This past Wednesday, I got a behind the scenes tour of Peapod’s grocery delivery operation. I really had no idea what to expect when we all met at the front of the Super Stop & Shop in Somerset. My fellow bloggers and friends, Liz from This Full House, Hillary from Mrs Mo’s New Jersey and Cecile from The Shopping Duck were there and just as clueless as I was. We were all led through a door at the back of the store into the inner workings of Stop & Shop and then up a very large freight elevator to Peapod’s “wareroom.”
For those of you who have experience with Peapod, I bet you never put much thought into how exactly your 
groceries get from a list on your computer to full bags in your kitchen. There is quite an impressive operation behind this service. Peapod’s wareroom is like a miniature grocery store. Professional “shoppers” start at one end of the store with a hand held scanner and a large crate on wheels. As they move up and down the isles the scanner tells them what products are in the order and where to find them. The shopper takes each item, scans it and puts it into the crate and then moves on to the next item. Dry goods are kept on one side of the wareroom while fresh meats and frozen items are on the other (very chilly) side. All meats and deli orders are brought up from the Stop & Shop floor the day of the order.
Once everything is packed and loaded onto the truck, all the drivers are tracked via GPS and their progress is watched in real time on their computer system. Managers can see who is on time and who is running late and make adjustments in the schedule or notify customers that their order may be a little late.
If you have yet to order your groceries from Peapod, I’m telling you its such a treat. The driver accepts coupons and you can get $10 off your first order. See this link. It’s great for stocking up on all those canned goods and heavy items you don’t want to lug in from the store. (I’m sure the drivers love hearing that little piece of advice.)
This summer Peapod is holding a “Truck spotting” contest. So, be on the lookout for these guys. I’ll report more details on the contest after launch.
