E-commerce Giant Plans Ultra-Fast Delivery Expansion in Minnesota
An e-commerce retailer, renowned for its ultra-fast delivery, is planning to expand its service in Minnesota. The company aims to deliver selected products within an hour of ordering, making strategic location of delivery stations crucial.
To achieve this, the retailer will use optimization modeling to determine the smallest number of delivery stations and their locations. For the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area, four stations are needed to cover 95% of the population within a 30-minute drive. These stations will be strategically placed near suburban 'corners' to maximize coverage.
Operational factors like multi-stop routing and building capacity will also be considered in the planning process. For a 99% service level goal, seven stations are required. However, at the local level, real-life circuit factors and speeds vary, making national-level rules-of-thumb less useful. Census tracts will be used as demand points, with demand proportional to population or predicted using machine learning models. The proposal includes 30 delivery stations across the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area and other major regions like Duluth, Rochester, and St. Cloud.
The retailer's expansion in Minnesota will involve careful planning and optimization to ensure fast, hyperlocal delivery. With proper location of delivery stations, the company aims to cover a significant portion of the world population within a 30-minute delivery near me zone, enhancing customer satisfaction and competitiveness.
