Fountain > Case Studies > Safeway's Rapid Expansion of Grocery Delivery Business with Fountain's Software

Safeway's Rapid Expansion of Grocery Delivery Business with Fountain's Software

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Technology Category
  • Sensors - Haptic Sensors
Applicable Industries
  • E-Commerce
  • Transportation
Applicable Functions
  • Logistics & Transportation
  • Procurement
Use Cases
  • Last Mile Delivery
  • Personnel Tracking & Monitoring
About The Customer
Safeway is the second largest grocery chain in the U.S., with more than 2,200 stores and almost 200,000 employees. The company has a growing e-commerce division that offers grocery delivery services. However, the expansion of this service was hindered by the need to hire a large number of hourly workers, particularly delivery drivers, in a short span of time. Safeway's goal was to expand its delivery service from 8 states in 2015 to 18 states by the end of 2018. To achieve this, the company needed to hire about 20 drivers per week, a task made difficult by stiff competition for hourly workers from other retailers and on-demand companies.
The Challenge
Safeway, the second largest grocery chain in the U.S., was facing a significant challenge in expanding its grocery delivery business. With the rise in customer expectations for online grocery ordering and immediate delivery, Safeway was under pressure to compete with rivals like Whole Foods, Costco, and Instacart. The company's goal was to expand its delivery service from 8 states in 2015 to 18 states by the end of 2018. To achieve this, Safeway needed to hire a large number of hourly workers, specifically about 20 drivers per week. However, the process of hiring was impeded by stiff competition for hourly workers from both traditional retailers and rapidly expanding on-demand companies like Uber, Lyft, and Doordash. Safeway's existing hiring process, which involved using a shared email inbox to field inquiries, was inefficient and often resulted in missing key applicant information.
The Solution
Safeway turned to Fountain's software to streamline its hiring process and meet its ambitious expansion goals. Fountain's software replaced Safeway's shared email inbox system with a quick, 4-question interest form that was mobile-responsive. The responses were sent directly into the Fountain applicant tracking system, enabling Safeway recruiters to communicate quickly with applicants via email, text, and phone. This ensured that every applicant received an initial call from a recruiter on the same day or the next day. The software also eliminated the problem of missing applicant data. With Fountain's software, Safeway was able to hire hourly workers faster and less expensively, thereby overcoming one of the biggest impediments to growing its e-commerce business.
Operational Impact
  • The implementation of Fountain's software significantly improved Safeway's hiring process, making it more efficient and cost-effective. The software's quick, mobile-responsive interest form and direct communication system ensured that all applicants received timely responses, thereby reducing the risk of losing potential hires to other opportunities. The software also eliminated the problem of missing applicant data, further streamlining the hiring process. With the help of Fountain, Safeway was able to meet its ambitious goal of expanding its grocery delivery service to 10 new states in just two years. The company was also able to efficiently grow its workforce with a lean talent acquisition team, thereby saving significant time and resources.
Quantitative Benefit
  • Reduced hiring cost from $8,000-$9,000 per worker to a significantly lower amount
  • Saved 10 hours a week in administrative work for the talent acquisition team
  • Enabled hiring of about 20 drivers per week, facilitating service expansion to 10 new states in 2 years

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