FunkFlow trailblazing experience offers grocers Q-commerce success on a platter

The Q-commerce business that has built 1,300 dark stores processing 1,500 orders a minute with an average delivery set off time of four minutes is now available as a SaaS solution.

FunkFlow, specialists in Q-commerce solutions across Europe, North America and Asia, report that their most successful in-house software is now available as a service for grocers in the wider Q-commerce market.

To some with their eye on this space, the launch might be a little confusing - after all, the industry has been volatile to say the least.

Despite the explosion of demand around the world resulting in revenues of nearly $25 billion in 2020, multiple Q-commerce grocery store and startup labels have either downsized, pivoted, folded, or were bought out by other brands.

But that’s not the complete story. Several mid-level brands have enjoyed growth.

And FunkFlow believes that there’s ample ground for grocers to gain. The tailored solutions bring an opportunity for grocers to capitalise on an industry that will grow to $75 billion by 2025.

To grocers who are curious about jumping into the Q-commerce game, the industry challenges look overwhelming. As it currently stands, profit margins are low. 53% of costs are eaten up by last mile operations.

Customer expectations are so high that 52% of shoppers’ purchase decisions are influenced by delivery speed and choice expectation. And in the UK, Q-commerce customers have very little brand loyalty.

But this can be turned around. After years in Q-commerce as one of the earliest startups, FunkFlow led years of growth and expansion to create and develop a tested set of tools that pulled together 1,000 human years of code processing, one million orders daily, and the knowledge of 150 engineers, product managers and analysts.

The experience that came with 500 million deliveries enabled FunkFlow to first identify mistakes that have been made by Q-commerce brands. Shaky supply chains and analogue inventory systems forced companies to pour resources into ineffective inventory management and bleed costs.

They handed out huge discounts that had no impact on customer loyalty and decimated any chance of profits. A lack of reliable forecasting meant opportunities were squandered.

And more time was spent in damage control with customers and suppliers, which not only cost more money, but stopped managers and leaders from investing in product and brand development and strategy.

FunkFlow also identified what is missing from much of the Q-commerce industry: fully digitalised innovation guaranteeing automated and optimised forecasting and operations while delivering an individualised customer experience.

FunkFlow’s end-to-end AI-driven solution provides what has been missing on the Q-commerce landscape. That’s digital innovation that provides these necessary factors:

●      Real-time data for agile decision making  - Digital innovation provides the real-time data a business needs for agile decision-making for secure, reliable and cost-effective procurement, storage, and distribution.

●      Customer satisfaction and cost-effectiveness - Digital innovation enables an accurate assortment that offers customer satisfaction and cost-effectiveness combined with data and recommendations on storage, fulfillment, and delivery processes.

●      Forecasting - Digital innovation amalgamates customer behaviour and external factors including seasonal information, trends, weather and climate, holidays, etc.

Q-commerce changes rapidly, even hourly. For example, rain changes buying patterns for individual customers and neighbourhoods. But with AI driven data when change in demand is forecast, operational changes happen automatically.

●      Differentiation - Digital innovation provides a solid individualised customer experience. Q-commerce customers leapt from one app to the next for better choice, price, or delivery time.

And each time a startup was bought out by another, differentiation became more difficult, because customers couldn’t keep up with who was what.

Automating and optimising all four of these factors means more money, substantially lower costs, excellent forecasting to meet customer demands, happy customers who enjoy a personalised UX, greater security and the freedom to focus on the future because they no longer have to blindly navigate Q-commerce end-to-end.

Grocers shouldn’t have to ignore Q-commerce because they’re discouraged by industry challenges. And they shouldn’t have to miss out on the estimated 67% growth in retail that is tied to rapid delivery and convenience.

That’s why FunkFlow looks forward to creating space for grocers to capitalise on the Q-commerce market by providing them with the automated solutions they need to make their mark in the industry. It’s success on a silver platter.

“Q-commerce is an exciting and thriving market that has immense potential in the coming years. We are thrilled to share our experience with the industry and help our partners build successful businesses in Q-commerce,” says Rodion Shishkov, FunkFlow Co-Founder.

“Whether your business is an established one or you are just starting out, we can provide the solution that makes real-time service for customers possible through building a fully digitised and automated real time procurement to the customer UX through logistics, pricing, etc.”

To find out more about how your business can benefit from automation and last mile optimisation, forecasting, and brand loyalty, book a no-strings-attached free demo and see how FunkFlow’s solutions will work for you.