[#103] Supply Chain in Numbers - Nov 29, 2021
US parcel capacity shortage is at 1.3M per day now, Nuro raises $600M, Getir has leased 3 DCs in London, Inspire Brands' ghost kitchen sees 54% less labor, Drizly to deliver alcohol in 60 mins.
Welcome to “Supply Chain in Numbers.” This newsletter tracks significant digits from the world of the supply chain. Five prominent numbers are published every Monday. If you have any feedback, please send it to me.
1.3 million packages per day
ShipMatrix Inc., a parcel analytics firm, now estimates that the daily shortfall between the number of packages shipped out and the industry’s capacity will be 1.3 million between Thanksgiving and the end of the year, down from a forecast of 4.7 million that the firm made in late September. Last year, the daily deficit was around 7.2 million packages during that stretch. The revision comes from an increase in capacity from the Postal Service, expanded Saturday delivery from UPS, and more shipments going to stores rather than directly to consumers. [WSJ]
$600 million
Autonomous-vehicle company Nuro has revealed a new round of financing led by Tiger Global Management, with participation from Baillie Gifford, Google, The Kroger Co., SoftBank Vision Fund 1, and other investors as part of the company’s Series D funding round. The $600 million in financing will support the development and deployment of Nuro’s autonomous-delivery service in communities across the country. The new funding will enable Nuro to continue its commercialization of zero-occupant autonomous-delivery vehicles by helping it address long-standing pain points and evolving consumer trends accelerated by the pandemic. [Progressive Grocer]
3 warehouses
Ultra-fast grocery delivery firm Getir has snapped up three warehouses around London. This is a departure for the Turkish Q-commerce firm, which only established itself in London this year. Up until now, the company has focussed on securing dark stores across the capital and other major conurbations in the UK to fulfil its promise of delivering groceries to customers within 10 minutes of ordering. In only 10 months, Getir has opened 75 dark stores across nine UK cities where they deliver using a 100% e-vehicle fleet. [Logistics Manager]
54% lesser labor needs
Inspire Brands is rolling out a ghost kitchen — the first it owns and developed — in Atlanta. The concept, called Alliance Kitchen, has been quietly in operation since July and features five of Inspire’s brands: Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Jimmy John’s, Rusty Taco, and Sonic. Customers can order via the brands’ apps or a third-party app. In this model, the entire kitchen is conjoined with a shared workflow which drives labor efficiency. The layout cuts labor needs by 54% as well as energy consumption by at least 50% when compared to five other independent restaurants, per Inspire. [CNBC]
Alcohol in 60 minutes
Drizly announced that, following a successful 190-store pilot program, it is partnering with 7-Eleven to deliver alcohol in 60 minutes or sooner from 1,200 of the convenience retailer’s stores. The on-demand alcohol delivery space is growing quickly. GoPuff, which delivers alcohol in many of its markets, has been expanding across the US. Instacart recently announced that it was making same-day alcohol delivery available to three-quarters of American households in partnership with Meijer. In September, DoorDash announced that it was adding alcoholic beverages to its marketplace. [Pymnts]