. Walmart Canada's fleet allows
Best Buy's Delivery Estimate function on its it to fully leverage its network of stores to reduce
website leverages geo-location technology and shipping costs through programs like ship-tocarrier partner data to provide an accurate deliv- store that Walmart's introducing this year at over
ery timeline, as customers browse products and 150 locations. Its focus on lowering shipping costs
place orders online. Shipping is free for orders over allows it to pass savings on to the consumer with
$35, and Arrata notes that Best Buy has managed lower prices. Walmart excels in the area of logisto reduce shipping times from an average of seven tics, which makes sense-not only does it have 410
days to just two days on most orders, without char- stores in Canada, it also makes provision for delivging excess fees or requiring memberships.
ery directly to consumers' homes.
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THE SUPPLY CHAIN & LOGISTICS ISSUE

| CANADIAN RETAILER | 37

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Canadian Retailer - The Supply Chain & Logistics Issue