We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • ::COVID-19 COVERAGE::
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Dispatches
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Dispatches
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
Home » Gotta get back in time
big picture

Gotta get back in time

February 21, 2019
David Maloney
No Comments

Often when I travel and have a few hours to kill, I will venture into a local museum. Recently, I visited The Pink Palace Museum in Memphis, Tenn.

Named for its pink Georgian stone façade, The Pink Palace was originally the home of Clarence Saunders, the founder of the Piggly Wiggly supermarket chain. Saunders is considered the developer of the modern self-service grocery store.

Prior to the founding of Piggly Wiggly, customers would hand their shopping lists to the grocer, who would collect the items from shelves behind the counter. Saunders realized he could save on labor costs if shoppers gathered their own orders. In 1916, he opened a new kind of grocery store in Memphis, the first Piggly Wiggly.

Turnstile entrance to Piggly Wiggly shelves
Customers visiting the first Piggly Wiggly store would enter through a turnstile and follow a single pathway that zigzagged past each row of shelves. The path ended at the checkout counter.

The Pink Palace has a replica of this first store, which features a turnstile entrance with a single pathway that zigzags past each row of shelves. Customers would pick up a basket and walk the entire serpentine path through the small shop, ending at the checkout counter. Among other advantages, this arrangement offered much more product variety than the typical grocery store of the day.

The concept was wildly successful, and by 1923, Piggly Wiggly had grown to more than 1,200 stores in 40 states. With customers doing the order picking, Saunders was able to pass on the savings in the form of low prices.

The grocery industry is a notoriously low-margin business that makes its profit on volume. When grocery moved to self-service, it greatly reduced its handling and labor needs. Aldi stores today take this cost-saving approach even further by having customers pack their own orders.

Shelves of pickles
Shoppers at the first Piggly Wiggly gathered their own orders—a novelty at the time. This arrangement made it possible to offer much more product variety than previously, at lower prices.

Fast forward 100 years to the present. Several days ago, I was in the grocery section of my local Walmart. A worker holding a radio-frequency scanner was pushing a cart and hand picking several orders at a time for customer pickup (or possibly home delivery).

E-grocery sales are expected to hit $30 billion by 2023, accounting for up to 15 percent of all grocery purchases. However, in providing customer convenience, grocery distributors are taking a huge step back in efficiency. Is picking orders by hand really progress? While many stores charge a fee for click-and-collect services, those fees rarely cover actual order assembly costs. Someone has to pay the difference.

If grocers are going to continue down this e-path, they need solutions that provide similar efficiencies and labor savings to those found in the DC. It is time to once again reimagine how grocery stores look and operate, with automation as the key to providing efficient click-and-collect services.

Material Handling Supply Chain Services Facility Maintenance & Design Automatic Data Capture Scanners Omnichannel Business Management & Finance
  • Related Articles

    Logistics community gives back in time of need

    Gotta serve somebody

    something's gotta give

Davidmaloney
David Maloney has been a journalist for more than 35 years and is currently the editorial director for DC Velocity and Supply Chain Quarterly magazines. In this role, he is responsible for the editorial content of both brands of Agile Business Media. Dave joined DC Velocity in April of 2004. Prior to that, he was a senior editor for Modern Materials Handling magazine. Dave also has extensive experience as a broadcast journalist. Before writing for supply chain publications, he was a journalist, television producer and director in Pittsburgh. Dave combines a background of reporting on logistics with his video production experience to bring new opportunities to DC Velocity readers, including web videos highlighting top distribution and logistics facilities, webcasts and other cross-media projects. He continues to live and work in the Pittsburgh area.

Recent Articles by David Maloney

Still crazy after all last year

Outlook 2021: What’s in store for logistics supply chain?

The New (Ab)Normal

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • Cold chain giant Lineage Logistics buys its own rail operator

  • Autonomous trucking firm Plus prepares its tech for mass launch in China in 2021

  • The Home Depot opens automated DC in greater Atlanta

  • For container lines and ports, what a difference a year makes

  • Outlook 2021: What’s in store for logistics supply chain?

Now Playing on DCV-TV

Jlt procure rugged devices thumb

What it takes to procure the right rugged devices for your warehouse

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
Procuring new rugged devices for your warehouse is often a big decision and a significant investment. It needs careful planning and consideration. It involves more than ticking boxes on a spec sheet. It includes testing and getting employee buy in. And it's about finding a partner that can work with you to deploy...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • Proven Benefits: A Compendium of Slotting Optimization Success Snapshots

  • Bridging Information Gaps in Dock and Yard Operations

  • How Intelligent Sensor Solutions Turn Data Into Action

  • Order picking Solutions: Understanding Your Options

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2021. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing