Specializing in raw and whole foods for dogs, Unleashed provides customers in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, with a variety of dry and wet dog foods, as well as dog toys, beds, clothing and accessories.
Unleashed sprang from the owners Judith and Mark Bewer’s personal experience with battling health issues with their dog. After learning the benefits of natural and species appropriate food and a wholistic approach to care, the store opened in 2004.
As the company grew, they started offering a delivery service in 2010. While the delivery service was great for customers, it created some logistical issues for the Unleashed team.
“It was incredibly time consuming, and inefficient, plotting the routes on our own,” explained Nikki Buchko, Unleashed store manager.
As COVID-19 changed the shopping habits of its customers, Unleashed had to look for better ways to plan their routes, one that is less time consuming, and more efficient. In July 2019, after researching route planning services, Unleashed started using MyRouteOnline to plan their delivery routes. “It seemed like the most straightforward, user friendly option,” Nikki said. With the help of MyRouteOnline, Unleashed has been able to respond to their customers’ increasing demand. Delivery services have increased about 10 percent as customers chose noncontact shopping options.
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The Unleashed team usually creates four routes per week. Each route changes every day. The core addresses are stored in Excel and manually adjusted before they are uploaded into MyRouteOnline. “We use the MyRouteOnline app and print the list to reference, as well as check how many items per address need to be delivered,” Nikki said.
The benefits of MyRouteOnline were significant, saving the company at least six hours of work per week. “We saved my time in creating the routes and plotting them,” Nikki said. “Plus, our delivery drivers’ time and mileage also were reduced.”
As a result, Unleashed customers can still find all their dog’s needs in one convenient place and have them delivered to their home—helping them spend less time shopping and more time with their best friends.