Curbside Pickup for Distributors

Long before the pandemic began, customers were already taking advantage of curbside, and buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS) order fulfillment options. 

In fact, a 2019 study from Numerator found that 76% of Walmart customers preferred curbside pickup to in-store orders. For many customers, curbside pickup is significantly more convenient. 

With new expectations for safety and convenience, B2B buyers are looking for the same consideration and solutions from their business partners. 

Curbside Pickup for B2B

For most, this involves transitioning your business model to contactless solutions. And while going contactless can be immediately helpful for those businesses trying to evolve their fulfillment models in a socially-distant world, it will also establish your company for the future of fulfillment. 

While Julia Klein (chairwoman and CEO of building materials distributor, C.H. Briggs Co.) laments that her company might lose some of the connectedness that’s created when a team member helps customers load an item into their truck, she understands that curbside, contactless ordering is likely here to stay. That means C.H. Briggs (and all other distributors in this predicament) will need to find other ways to enhance customer service. - Modern Distribution Management

Knowing this evolution, adopting contactless systems results in streamlined processes, increased security, improved convenience for customers, and consequently, higher customer satisfaction and sales.

How Curbspot Can Help

Our Curbspot accelerator allows B2B companies to launch curbside, BOPIS, and buy online pickup at curb (BOPAC)  in record time. 

Requirements:

• Communicate curbside capabilities - you’ll need to be able to share with your customer base this new service and experience which you are now offering
• Have an existing system to manage inventory - to properly manage online orders, you’ll need some way to keep track of what items who have in-store
• Have an existing text message opt-in (or get opt-in if you use texts) - legally, you’ll need permission from your customers to communicate with them via text
• Have a way associates can fill orders - you’ll need a way internally for associates to locate and assemble items for customer orders

Experience:

• Spreadsheet simplicity - provide us with a spreadsheet of your inventory, and we’ll make those items shopable products within Curbspot
• Easy associate experience - Curbspot is a cloud-based technology, so it can be accessed on any device. You can scale quickly by having associates use personal devices. There is a store-level login (not associate logins) so you won’t need to create numerous accounts. Employees can simply login online and manage customer orders immediately. 
• Mobile & desktop capabilities - customers can also access Curbspot on any device
• Customized experience - you can upload your brand’s logo, and customize confirmation messages that customers receive when orders have been completed

When an order is submitted, an associate can login and complete the “Add Order” section once they have filled it. Then, the customer receives a text or email indicating that their order is ready.

The customer will go to the store, and can click on “Curbside Pickup Now” to let the store know they have arrived. The store will receive an alert, and an associate can verify the customer’s order before delivering curbside.

If for some reason the associate cannot find the customer, or the customer can provide more detail (such as where they’ve parked), or can even reschedule.

‍Get Started with Curbside Pickup

Is your business ready to make the change? We can help. To discuss getting curbside pickup set up for your customers, reach out to sales@getcurbspot.com