Dis-Chem Partners With Picup to Enable On-Demand Delivery

South African drugstore chain Dis-Chem Pharmacies has partnered with crowdsource delivery company Picup to enable on-demand delivery.

Picup has introduced non-contact deliveries, which allows for social distancing between its drivers and customers. Drivers will now sign on behalf of the customer and will practice heightened hygiene, according to a statement issued by the company.

The pharmaceutical giant is now using Picup’s innovative technology and crowdsource driver network to optimise its deliveries.

At the beginning of the lockdown, Dis-Chem approached Picup to assist with its delivery strategy. Within four business days of initial contact, Picup could provide Dis-Chem with a last-mile fulfilment solution, including drivers and customised software at each pharmacy within the group.

Dis-Chem Executive Pharmacy Manager Tanya Ponter said Picup could provide an instant delivery solution for all stores across the country and was able to integrate with the Dis-Chem delivery system to provide real-time feeds and order placements into the Picup app.

“Dis-Chem is focussed on a tech approach to distribution and delivery and Picup was the perfect fit.”

On-demand delivery of essential goods for retailers and e-commerce clients is now possible through Picup’s reliable crowdsourced network.

Picup CEO Antonio Bruni says they are working closely with Dis-Chem to establish how its tech can improve last-mile delivery across more channels within the group and use data to optimise and deliver more efficiently.

“This will ultimately mean massive cost savings and improved speed of delivery.”

Picup is a last-mile essential delivery service provider that offers logistics software that is backed up by a fleet of crowdsourced drivers.

“Orders are captured by the respective stores and then processed and dispatched and delivered within 24 hours. The various routes are then created and optimised for the most cost-effective and efficient delivery. Dis-Chem customers receive an SMS link to track the driver in real-time,” Ponter concludes.