PINK DOT USING ITS OWN SYSTEM FOR ORDERS, DELIVERIES

PATRICK SCIACCA

CAMARILLO, Calif. -- Unlike many Internet-based grocery retailers who opt for third-party e-commerce solutions, Pink Dot here is using proprietary systems to accept orders and route deliveries.

This routing system is an important element in the e-retailer's planned expansion. Late last month, Pink Dot announced that it extended its delivery area to Costa Mesa, Calif., and plans to add 37 new locations this year. Pink Dot offers grocery, prepared foods and household goods delivery to homes in Orange County, Calif., for a flat fee of $2.99.

"It [the ordering system] is fully automated [for] the Internet orders," said Karen Sophiea, chief marketing officer for Pink Dot, noting that the retailer also accepts phone or fax orders.

"The orders go into a call center and are automatically transmitted to the appropriate fulfillment center," she added. "The intelligence is built into [the ordering] system."

A "shopper" picks the order from a paper pick list that comes off the computer at the fulfillment center and packs it for delivery.

At the same time that the order is being forwarded to the appropriate fulfillment center via computer, the order information is also being fed into a proprietary routing system that schedules the delivery.

The retailer, who has been offering the home-shopping service since 1987 and on-line since 1995, has 11 fulfillment centers in the Los Angeles and Orange County areas. Each fulfillment center features about 2,000 stockkeeping units, including a limited line of perishables.

The order fulfillment and routing technology allows the retailer to make its half-hour delivery window 90% of the time, according to Sophiea.

Sophiea said that a fleet of cars is used to make the quick deliveries and, to ensure the quality of its perishables and frozens, Pink Dot uses cooler packs.

"We're more the fill-in order," Sophiea said. "We are not a full-service grocery; what we do is we provide a combination of prepared food, groceries, beer, wine, spirits and staples."

"[Our] proprietary software system allows us to do that," she added, noting that the retailer would consider using a third-party system in the future.