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Retail Therapy

9 February, 2010 by James Lawther Leave a Comment

I tried using Ocado for my internet shopping this week.  I was expecting it to be remarkably like all the other home delivery services, but it wasn’t.  They did a number of things that impressed me:

1.  The delivery man offered to bring my shopping into the kitchen rather than dumping it on the front step.
2.  The food for the fridge came in a different coloured bag so I knew to put that away first.
3.  The receipt was ordered by use by date, I have put it on my fridge so I know what to use first.
4.  There weren’t any substitutions, Ocado deliver from a warehouse rather than a shop so they have a much better idea what there stock is going to be.

None of these things on their own is earth shattering, but that isn’t the point.

What is important is that Ocado are clearly focused on a goal, to deliver the best internet supermarket shopping service.  This focus allows them to do big things (warehouses) and small things (plastic bags) that together make a difference.  Even there advertising follows the same theme.

I wish all the organisations I have worked for were this focused, it would have saved a lot of time, and we would have got a lot more done.  In fact, I probably wouldn’t have left.

Photo by freestocks.org on Unsplash

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: continuous improvement, customer focus, purpose, video

About the Author

James Lawther
James Lawther

James Lawther is a middle-aged, middle manager.

To reach this highly elevated position he has worked in numerous industries, from supermarket retailing to tax collecting.  He has had several operational roles, including running the night shift in a frozen pea packing factory and carrying out operational research for a credit card company.

As you can see from his C.V. he has either a wealth of experience or is incapable of holding down a job.  If the latter is true this post isn’t worth a minute of your attention.

Unfortunately, the only way to find out is to read it and decide for yourself.

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