Green Time Slots feature

The Green Time Slot (GTS) feature is a new sustainability initiative by Urbantz that aims to reduce CO2 emissions in last-mile deliveries. It works by:

• Providing an algorithm that controls time slot availability during e-commerce checkout.
• Assigning a "green score" to available time slots based on factors like delivery cost, or profitability.
• Taking into account already planned deliveries to optimise route density and efficiency.
• Green Time Slots increases the number of orders delivered per hour while still offering flexible delivery options. At the same time it simplifies the delivery planning and resource assignation to the time slots .

Before:

Previously, when seeking to provide customers with a high-level delivery service the option to choose the most convenient 2-hour time slot during the checkout process was incorporated. This strategy aimed to enhance consumer satisfaction and create a competitive advantage. However, when implemented without proper restrictions, this approach led to routes criss-crossing the same locations multiple times per day. This not only escalates costs due to extended travel times and the risk of failing to meet the promised ETA, but also diminishes the capacity to fulfil a higher number of orders in a day.

On the other hand, if the time slots are excessively broad, such as spanning an entire day to allow for more effective route optimisation, customer satisfaction is likely to decline. This can result in customers shifting towards competitors.

To strike a balance, numerous hours analysing demand and subdividing delivery areas into smaller zones to determine optimal delivery times were needed. While these hard constraints allow to deliver in smaller windows, they limit the flexibility and make the time slot offer too rigid. The primary drawback is that certain time slots may fill up rapidly, leaving others with low capacity due to the hard location constraints set by the business rules. To mitigate this issue, continuous manual monitoring becomes necessary.

With Green Time Slots:

With Green Time Slots, a higher order volume per hour can be achieved, ensuring the delivery of more customers with the same resources while maintaining an optimal selection of time slots that ensures a good customer experience.

Here's how it works: Upon receiving an order, Green Time Slot swiftly assesses the efficiency of placing that order within all feasible time slots over a maximum two-week period. It estimates travel time, considers existing planned orders, and anticipates future demand - all in less than a second. Based on the calculated efficiency, Green Time Slot categorises time slots into predefined classes such as "A", "B" and "C".

Green Time Slot also uses incentive schemes to influence customers to choose one of the highest class time slots available. Concretely, it introduces a pricing component. This feature allows to set a baseline price for time slots and adjust it based on a set of rules using the available time slot classes and other data as criteria. To avoid checkout drop-offs and ensure customer retention, the solution enables a pricing strategy that avoids penalising consumers living in low density areas or being the first ones selecting the time slot.
This feature creates a win-win scenario by offering more flexibility as a premium service while also rewarding customers who choose cost-effective time slots.

Green Time Slots can be enabled hub by hub, allowing to implement a gradual rollout across stores and warehouses. The solution categorises time slots into up to 10 configurable classes from A to J. Green Time Slots uses historical data and current demand for each hub to automatically establish the categorisation, taking into account factors such as task density, geography, number of orders and vehicles. All of these factors directly influence how time slots are categorised. For example, the conditions for considering a first-class time slot differ between a downtown store and one in the countryside.

For the pricing component, first, it is necessary to configure a baseline price. Then, add the required set of price rules that will either increase or decrease the baseline price using criteria such as the available time slot classes and consumer data. The pricing setup can be overridden in specific stores to manage region-specific details.

The class and price of each time slot are accessible through the Get Time Slots API to be integrated into the e-commerce checkout and the Urbantz Control Tower, assisting planners in selecting the most cost-efficient option.

The adaptability of Green Time Slots allows customisation to meet different needs and profiles. For example, it may offer a low-class time slot when no better options are available within a specific period of time (shift, day...), or, in some cases, valuing time and convenience.

Green Time Slots not only focuses on cost reduction but will also incorporate a robust sustainability component, emphasising additional information about CO2 emissions and a significant impact on the Recipient portal.