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Mobile application supported urban-township e-grocery distribution

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dc.contributor.author Mkansi, Marcia
dc.contributor.author de Leeuw, Sander
dc.contributor.author Amosun, Olatoye
dc.date.accessioned 2019-11-26T12:12:27Z
dc.date.available 2019-11-26T12:12:27Z
dc.date.issued 2019
dc.identifier.citation Mkansi, M., de Leeuw, S. and Amosun, O. 2019. Mobile application supported urban-township e-grocery distribution.International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management. Article in press., en
dc.identifier.issn 0960-0035
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/10500/26050
dc.description.abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a mobile application supported township and urban e-grocery distribution models that uses a software application (app) to bridge the infrastructural barriers, costs and complexities associated with e-grocery delivery operations in rural township areas. Design/methodology/approach – Using a qualitative multi-case approach and semi-structured interviews, the study explored distribution practices of eight national emerging e-grocery retail businesses to demonstrate how mobile applications can facilitate South African urban and township e-grocery delivery models. Findings – The study reveals how the need to scale the use of new mobile application innovations fuels value-added services that power new e-grocery distribution models. Of interest is how the application aggregates demand rapidly, respond to demand within a short lead time and how e-grocers use competitors’ stores as their fulfilment centres. The use of apps reveals a slow transformation of society towards an inclusive model that integrates different types of workers in an informal context. Practical implications – The mobile application value-added service business model offers a new wave of scaling e-grocery retail to rural and township areas constrained by technological, economic and road infrastructure. The apps transcend e-grocery barriers and enables small businesses with limited resources to leverage e-grocery market opportunities that are unimaginable in townships and rural areas. Originality/value – The innovative mobile platform-base model offers emerging contextual insight of a pull e-grocery distribution model that demonstrates the supply chain innovations for addressing under-resource and under-developed logistics infrastructure. en
dc.language.iso en en
dc.publisher Emerald Publishing en
dc.subject Mobile applications, E-grocery distribution models, Order management, Urban and township delivery en
dc.title Mobile application supported urban-township e-grocery distribution en
dc.type Article en
dc.description.department Business Management en


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