Rethinking picking processes in e-grocery: a study in the multichannel context

Abstract

Purpose

Grocery sellers that have entered the online business must now carry out order fulfilment activities previously done by the customer. Consequently, in a context of online sales growth, the purpose of this study is to identify and implement best practices in order to redesign the order picking process in a retailer with a store-based model.

Design/methodology/approach

To identify different work alternatives, an approach is developed to analyse the methods used in distinct stores of one large Spanish grocer. The methodology employed is a three-step statistical analysis that combines ANOVA and MANOVA techniques to settle on the best alternatives in each case.

Findings

Substantial improvements can be achieved by analysing the different working methods. The three-step statistical analysis identified best practices in terms of their impact on preparation time, allowing a faster working method.

Practical implications

To manage business processes efficiently, online grocers that operate store-based fulfilment strategies can redesign their working method using a criterion based on their own performance.

Originality/value

This is one of the few contributions focusing on the improvement of e-grocery fulfilment operations by disseminating best practices through decision-making criteria. This study contributes by addressing the lack of approaches studying the order picking process by considering its various features and applying best practices.

Citation

Vazquez-Noguerol, M., González-Boubeta, I., Portela-Caramés, I. and Prado-Prado, J.C. (2021), "Rethinking picking processes in e-grocery: a study in the multichannel context", Business Process Management Journal, Vol. 27 No. 2, pp. 565-589. https://doi.org/10.1108/BPMJ-04-2020-0139