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Simon Delivers, Inc.
Golden Valley, Minnesota
Simon Delivers, Inc. is a home-grocery delivery service company
based in Golden Valley, Minnesota. The Company delivers farm-fresh produce,
packaged meats, fresh baked goods, a full line of brand-name grocery and
household products and selected wine, beer and spirits direct to customers' homes.
In Minnesota, Simon Delivers provides service to the Twin Cities metropolitan
area, St. Cloud and Rochester. The Company also serves Hudson, Wisconsin.
In the Twin Cities metropolitan area, Simon Delivers operates a 135,000 square foot "super store" in New Hope and two "neighborhood service centers" in Eagan and Eden Prairie. The Company receives all of its products at the super store under a Just In Time inventory management system and distributes them to the service centers. The Company operates 24 hours a day, five days a week and delivers an average of 8,000 cases of groceries to 2,200 homes a day.
The Store to the Door
Simon Delivers brought "the store to the door" to its first 15 customers in April 1999. By May 2000, the Company was delivering 500 orders to customers' homes each day. By May 2001, the Company tripled the number of customer orders to 1,500 per day. In April 2004, the Company filled and delivered approximately 2,200 customer orders daily.
Simon's Reusables
Since its inception, Simon Delivers has evolved from a one-time-use transport packaging system into a state-of-the-art reusable transport packaging system. The Company served its first customers by delivering orders in brown paper grocery bags. After its first month of operation, the Company quickly realized that it needed a more durable transport packaging system. And such was the beginning of Simon Delivers reusable transport packaging system comprised of reusable totes, pallets and wrap.
Reusable Totes
In May 1999, Simon Delivers took its first step toward a reusable transport packaging system by purchasing 3,000 reusable plastic totes with detachable lids. Customer orders were filled inside of brown paper grocery bags and placed inside of the totes. Orders were delivered in totes to customers' homes, and empty totes were returned to the Company for reuse.
While the totes provided a more durable delivery system, they were cumbersome and inefficient. Returned empty totes were dirty and had to be washed before they could be used again. Totes were hand-washed by employees, and it was a difficult process. Lids were detached and had to be washed separately. Employees were often trying to match totes to lids, and the reusable system was labor intensive.
To improve operational efficiencies, Simon Delivers designed a state-of-the-art, automated conveyor system to interface with its second generation of reusable plastic totes. In May 2001, the Company purchased 150,000 standard size reusable totes with hinged lids. Everything "starts and stops" in the tote prep area of the automated system where totes are prepared to be filled with customer orders and returned, empty totes are washed and made ready to be reused again.
With this second generation of reusable tote, Simon Delivers standardized the logistics of its daily operations. The tote "fits" the automated conveyor system and "fits" inside of the Company's delivery trucks providing a more efficient flow of goods and services. The tote is more durable and can be stacked four to five high without damaging products inside. With hinged lids, less labor is required to prepare the totes for reuse.
Reusable Pallets
When Simon Delivers implemented its first generation reusable tote delivery system, the Company delivered its totes on standard wood pallets. Each pallet could make three to five round trips, and then it would splinter and break and had to be discarded. The Company dedicated a garbage dumpster to dispose of wood pallets, and it was emptied two times a week.
In April 2003, Simon Delivers replaced its wood pallets by purchasing 400 reusable plastic pallets that "fit" its automated return cleaning system. The plastic pallets weigh less than wood pallets and are safer for employees to lift. Because plastic pallets are nestable, the Company uses storage space more efficiently. Fifty plastic pallets can be stacked in the same amount of space that used to accommodate 16 wood pallets. Each plastic pallet makes two to three trips a day.
Reusable Wrap
Simon Delivers often ships large packages of products, such as dog food, paper towels and soda pop, that cannot fit inside of the reusable totes. The Company uses a "large item container" to transport these products to customers' homes. To secure large item containers for shipment, the Company previously wrapped the containers eight to ten times with stretch wrap. The Company estimates that it filled about one-and-a-half garbage dumpsters a day full of discarded stretch wrap.
Simon Delivers has nearly eliminated its use of stretch wrap to secure large item containers for shipping by replacing it with a reusable wrap. The reusable wrap can be secured in about the same amount of time as stretch wrap and holds the load better than stretch wrap. The Company estimates that the lifespan of the reusable wrap is approximately four years, and it achieved its return on investment in the first year of use.
For More Information
For more information on Simon Delivers reusable transport packaging system, contact Tony Button at 763-656-2677 or email tony.button@simondelivers.com.
Click here to learn more about Simon Delivers.
Company Information
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In the Twin Cities metropolitan area, Simon Delivers operates a 135,000 square foot "super store" in New Hope and two "neighborhood service centers" in Eagan and Eden Prairie. The Company receives all of its products at the super store under a Just In Time inventory management system and distributes them to the service centers. The Company operates 24 hours a day, five days a week and delivers an average of 8,000 cases of groceries to 2,200 homes a day.
The Store to the Door
Simon Delivers brought "the store to the door" to its first 15 customers in April 1999. By May 2000, the Company was delivering 500 orders to customers' homes each day. By May 2001, the Company tripled the number of customer orders to 1,500 per day. In April 2004, the Company filled and delivered approximately 2,200 customer orders daily.
Simon's Reusables
Since its inception, Simon Delivers has evolved from a one-time-use transport packaging system into a state-of-the-art reusable transport packaging system. The Company served its first customers by delivering orders in brown paper grocery bags. After its first month of operation, the Company quickly realized that it needed a more durable transport packaging system. And such was the beginning of Simon Delivers reusable transport packaging system comprised of reusable totes, pallets and wrap.
Reusable Totes
In May 1999, Simon Delivers took its first step toward a reusable transport packaging system by purchasing 3,000 reusable plastic totes with detachable lids. Customer orders were filled inside of brown paper grocery bags and placed inside of the totes. Orders were delivered in totes to customers' homes, and empty totes were returned to the Company for reuse.
While the totes provided a more durable delivery system, they were cumbersome and inefficient. Returned empty totes were dirty and had to be washed before they could be used again. Totes were hand-washed by employees, and it was a difficult process. Lids were detached and had to be washed separately. Employees were often trying to match totes to lids, and the reusable system was labor intensive.
To improve operational efficiencies, Simon Delivers designed a state-of-the-art, automated conveyor system to interface with its second generation of reusable plastic totes. In May 2001, the Company purchased 150,000 standard size reusable totes with hinged lids. Everything "starts and stops" in the tote prep area of the automated system where totes are prepared to be filled with customer orders and returned, empty totes are washed and made ready to be reused again.
With this second generation of reusable tote, Simon Delivers standardized the logistics of its daily operations. The tote "fits" the automated conveyor system and "fits" inside of the Company's delivery trucks providing a more efficient flow of goods and services. The tote is more durable and can be stacked four to five high without damaging products inside. With hinged lids, less labor is required to prepare the totes for reuse.
Reusable Pallets
When Simon Delivers implemented its first generation reusable tote delivery system, the Company delivered its totes on standard wood pallets. Each pallet could make three to five round trips, and then it would splinter and break and had to be discarded. The Company dedicated a garbage dumpster to dispose of wood pallets, and it was emptied two times a week.
In April 2003, Simon Delivers replaced its wood pallets by purchasing 400 reusable plastic pallets that "fit" its automated return cleaning system. The plastic pallets weigh less than wood pallets and are safer for employees to lift. Because plastic pallets are nestable, the Company uses storage space more efficiently. Fifty plastic pallets can be stacked in the same amount of space that used to accommodate 16 wood pallets. Each plastic pallet makes two to three trips a day.
Reusable Wrap
Simon Delivers often ships large packages of products, such as dog food, paper towels and soda pop, that cannot fit inside of the reusable totes. The Company uses a "large item container" to transport these products to customers' homes. To secure large item containers for shipment, the Company previously wrapped the containers eight to ten times with stretch wrap. The Company estimates that it filled about one-and-a-half garbage dumpsters a day full of discarded stretch wrap.
Simon Delivers has nearly eliminated its use of stretch wrap to secure large item containers for shipping by replacing it with a reusable wrap. The reusable wrap can be secured in about the same amount of time as stretch wrap and holds the load better than stretch wrap. The Company estimates that the lifespan of the reusable wrap is approximately four years, and it achieved its return on investment in the first year of use.
For More Information
For more information on Simon Delivers reusable transport packaging system, contact Tony Button at 763-656-2677 or email tony.button@simondelivers.com.
Click here to learn more about Simon Delivers.
