Michiel Muller of Dutch e-groceries company Picnic tackles traffic safety firmly. And, with results. In an interview with MONO-zakelijk he says: ‘In our view, safety starts with exact measurement and knowledge: having the right data. If you want to deliver efficiently, you have to work efficiently. So you need to know exactly how such a process of delivery is going. Only then can you plan it better. And by enriching the data more and more, you can also improve it more and more. Are the crates on the right side? How long does this delivery take? We expanded the data we collected for the delivery with safety data: which traffic circles are unclear because people often brake too hard? Where do our runners accelerate just a little too fast or take a turn too fast? Every day we collect these data points. And that leads to a fantastic foundation.’
Direct feedback
With the data, Picnic gives runners immediate feedback. As soon as the trip is over and the runner is back at the hub, the delivery person can see via the driver coach what their own driving behavior was. One hundred is the highest score and Picnic aims for everyone to score above eighty.
Picnic rewards good driving behavior. If a team has driven above eighty for a month, the team receives an award in the form of a table tennis table, for example. Runners who are structurally above ninety are given a podium by being mentioned by name. It’s a matter of giving positive attention to the right behavior. Michiel Muller sees that it works: ‘Our people are sensitive to this and feel comfortable with it. Especially because together with them we also improve the driver coach: we add data points of dangerous situations. The software warns the driver by means of beeps if there is a potential danger, for example, an overhanging balcony that you cannot pass underneath. The software also offers the runners support to do their work better and safer.’
80 percent less damage
The introduction of the driver coach has led to a reduction of eighty percent in the number of cases of damage in about three months’ time. That is more than expected. Michiel Muller: ‘We are therefore proud of it and are also open to making this tool available to others. Parties like Hello Fresh or DHL. Ultimately, safe driving in neighborhoods is in everyone’s interest. In our view, insurers have a lot to gain by encouraging safer driving. As direct stakeholders, they could be more active on this front, as far as we are concerned. By helping their customers with these types of solutions, a step deeper in the value chain. Not to focus one-dimensionally on premiums, but together with their customers to tackle the problems that lead to damage.
In discussion with the road authority
Picnic is also in talks with the road authority. Michiel Muller: ‘At this point there and then there is definitely potential for improvement because we see that many runners brake suddenly there. So it looks like it’s a cluttered situation. Smart if you address that’. Picnic has noticed that municipalities are open to this.