E-Commerce: New ways in online grocery shopping

Published on: March 1, 2019 / Updated on: September 24, 2021 – Author: Konrad Wolfenstein

Individual logistics concepts for e-commerce in the food trade

The e-grocery industry needs individual logistics concepts – @adobe | Piman Khrutmuang

Online shopping has long been a part of everyday life. Germans are still cautious in one area, however: food and beverages currently make up only a small share of e-commerce. This will not remain the case.

The e-grocery industry needs customized logistics concepts.

With a peak of 11.5 percent of their purchasing volume, Germans are the European champions of online shopping. Clothing, books, and shoes are the most popular items. For the majority of the population, online shopping has long been a part of everyday life. Germans are still cautious in one area, however: food and beverages currently make up only a very small share of e-commerce. But this will not remain the case. The future of the food retail sector is evolving – and with it, logistics.

Online grocery shopping also in Germany – @adobe | ronstik

Despite the increasing offerings from providers like Amazon Fresh and the Rewe delivery service, the share of online grocery shoppers in Germany currently stands at just three percent. This was determined by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture in its 2018 Nutrition Report. While this represents an increase of two percentage points compared to 2016, Germany still lags far behind in international comparisons. Nevertheless, a trend is emerging: Germans are slowly becoming accustomed to the idea of ​​ordering their groceries online.

Providers like Marley Spoon & Co., who deliver recipes and ingredients for home cooking to their customers, are steadily gaining popularity. E-Grocery – as the analogous technical term is known in English – is therefore also a topic in this country, although the way it is used still differs. This also means that logistics companies must prepare for this trend early on with appropriate solutions and strategies.

Intralogistics expert – @adobe | Yozayo

Intralogistics experts are therefore already offering efficient concepts for individual solutions to establish online grocery retailing as a sustainable and lucrative business model in Germany.

DAIFUKU – As a pioneer and world-leading provider of material flow systems, DAIFUKU develops, produces and delivers a comprehensive range of automation and logistics solutions, including logistics services, that meet all requirements.

E-commerce demands a high return on investment

“Off-the-shelf solutions – meaning fixed, inflexible systems – are no longer in demand. At DAIFUKU, we are able to offer our customers tailor-made solutions with a high degree of investment security,” explains Markus Becker, Business Development Manager at DAIFUKU. “This is particularly important for e-commerce, as customers in this sector demand a high return on their long-term investments. We can alleviate their concerns that the state-of-the-art system they are investing in today will no longer be functional in ten years.”