Upper Case Studies Optimizing Meal Delivery with IoT: A Case Study on Essential Meal Delivery

Edit This Case Study Record

	Optimizing Meal Delivery with IoT: A Case Study on Essential Meal Delivery Upper

Optimizing Meal Delivery with IoT: A Case Study on Essential Meal Delivery

Upper

Technology Category	Networks & Connectivity - Gateways
Applicable Industries	Glass Transportation
Applicable Functions	Logistics & Transportation
Use Cases	Last Mile Delivery Vehicle Telematics
Challenge	Essential Meal Delivery, a healthy meal delivery company based in Toronto, Canada, was founded in 2010 with the goal of providing work-life balance to its customers. Initially, the company experienced steady growth, serving around 400 meals weekly to professionals. However, as the business expanded, managing meal deliveries efficiently became increasingly complex. The initial approach of letting customers select meals turned into a paperwork nightmare. They used to plan routes manually using Google Maps and Mapquest, which was only efficient for planning routes with up to 5 stops. When they needed to plan routes with 15-20 stops, drivers wasted over an hour from their 3-hour shift and still couldn’t find the best route to follow. This problem was consuming three precious resources: time, fuel, and manpower. Additionally, the routing software used by the company experienced issues where certain features would malfunction over time, making it difficult to track drivers or determine the number of completed deliveries. Read More
About Customer	Essential Meal Delivery is a healthy meal delivery company based in Etobicoke, Toronto, Canada. The company was founded in 2010 with the idea of providing work-life balance to its customers. The company serves meals to discerning professionals and has experienced steady growth since its inception. However, as the business expanded, it faced challenges in managing meal deliveries efficiently. The company initially allowed customers to select meals, but this approach turned into a paperwork nightmare as the business grew. The company sought a solution to these challenges and ultimately chose Upper to help streamline its delivery routes and improve its operations. Read More
Solution	To overcome these challenges, Essential Meal Delivery turned to Upper, a route planning and optimization platform. Upper’s route optimization feature helped the company transition from manually planning 5 addresses with Google Maps or MapQuest to efficiently optimizing routes with 20-30 stops in a click. This feature ensured that drivers could complete their deliveries within a strict 3-hour time window, covering up to 120 kilometers. Upper not only reduced operational costs but also enhanced delivery speed and accuracy. Upper’s driver tracking allowed the company to keep an update on the whereabouts of the drivers and the status of the deliveries they are responsible for. With the customer notification feature, customers received notifications about when to expect their meal deliveries, setting clear expectations and minimizing inquiries. This feature significantly improved customer satisfaction. Additionally, the importing feature enabled the company to import CSV files without the need to modify them, saving hundreds of dollars on developer fees. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Networks & Connectivity - Gateways

Applicable Industries

Glass

Transportation

Applicable Functions

Logistics & Transportation

Use Cases

Last Mile Delivery

Vehicle Telematics

Challenge

Essential Meal Delivery, a healthy meal delivery company based in Toronto, Canada, was founded in 2010 with the goal of providing work-life balance to its customers. Initially, the company experienced steady growth, serving around 400 meals weekly to professionals. However, as the business expanded, managing meal deliveries efficiently became increasingly complex. The initial approach of letting customers select meals turned into a paperwork nightmare. They used to plan routes manually using Google Maps and Mapquest, which was only efficient for planning routes with up to 5 stops. When they needed to plan routes with 15-20 stops, drivers wasted over an hour from their 3-hour shift and still couldn’t find the best route to follow. This problem was consuming three precious resources: time, fuel, and manpower. Additionally, the routing software used by the company experienced issues where certain features would malfunction over time, making it difficult to track drivers or determine the number of completed deliveries.

About Customer

Essential Meal Delivery is a healthy meal delivery company based in Etobicoke, Toronto, Canada. The company was founded in 2010 with the idea of providing work-life balance to its customers. The company serves meals to discerning professionals and has experienced steady growth since its inception. However, as the business expanded, it faced challenges in managing meal deliveries efficiently. The company initially allowed customers to select meals, but this approach turned into a paperwork nightmare as the business grew. The company sought a solution to these challenges and ultimately chose Upper to help streamline its delivery routes and improve its operations.

Solution

To overcome these challenges, Essential Meal Delivery turned to Upper, a route planning and optimization platform. Upper’s route optimization feature helped the company transition from manually planning 5 addresses with Google Maps or MapQuest to efficiently optimizing routes with 20-30 stops in a click. This feature ensured that drivers could complete their deliveries within a strict 3-hour time window, covering up to 120 kilometers. Upper not only reduced operational costs but also enhanced delivery speed and accuracy. Upper’s driver tracking allowed the company to keep an update on the whereabouts of the drivers and the status of the deliveries they are responsible for. With the customer notification feature, customers received notifications about when to expect their meal deliveries, setting clear expectations and minimizing inquiries. This feature significantly improved customer satisfaction. Additionally, the importing feature enabled the company to import CSV files without the need to modify them, saving hundreds of dollars on developer fees.

Impact #1	The adoption of Upper had a profound impact on the operations and success of Essential Meal Delivery. Route optimization not only streamlined deliveries but also ensured that meals were delivered quickly while they were still fresh. This optimization saved hours of daily work time, which was previously spent in planning routes manually. The software’s notifications feature provided clear communication with customers, reducing inquiries and enhancing overall service quality. It set expectations for delivery times, creating a sense of reliability among customers. Additionally, Upper’s user-friendly interface and the elimination of file format constraints resulted in significant cost savings. The company no longer required costly developer assistance, which further contributed to the bottom line.

Impact #1

The adoption of Upper had a profound impact on the operations and success of Essential Meal Delivery. Route optimization not only streamlined deliveries but also ensured that meals were delivered quickly while they were still fresh. This optimization saved hours of daily work time, which was previously spent in planning routes manually. The software’s notifications feature provided clear communication with customers, reducing inquiries and enhancing overall service quality. It set expectations for delivery times, creating a sense of reliability among customers. Additionally, Upper’s user-friendly interface and the elimination of file format constraints resulted in significant cost savings. The company no longer required costly developer assistance, which further contributed to the bottom line.

Benefit #1	Maintained a 3-hour delivery window on every route
Benefit #2	Covered 120 kilometers by each driver
Benefit #3	Saved 1 hour every day

Benefit #1

Maintained a 3-hour delivery window on every route

Benefit #2

Covered 120 kilometers by each driver

Benefit #3

Saved 1 hour every day

Download PDF Version

Overview

Optimizing Meal Delivery with IoT: A Case Study on Essential Meal Delivery

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit