Understanding Direct Store Delivery: Design, Evaluation & Implications

Abstract

Traditionally, consumer goods companies are responsible to make deliveries from their distribution centers and to restock the shelves in their warehouse. With Direct Store Delivery (DSD), retailer's distribution centers are bypassed by consumer goods companies and products are directly taken to the store. The overarching goal of Direct Store Delivery is to efficiently streamline delivery operations, make selling more effective and improve merchandising, thereby providing benefits to consumer goods organizations companies. In this study, we present the design of Honeywell DSD, a connected workforce management system for consumer goods suppliers with DSD operations. Our results from a three-fold evaluation study provides intriguing insights to make such systems more useful, usable, desirable and user centered.