REWE Group has teamed up with Deutsche Post and DHL Paket on the development of a platform to supply elderly or infirm shoppers in North Rhine-Westphalia with food and other essentials.
The distribution service is aimed at older citizens and those with pre-existing medical conditions, who are particularly at risk of infection by the coronavirus (COVID-19).
Deutche Post and DHL Paket will collect completed order forms from participating households and send them to participating stores in the chain.
A total 37,000 households in the area of Heinsberg and Gangelt in North Rhine-Westphalia will be notified of the initiative, the retailer said.
The initiative will seek to use paper-based processing methods for shoppers that aren't as digital-savvy.
Challenging Times
Tobias Meyer, member of the board of management of Deutsche Post explains: “In these difficult times, our delivery staff, drivers, sorters, warehouse staff and branch employees ensure that postal services throughout the country work as usual.
“We also have to think particularly about those who cannot help themselves or go shopping themselves and who are at particular risk of infection. I am therefore pleased that we have found a partner in REWE to be able to offer the supply of essential goods for these people too,” he added.
If the pilot project is successful, the group will look at expanding this service to other areas and with other partners.
Hanno Rieger, CEO of REWE Region West, added, “We are always looking for the best, flexible solutions for our customers, especially in the current difficult, exceptional situation.We are therefore very happy to have found a powerful partner for this locally limited project, in Deutsche Post and DHL Paket.”
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Elizabeth Schroeder. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
