Project Name
Built a Live Inventory-Driven Click-and-Collect Platform for an 80-Store Grocery Chain
Our client is a regional grocery chain operating more than 80 stores that launched click-and-collect as a digital growth channel, enabling customers to order online or through the app and collect their groceries in approximately one hour. The channel was commercially sound but operationally broken from the moment it went live. The online shop, the till system, and the stockroom operated on separate data sources with no shared real-time inventory view. Website availability came from a warehouse-style stock file updated only a few times per day.
Store staff managed fulfilment through printed pick lists with no digital support for substitutions, exceptions, or order status. And pickup slot capacity was set without any view of actual store workload, creating systematic overcommitment during peak hours and the customer experience failures that followed. The engagement was to replace the disconnected model with a store-first click-and-collect platform built around live inventory, a staff picking application, and slot management that reflected the reality of each store’s capacity at any given moment.
Fragmented inventory, manual picking, and capacity blind spots were creating delays, failed pickups, and rising customer dissatisfaction.
- Website Stock Did Not Match the Shelf: Online availability came from stock files updated only a few times daily, causing products that had already sold out to remain available online and creating failed orders at pickup.
- Paper Pick Lists Slowed Stores During Peak Hours: Staff relied on printed lists, manual updates, and calls for substitution decisions, creating unfinished orders and slowing coordination between pickers, the desk, and customers.
- Customers Were Surprised at Pickup: Missing items were often discovered only at the collection desk, leaving no time for customers to approve substitutes and increasing cancellations, refunds, and complaints.
- Pickup Slots Were Guesswork: The website offered pickup slots without considering picker availability, active orders, or store capacity, leading to overbooking, long waits, and failed handovers.
- Refunds and Complaints Consumed Finance and Customer Care: Without a digital audit trail for missing SKUs, substitutions, and charges, finance and customer care spent hours tracing exceptions and processing refunds manually.
Ksolves built a platform around a store-first architecture - one order, one live inventory view, and one staff app - with store-level activity providing the source of truth for what was available to pick.
- Live Store Inventory: Till sales, deliveries, waste, and markdowns update store inventory in real time. The website only shows products that the store can actually fulfil, eliminating phantom stock at its source.
- Staff Picking App: Pickers follow optimised store routes on handheld devices, using barcode scanning to confirm items and quickly request substitutions. Digital picking replaces paper lists and reduces back-and-forth with the desk.
- Customer-Approved Substitutions: When an item is unavailable, the app suggests suitable alternatives based on existing rules. Customers can approve or decline substitutions through the app before arriving, reducing cancellations and complaints.
- Honest Pickup Slots: Slot capacity adjusts dynamically based on picker availability, active orders, and store closing time. Customers only see slots the store can realistically fulfil, reducing peak-hour overbooking.
- Collection Desk Screen: When customers indicate they have arrived, the desk instantly sees the order, bag count, and parking bay, eliminating manual searches and reducing collection wait times.
- Cloud Operations With Central Rollout: New stores can activate click-and-collect through configuration rather than individual IT projects. Centralised updates and security patches simplify rollout and ongoing maintenance across locations.
Technology Stack
| Category | Technology |
|---|---|
| Customer Channels | Website and Mobile App |
| Store Operations | Handheld Picking App and Barcode Scanning |
| Store Operations | Collection Desk Display |
| Business Systems | Order Management |
| Business Systems | Store Inventory Service |
| Integration | POS and Till System Connection |
| Infrastructure | Cloud Hosting and Central Deployment |
From inaccurate stock and manual picking to real-time store inventory and streamlined fulfilment across the 80+ store estate.
- Stock Accuracy in the Online Shop Exceeded 95% for Picked Items: Real-time inventory driven by till sales, deliveries, and markdowns replaced stock files updated only a few times daily, reducing orders for unavailable products.
- Average Pick Time Reduced by Approximately 35%: Digital aisle routes and barcode scanning replaced paper pick lists, reducing picking time, wrong-item errors, and re-pick cycles.
- Last-Minute Order Cancellations Dropped by Nearly Half: Customers could review and approve substitutions during picking, reducing cancellations caused by discovering missing items at collection.
- Wait Time at Collection Fell From Over 10 Minutes to Under 4 Minutes: Real-time order and parking-bay visibility helped collection staff prepare orders before customers arrived, significantly reducing kerbside wait times.
- New Store Rollout Reduced to Days: Configuration-based onboarding and centralised deployment replaced months-long store-by-store IT projects, enabling faster click-and-collect expansion across the estate.
The click-and-collect operation moved from inaccurate stock, paper-based picking, and overloaded pickup slots to a connected, store-first platform built around real-time inventory and fulfilment capacity. By making store activity the source of truth, customers see what is actually available, pickers work digitally, substitutions are approved in advance, and pickup slots reflect genuine capacity. The result is a more reliable customer experience, faster store operations, and a scalable foundation for expanding click-and-collect, home delivery, promotions, and peak-period labour planning across the 80+ store estate.
Is Your Click-and-Collect Channel Still Promising Products Your Stores Cannot Fulfil?
