How Algeco Can Utilize Digital Self-Service To Improve Customer Experience

Our expectations for how we make purchases have fundamentally shifted as a result of the democratization of technology. Today, we are accustomed to accessing anything, anytime, and from any location. The evolution of commerce has moved on to Quick Commerce, which comes after e-commerce (with its larger order volumes and extended delivery periods). Just-in-time has been an established standard in many B2B industries. Quick Commerce may be considered the overlap of the B2C trend with this concept.

Quick Commerce blends the ease of e-commerce with immediate access to goods through neighborhood or online retailers. It is designed to supplement physical or online stores when there is an urgent demand for a specific set of goods, but not to replace them entirely.

Quick Commerce is vital when a need for a product arises at short notice, and the lack of it could cause serious harm to a company’s operations, such as losing money or delaying a construction project. It could be extra equipment and parts, necessary to keep on hand but are frequently overlooked. For instance, Würth supplies automotive chemicals, fasteners, hand tools and electrical supplies to businesses across the globe. Similarly, Bex a provider of specialized industrial accessories also manages the quick delivery of industrial supplies to job locations. Although this case is more B2B than D2C, it illustrates how fast delivery may become a significant differentiation as long as there is demand.

Another similar company is RenoRun which primarily provides construction products to contractors who own small enterprises. Materials and supplies are delivered on the same day to job sites and project managers don’t have to leave the site to source missing materials.

An organization can use Quick Commerce in various ways depending on the sector, consumer behavior, and fulfillment infrastructure already in place. They can either function as a merchant on pre-existing platforms, or they may develop their industry-specific platform and take on the operator role. Platform owners naturally control the customer connection and profit from first-hand consumer information and third-party transaction fees. Again here the lines between D2C and B2B overlap.

Lastly, ultra-fast delivery can offer clients an exclusive premium service. Given the high cost to set up and maintain the infrastructure, from a technology, staff, and logistics standpoint, the profitability of such a business model would only be possible at a large scale or an additional fee. Businesses could potentially establish the service as a premium customer satisfaction and retention tool that is not meant to be profitable.