Difference between freshdirect and foodkick

FRESHDIRECT: HOW FRESH IS IT?* On its website, FreshDirect boldly proclaimed, “Our food is fresh, our customers are spoiled. Order on the web today and get next-day delivery of the best food at the best price, exactly the way you want it, with 100 percent satisfaction guaranteed.”1 Recently, however, many consumers questioned the freshness of the food delivered by FreshDirect. Since online shopping did not give customers the chance to feel and choose the products themselves, they had to rely completely on FreshDirect to select the food for them. Since 2001, operating out of its production center in Long Island City, Queens, FreshDirect had offered online grocery shopping and delivery service in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Nassau County, Riverdale, Westchester, select areas of Staten Island, the Bronx, the Hamptons, New Jersey including Jersey Shore, Philadelphia, Delaware, and parts of Connecticut. FreshDirect also offered pickup service at its Long Island City facility, as well as corporate service to select delivery zones in Manhattan and summer delivery service to the Hamptons on Long Island. In 2012, the company decided to move its facility from Long Island City, Queens, to a new 800,000-square-foot property in the Bronx, and received court clearance to do so. FreshDirect had threatened to relocate its operational hub and headquarters to New Jersey, but New York City and the State of New York offered close to a $130 million subsidy package, including tax breaks and abatements, to keep the online grocer in New York City. A petition by the community group South Bronx United had earlier challenged the move arguing that the city had failed to properly analyze the potential environmental impact (e.g., air and noise pollution) that would result from a “truck-intensive” business. However, the court ruled in FreshDirect’s favor in 2013.2 FreshDirect’s new headquarters was slated to open by 2016 (this would be slightly delayed), and CEO Jason Ackerman was delighted with the court’s decision. “We are eager to move forward with our plans to bring thousands of jobs to the Bronx and make it easier for people to get fresh food,” he declared.3 During the early years of the company, FreshDirect had pronounced to the New York City market that it was “the new way to shop for food.” This was a bold statement given that the previous decade had witnessed the demise of numerous online grocery ventures. However, the creators of FreshDirect were confident in the prospects for success of their business. Their entire operation had been designed to deliver on one simple promise to grocery shoppers: “higher quality at lower prices.” While this promise was an extremely common tagline used within and outside the grocery business, FreshDirect had integrated numerous components into its system to give real meaning to their words. Without a retail location, FreshDirect didn’t have to pay expensive rent for a retail space. To offer the highest-quality products to its customers, FreshDirect had designed a state-of-the-art production center and staffed it with expert personnel. The 800,000-square-foot production facility newly located in the Bronx would employ about 700 workers when it opened in 2018. The current facility in Long Island City, Queens, would operate until the new building came online. In each FreshDirect warehouse, twelve separate temperature zones ensured that each piece of produce, meat, and other food was kept at its optimal temperature for ripening and/or preservation. The company claimed the entire facility was kept colder and cleaner than any other retail environment.4 Further quality management was achieved by an SAP manufacturing software system that controlled every detail of the facility’s operations. All of the thermometers, scales, and conveyor belts within the facility were connected to a central command center. Each specific setting was programmed into the system by an expert from the corresponding department—everything from the ideal temperature for ripening a cantaloupe to the amount of flour that went into the French bread. The system was equipped with a monitoring alarm that alerted staff to any deviation from the programmed settings. FreshDirect maintained extremely high standards for cleanliness, health, and safety. The floor was immaculate. All food-preparation areas and equipment were bathed in antiseptic foam at the end of each day. Incoming and outgoing food was tested in FreshDirect’s in-house laboratory, which ensured adherance to USDA guidelines and the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point food safety system. In all respects, food passing through the FreshDirect facility met the company’s high health and safety standards.5 System efficiency was the key to FreshDirect’s ability to offer its high-quality products at low prices. The middleman was completely eliminated. Instead of going through an intermediary, both fresh and dry products were ordered C-47from individual growers and producers and shipped directly to FreshDirect’s production center, where its expert staff prepared them for purchase.