{"id":1222,"date":"2022-06-17T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-17T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shipbob.com\/au\/blog\/direct-store-delivery\/"},"modified":"2025-09-24T00:29:42","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T00:29:42","slug":"direct-store-delivery-2","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.shipbob.com\/au\/blog\/direct-store-delivery-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Direct Store Delivery: Essential Guide for Retailers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Table of Contents<\/p>

** Minutes<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n

What is direct store delivery?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benefits of direct store delivery<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Direct store delivery challenges<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Direct store delivery vs. centralised distribution<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Direct store delivery trends<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Direct store delivery best practices<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to get started with direct store delivery<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can ShipBob help you with direct store delivery?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Direct store delivery FAQs<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

As competition increases and consumer demand changes, retailers are always hunting for new ways to improve supply chain efficiency<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some retailers optimise their supply chain<\/a> through little tweaks: a process improvement that saves a couple hours here and there, or a technology upgrade that shaves off cost. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But for others, small tweaks aren’t enough. Retailers looking to improve their bottom lines may want to consider cutting out an entire supply chain phase through direct store delivery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Direct store delivery is not always easy to implement, nor is it always the most efficient option. But when implemented correctly, it has the power to deliver massive cost-savings and other benefits that can help a business defend its competitive advantage in the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we’ll cover what direct store delivery is, the benefits and challenges that accompany it, and how ShipBob can help your business implement direct store delivery in its B2B<\/a> channels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is direct store delivery?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Direct store delivery is a supply chain model in which the manufacturer or supplier delivers goods directly to a retail store or location, rather than a centralised warehouse or distribution centre<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benefits of direct store delivery<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Direct store delivery can be a cost-effective option for retailers looking to simplify their supply chains, reduce spending, and streamline their operations. Here are some of the benefits of DSD for merchants to consider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Better care for fragile and perishable goods<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The longer perishable items like fresh foods spend in the supply chain, the higher the risk of expiration and the shorter the inventory\u2019s shelf life will be. Similarly, the longer fragile goods remain in the supply chain, the more opportunity there is for them to be damaged. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By cutting out transportation to and from a retailer\u2019s distribution centre entirely, you minimise the number of times fragile items are moved<\/a> (lowering the risk of damage), and get perishable items to shelves more quickly. For this reason, many companies in the grocery industry choose to employ the DSD business model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It can be cheaper<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

With direct store delivery, consumer products are neither transported to nor stored in a warehouse. This cuts your logistics costs<\/a> since you don\u2019t have to spend money on transportation expenses (including gas or driver wages), or on renting, maintaining, or staffing a warehouse. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Faster delivery to retail stores<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Since inventory travels directly from the manufacturers or suppliers to the retail store, it can get to retail stores faster. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consumer goods taking less time in transit helps retailers ensure better product availability and higher inventory turnover<\/a>, which is especially important for both CPG brands and convenience stores where shelf space is limited.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Improves customer satisfaction<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

With faster and cheaper stocking for retail locations, customers are less likely to experience stockouts<\/a> and more likely to find the items they want in pristine condition more quickly. This increases customer satisfaction, and helps you build up your customer base. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Direct store delivery challenges<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although the benefits of direct-to-store delivery are abundant, that\u2019s not to say that it doesn\u2019t come with its own set of challenges. There are several challenges associated with direct store delivery that you should consider before you commit to the model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It can be expensive<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Although the direct store delivery model eliminates warehousing<\/a> and labour costs, it can still be expensive when transportation costs rise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inventory stocking mistakes are also more costly, as the cost of receiving, returning, and replacing incorrect SKUs<\/a> is high \u2014 especially if you experience the opportunity cost of lost sales while correcting the problem.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It makes DTC fulfilment much harder<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In the absence of one or multiple distribution centres, fulfilling DTC<\/a> ecommerce orders can be challenging logistically. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it is possible to use retail stores as micro-fulfilment centres and ship from store, you’ll have to carefully monitor your inventory levels<\/a> to ensure you don’t accidentally sell units you don’t have. Fulfilling and shipping from store can also be expensive, as you’ll need additional labour and may need to ship longer distances depending on where your retail stores are located.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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While we initially used ShipBob exclusively for our retail fulfilment, we quickly outsourced DTC fulfilment to them as well once we experienced how easy and effective it was. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ShipBob\u2019s omnifulfillment solution could handle every sort of order we had, including retail, DTC, and B2B, and had no qualms whatsoever about facilitating our FBA prep orders for Amazon. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re currently fulfilling 100% of our orders through three of ShipBob\u2019s fulfilment centres, as we\u2019ve done for the last couple of years. With ShipBob, we can fulfil both DTC orders and orders for our retail partners (including Leisure Pro, Divers Direct, Swim Pro, and small surf shops in Hawaii) through a single solution. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nathan Garrison, Co-Founder and CEO of Sharkbanz<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Direct store delivery vs. centralised distribution<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Direct store delivery is an alternative to the centralised distribution model. In the centralised distribution model, retailers keep all of their inventory in a warehouse or fulfilment centre. Suppliers or manufacturers will send goods to that retailer\u2019s warehouse or fulfilment centre, where it is received and stored until:<\/p>\n\n\n\n