Connecting to konbini (premium Japanese convenience stores) brings product to consumers with greater ease than ever before.
Source: Nike News – Inside Nike.com Japan’s New Delivery Service
One of the primary reasons NDC/DTC has been able to grow so rapidly for Nike is because in the US Nike’s primary shipping is done out of Memphis. Memphis is the hub for shipping in the US. Nike’s 3 fulfillment centers in the city rely heavily on the gigantic Fed Ex, UPS, and USPS (which piggy backs on Fed Ex planes) presence.
That same presence abroad isn’t as strong so Nike is utilizing a unique approach to getting online orders to their fans. The process takes two days which is amazing. More important it utilizes a format that could prevent a lot of issues here in the US.
Nike is using the local bodega, corner grocery, or Konbini in Japan to make sure orders are placed in a routine path for the customers to get their packages on the way home. While public transit in Japan is much better than it is in most US cities, the Konbini delivery system, “… brings the best of Nike to the epicenter of consumers’ daily lives in Japan, meeting consumers where they are – at the konbini – whether that’s on the main floor of their apartment building, next door to their children’s school, within the train station, or around the corner from a local hotel. The delivery locations will be located in almost every neighborhood across the country.”
Think about that. Right now retail outlets are shipping packages and spending an additional 4-7 bucks for insurance and signature shipping here in the U.S. This is to prevent packages being delivered to homes or apartments where people aren’t home from being stolen. Online orders are also hindered by the open and close time of the USPS which frustrates customers in the U.S.
Could Nike begin utilizing a similar setup with big cities that have local shops along the path to metropolitan areas? If this deal with Amazon happens could it be that Nike is looking at Amazon’s thoughts about 1 day shipping as an added benefit of working with the A to Z? Can the Konbini delivery system work here? It’s definitely something to consider. Use the source link to check out more information about this cool delivery system for NDC in Japan.
