Madhulika Saxena, Product Director at KIBO, discusses the recently launched Estimated Delivery Date (EDD) feature for KIBO's order management system. This feature allows retailers to provide shoppers with a promised date for when they will receive their items, a capability Madhulika considers "table stakes" in today's retail landscape. She emphasizes the importance of this feature for increasing "add to cart" rates and sales across various retail verticals, including apparel, grocery, and home furnishings.

The conversation delves into the complexities behind calculating accurate EDDs. Madhulika explains that factors like multiple inventory locations (stores, warehouses, regional DCs) necessitate accounting for transfer times between locations. Different processing times at various fulfillment locations and diverse carrier shipping methods further add to this complexity. Other critical considerations include fulfillment cutoff times and the ability to factor in future incoming inventory or remorse periods. She stresses that all these elements must be synthesized in real-time to provide the shopper with a reliable and accurate delivery date.

Show Highlights:

• The importance of Estimated Delivery Dates (EDD) as a "table stakes" feature for modern retail, boosting conversions and sales.

• The intricate factors involved in calculating accurate EDDs, including multi-location inventory, transfer times, processing variations, and carrier methods.

• How retailers can optimize customer experience by balancing delivery speed with cost efficiency, and offering flexible delivery options.

• KIBO's plans to use AI and machine learning to enhance EDD accuracy and granularity by incorporating real-time data like traffic patterns.

• The critical role of accurate and real-time data in successful EDD implementation.

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