Our food has become strange to us. We know very little about what we eat, in spite of legal information duties. More and more foodstuff has anonymous senders or they come along with fantasy brands. More and more their origin their growing up and the processing are concealed. Information is also rare when shopping under time pressure. A personnel and trustful contact is missing, as we know it from weekly market or in a well conducted food shop. Partly this problem can be solved by the formation of a “retail brand” (retail as a brand) as likewise Aldi did in Germany . This means high competence in purchase and quality control at the manufacturer's site. That's how we can get high quality food without a specific knowledge about brands. The price for it is to let our trust.
With shipping food (as far as possible) in bulk near the consumer and thereafter portion them out according to his order we can be more efficient in both, the management of costs and of environment. We avoid all the different sizes and designs of today's pre-packs and their transportation through a complex supply chain of an actually more and more centralising food retail trade.
This principle of the ancient corner shop reduces transport volume, packaging materials, expenses on stocktaking, the complexity of warehousing and considerably cuts down time to consumption.

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The outstanding feature of the procedure is a 24 hour food turnover, which is an exception in today's centralised trade. Consumer either can go shopping in their local PICoLo-Market (near-to- home-supply) or order their purchases for home delivery.

The principle of PICoLo revives all the advantages of the old corner shops but it is now put into action by innovative means. In addition it is scaled up and accomplished by the handling methods caterers use.
Local grocers had an intimate knowledge of their customers. They purchased merchandise mainly in bulk from which they portioned out the quantity people wished. Fresh food as well as fruit and vegetables they preferably got from the local wholesale. The advantageous ability to meet the demand of small quantities (e.g. for single living people) frequently went against losses caused thereby and from the aspect of for hygienic reasons this was not always acceptable.
Nowadays handiwork of this kind cannot be done cost-covering. This is why the retail of loose goods at service counters more and more vanish (Germany) though many customers wish to buy this kind. Partly mechanized fulfilment of these activities, if cost-covering, needs a sufficient throughput.

PICoLo combines both the function of wholesale and of retail trade. Instead of ancient barrel or sack, of scoop or tongs PICoLo uses large-scale modern packs, big bags, pallets, stainless containers and tanks with controlled atmosphere and with temperature control during transport and the phase of portioning out, the same equipment as being used in industrial processing. As known these items together with dispensers and scales can easily be integrated in a fully automatic warehousing and factoring.
Therewith the shipping volume is reduced and hierarchical steps of transportation and stocktaking are eliminated. Furthermore the expensive weighing with tight tolerance as legal for industrial pre-packs can be dropped and also the proof and documentation of each day's average weights. Factoring will be achieved according to the effective weight which may slightly differ from what was ordered, like it did in the corner shop.
Standard wrappings like those for butter or bags for sugar or flour will be maintained as long as they are preferable for economical and ecological reasons.
Automatic purchase is in a simple way feasible because there is a current control of product levels and weights on stock. Transportation and replenishment is achieved overnight.
PICoLo aims at a complete turnover of food within 24 hours. Thus foodstuff can widely be handled without chemical preseratives.
Especially in the start-up phase multiple new jobs occur for people living within the adjacent residential area. Time consuming activities like the preparation of fresh salads and vegetable cleaning unloved by private cooks will be a special service offer of this retail.
Furthermore the traditional trade will be a furnisher for semi processed or convenience products or these goods can be catered by integrated kitchens. Customers have also the choice to order receipts.

Beside the described service comprehensive and extensive information and advice is delivered on demand. There will be the possibility of having a look inside the PICoLo-Center, of tasting food and of visiting growers and the processing industry in the surroundings. Shaping various of thus services helps this trade to develop a brand (retail brand) with permeability of national brands.

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Looking at the PICoLo trade described above for a moment one could get the impression that running it might not be profitable because of the amount of manpower required. With detailed calculations however it becomes apparent that reducing or no longer existent cost factors like...

– expenditures for industrial packaging, in particular for changing formats
– wrapping material for shipping and for consumer packs
– transportation and multiple storages
– shop/store costs
– losses and write-offs

...more than equalize the costs for personnel and home delivery. This is why the PICoLo trade in Germany is able to deliver goods at prices of supermarkets.

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In addition to the rather rough description given above the following graphics will highlight some project-related topics.

The consumer's vicinity to his food…

…got mostly lost nowadays. PICoLo gives a chance for CRM (Customer Relationship Management), for the taking into account the consumer's individual requests and preferences, close information about the offered merchandise, the producer, the processing and as well receipts for the preparation and on top the comfort of a purchase from his home.

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The throughput – shorter and faster

Actual supply chain reduces to a one stop delivery like discounters have it. Temporary stocktaking by producers will only be necessary for the reason of capacity or the production in lots. Essential savings result from spared shop areas. Among others these savings finance the delivery to the customer's homes.


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Traditional and progressive trade logistics

The left diagram describes the traditional trade which can be achieved single-stage or dual-stage. Characteristic is an extensive logistics due to its ongoing centralisation. Even more road traffic is caused by e-commerce and its expected ‘atomizing' of product streams. Products are shipped individually in a direct course from the sender to the consignee.
The scheme on the right shows PICoLo's advantageous circulatory structure with it's strong bundling effects of both the procurement and home delivery.

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The budget of consumers rests stable

Price-conscious consumers will not accept a new trade except it brings him obviously advantages. Those can be the price, the quality (decisive is the freshness), the availability – not so much the breadth of the assortment. An important task toward the consumer will be to make clear the fact that shopping costs (especially when using a car) comes on top of what he pays in the store. Buying at PICoLo's these expenses drop.



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Complete service – good for customers and environment

The PICoLo trade is not limited to food. A competitive criterion will be to bring together kinds of supplementary services which PICoLo is able to perform with his thought-out technology. Possible are the delivery of newspapers or of pharmacies and repair services (e.g. electrical appliances) or even the delivery of an electric cooker or a washing machine for which the PICoLo vehicle is perfectly appropriate. This service will be restricted to the time of low capacity utilization.


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SysLog Engineering GmbH
Schillingswinkel 2
30966 Hemmingen
Germany

phone: +49 (0)5101 - 12920
fax:        +49 (0)5101 - 916831
e-mail:    info@picolo-food.de

Trade register HRB. 56396; AG. Hannover

updated: 07.10.06