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(Re)Solving Space and Time: Fulfilment Issues in Online Grocery Retailing

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  • Andrew J Murphy

    (School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, England; and Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, 1984 West Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2, Canada)

Abstract

There has been much hype and speculation in the media and in academe on the vitality and future of the ‘Internet economy’. In this paper the author uses case studies from Britain, Canada, New Zealand and the United States to assess the strengths and weaknesses of online grocery retailers, from national chain stores pursuing a ‘bricks and clicks' strategy to ‘pure-play’ startups. He argues that delivering groceries via the Internet to customer doorsteps requires ways of solving space and time that are markedly different from previous trends in food retail logistics. He holds that solving problems of space management creates problems in the management of time and vice versa. In particular, ‘e-tailers’ struggle with fulfilment costs and logistics, and have attempted to manage customers' time and locations to reduce these costs. Store-based operations may be best suited for short-term profitability (or loss minimisation), whereas warehouse-based fulfilment may hold future promise of greater efficiency and flexibility. The author suggests that online organic home delivery may be the most successful type of online food retailer, for its size, given greater customer commitment and problems with store-based supply of organic food.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrew J Murphy, 2003. "(Re)Solving Space and Time: Fulfilment Issues in Online Grocery Retailing," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 35(7), pages 1173-1200, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:35:y:2003:i:7:p:1173-1200
    DOI: 10.1068/a35102
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Neil Wrigley, 2002. "Transforming the Corporate Landscape of US Food Retailing: Market Power, Financial Re‐engineering and Regulation," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 93(1), pages 62-82, February.
    2. Steve Wood, 2002. "Organisational Restructuring, Knowledge and Spatial Scale: The Case of the US Department Store Industry," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 93(1), pages 8-33, February.
    3. Andrew Currah, 2002. "Behind the Web Store: The Organisational and Spatial Evolution of Multichannel Retailing in Toronto," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 34(8), pages 1411-1441, August.
    4. Andrew Leyshon, 2001. "Time–Space (and Digital) Compression: Software Formats, Musical Networks, and the Reorganisation of the Music Industry," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 33(1), pages 49-77, January.
    5. Andrew Murphy, 2002. "The Emergence of Online Food Retailing: A Stakeholder Perspective," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 93(1), pages 47-61, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Michelle Lowe & Neil Wrigley, 2010. "The “Continuously Morphing” Retail TNC During Market Entry: Interpreting Tesco's Expansion into the United States," Economic Geography, Clark University, vol. 86(4), pages 381-408, October.
    2. Teller, Christoph & Kotzab, Herbert & Grant, David B., 2012. "The relevance of shopper logistics for consumers of store-based retail formats," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 59-66.
    3. Agatz, Niels A.H. & Fleischmann, Moritz & van Nunen, Jo A.E.E., 2008. "E-fulfillment and multi-channel distribution - A review," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 187(2), pages 339-356, June.
    4. Bowen, John T., 2008. "Moving places: the geography of warehousing in the US," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 16(6), pages 379-387.

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