Instant Delivery – Or Almost So

Have you ever wished that the sofa or cupboard which you’ve ordered after a painstaking search in a Courts showroom can be delivered right away to your house? A furniture store almost accomplishes that – you order today, they deliver it tomorrow.
“Buy today…we’ll deliver TONIGHT!” – ambitious promise from Mealey’s Furniture (mealeysfurniture.com), but they have managed to make it their business. Typically, the furniture industry has to keep customers waiting for two or three days, sometimes even weeks, before they can deliver their orders to their living rooms. Mealey’s Furniture, based in USA, differentiate themselves from competitors by promising same-day delivery on almost everything displayed in their showrooms to locations within 25 miles of their stores.
Sceptical? Anyone working in the furniture and logistics industries would naturally be, given the extraordinary operational complications. Here is the secret behind their remarkable logistical feat:
Plan ahead. In Mealey’s Furniture’s case, it takes between eight to sixteen weeks before supplies from manufacturers arrive, so the company estimates the sales rate of their furniture goods after two to four months from now and stock the necessary numbers in their large warehouse.
Track sales and inventory levels. Mealey’s Furniture does this intensively with an arsenal of advanced computer programs and responds to changes in sales and inventory levels by adjusting reorder levels when they next order from suppliers.
The all-important part next: distributing the furniture once a sale is confirmed. Almost instantly, a copy of the order is sent to their distribution centers from their showrooms when a customer happily flashes the credit card. Then, the employees get into full swing. Assembly of the furniture starts, taking an hour or so, before it awaits the next truck to take it away. If that piece of furniture happens to be the only one awaiting delivery at that moment, it is placed on hold until more arrive. Once everything is ready, the truck gets rolling on the roads, the furniture is delivered, and the customer is satisfied at the end of another long day.

Admittedly, same-day delivery of furniture is challenging, but it has succeeded in setting Mealey’s Furniture apart in the industry. And oh, Mealey’s Furniture’s growth has soared from $23.1 million in revenue in 2000 to $30.8 million last year. (Source: Bizjournals.com)
Let’s Get Down To Business…
Can local furniture stores replicate Mealey’s Furniture’s success? As they say in Economics, where there’s demand, there’s supply. You would love to be able to try out your brand-new sofa immediately in the comfort of your living room, wouldn’t you? It’s not uncommon to find proud home-owners in Singapore who will search for months just to get that perfect piece of furniture, and when they finally find what they want, they want it immediately. That’s where you come in!
Related Ideas & Trends
http://www.instantfurniture.com/
http://www.mealeysfurniture.com
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story/4775.html