Home delivery: what are the advantages?

Saving time, speed, security, flexibility… Home delivery offers many advantages. For you, it means:

• An opportunity to develop your business with a new distribution channel.
• A solution to the constraints on your customers (lack of time, travel restrictions, health reasons).
• A competitive advantage to keep your customers coming back and attract new ones.

For your customers, it means:

• A significant time saving (no more travelling, no more queuing in the shop).
• A different way to enjoy your products, with no time constraints.
• A way of buying in line with current trends, adopted by a growing number of online shoppers.

Are you ready to get started?

For your home delivery service to be efficient and cost-effective, you must be able to:

• Respond to a production surplus.
• Deliver on time (especially if you deliver yourself).
• Build and live up to a strong reputation via social media.

Take the time to assess the interest and feasibility of a home delivery service for your business:

• Do you already have the demand for this type of service?
• Who among your customers might be interested?
• Which areas do you want to deliver to?
• Do you have the capacity to hire staff and/or delivery drivers?

From order to delivery, what are the possible solutions?

Part of the added value of a delivery service lies in the taking of orders, which should be as easy for you as it is for your customers. There are several possible solutions:

• By phone: a simple solution which does not require any additional investment, but quickly becomes tedious as soon as the number of orders starts to increase. To be avoided in the long term.
• By creating your own e-commerce site: many turnkey solutions exist to create a website tailored to your bakery, including an online ordering and/or payment module. If your catchment area is not too large, you can do your rounds yourself at the end of the day, or plan delivery times during the day.
• By joining a specialised platform: by taking out a subscription, online services such as Jumia, Glovo or Rapidos offer e-commerce solutions, including online storefronts with payment solutions, inventory management and delivery services. It is an effective SEO tool to gain visibility and develop your customer base: users geolocate you via a dedicated app, you prepare your orders and drivers deliver them.

Which products should you offer?

To simplify transport and deliver your products in the best condition, choose a simple offering that will allow you to control the quality of your service:

• Breads, pastries and small baked goods – products which don’t spoil easily and are not difficult to transport.
• Snacks – sandwiches, pizzas, burgers or bagels, wrapped in paper or in a box (avoiding liquid fillings/toppings).
• For cakes and desserts made with cream or fresh fruit, provide suitable and/or refrigerated packaging.