Woolworths will open tens of thousands of extra weekly home delivery windows for its online customers from this week.
The extra capacity will be fulfilled out of hundreds of Woolworths Supermarkets across Australia and a new “Pop-Up” Delivery Hub in Notting Hill, Melbourne opening at the end of the week.
In supermarkets, Woolworths team members will hand pick online orders for customers before passing onto Sherpa and Drive Yello couriers to fulfil the last-mile delivery. These orders are capped at 40 items and will be delivered next day.
Sherpa and Drive Yello have signed up more than 5,000 new delivery drivers onto their on-demand platforms to help meet the soaring demand for online groceries.
Together with recent increases out of the existing home delivery network, Woolworths has now doubled its online capacity over the past month.
“We’re seeing a big increase in demand for home delivery as more and more customers seek to limit their outings in the community," said WooliesX Managing Director Amanda Bardwell.
“While our first priority remains the most vulnerable in the community, we can now serve more of our regular online customers, including Delivery Unlimited subscribers, as well.
“We’ve worked hard behind the scenes to find innovative ways to provide this much-needed additional delivery capacity across Australia. In partnership with Sherpa and Drive Yello, we now have a highly flexible and scalable way to meet the needs of many more of our online customers in the weeks and months ahead.”
Woolworths’ Melbourne Pop-Up Delivery Hub has been setup at a 7,000 sqm warehouse in Notting Hill and is expected to service more than 5,000 orders each week. The Hub - which won’t open to walk-up shoppers - will hold a curated range of popular online products and provide employment to more than 400 Melburnians.
“Our Pop-Up Delivery Hub in Notting Hill is designed to complement the incredible work our online teams have been doing for our Priority Assistance customers in Victoria. We’ll keep a close eye on customer feedback to see if there is value in standing up more sites like this across Australia.”
Woolworths continues to offer Community Pick Up from more than 850 supermarkets across Australia. This allows customers to place a Pick Up order online for themselves or on behalf of another member of the community.
Earlier this month, Woolworths announced a partnership with leading Australian food services supplier PFD to support the temporary fulfillment of orders to its B2B customers. It provides business customers with access to PFD’s current product range and stock, and its order fulfilment and last-mile solutions through Woolworths’ website.
In March, Woolworths introduced an $80 Basics Box of meals, snacks and essential items to simplify online ordering for customers in need. These boxes - which can be ordered by customers directly or on behalf of someone in need - are packed by DHL and delivered by Australia Post within two to five business days.
