Distribution: Milk

Doorstep deliveries of milk have long been a great British tradition - and an excellent example of “reuse” with milk bottles being cleaned and used many times.

This section discusses:

Existing Provision

What

Here we are considering the doorstep delivery of milk - a quaint British tradition that continues to this day.

How

Reusable glass milk bottles that are collected back in by the milkman as he delivers fresh milk are an excellent role model for localnet as a whole. This service proves that, when recycling or reuse is made extremely easy for the consumer, close to 100% return rates can be achieved. It also shows that we are not at all squeamish about eating out of containers that have been used before - so long as they have been cleaned thoroughly.

If no-one is home when your milk arrives (ours actually comes at lunch time) it can sit on the doorstep for several hours, warming up nicely in the afternoon sun. It then only lasts a day or two.

Volume and Frequency

Daily deliveries have traditionally been the norm but those in more rural areas and who live further off the beaten track may be served every other day (as we are). Our standing order for milk is actually lower than we will normally get through in a week but as it's non-trivial to adjust our order, we top it up with additional milk bought as part of the weekly shop.

Actually stopping the milk from piling up on your doorstep is one of those annoying little things we have to do before going on holidays. It would be nice if one instruction stopped everything coming!

Financial Model

The cost of milk that is delivered to you is inevitably going to be higher than it sells for in a supermarket. The cost of convenience is increasing as transport costs rise. We only continue to have our milk delivered because we don't like to see our friendly milkman out of a job.

Providers

Local dairies and individual milkmen have been consolidating into larger groups. Around 9,500 milkmen in the UK deliver to 5 million homes (hence about 500 properties per round)

Trends

As 0f 2006 only 13% of milk was delivered to the doorstep and many areas are now without a milkman. The dairies have been trying to supplement their income for as long as I can remember by offering to deliver a range of other goods - from fruit juices to bread - but have never come close to providing a full range of products to rival “shopping”.

With Localnet

What

When no-one had a fridge and cows were only milked at dawn, it made sense for the farmer to dispatch someone with a churn of warm fresh milk to the neighbouring houses to sell it for use that day - before it went off. This is now somewhat anachronistic and apart from it being “traditional” it is hard to justify early morning delivery of milk as being “essential” to many of us.

How

Yes we should be able to top up our supply of milk daily but does it really have to be done before breakfast? Maybe if you do actually run out unexpectedly you should be able to put in a priority request that guarantees more milk will turn up along with your morning post and croissants - but that would be unusual. Milk is basically one of many “grocery” items available for delivery.

Volume and Frequency

Normal deliveries of milk would simply form part of your grocery shopping - typically done every one to three days - rather than form a special service in their own right.

Financial Model

Being delivered with your other groceries means that milk does not require dedicated transport infrastructure or even special early morning trips. The price of milk - including delivery to your localnet hatch will be the same as if it were bought at the supermarket.

Providers

Milk is simply one of the major staples distributed via the LocalHubs. Existing milkmen should make excellent localnet staff. They will find that the more varied work with shorter rounds - which only on some days require them to be up before dawn - will be much more enjoyable.

Evolution

Unfortunately, the special place that milk deliveries have in the British psyche must make way for the much more useful localnet.

 

Comparison

The table below assesses the impact of localnet on this service on a scale of -5 to +5 (details here)

  Existing services As part of localnet Score
Scope Several types of milk to doorstep daily. Chilled delivery as part of grocery order. Full supermarket range. +1
Frequency Daily or every other day where available. At least daily in all localnet areas. +2
Security Theft from doorsteps not unknown. Blue tits and kids most common culprits. Delivered in sealed box through safe hatch. +2
Convenience Where the service is available, it's very convenient though a little inflexible. Part of grocery order. Change order up to few hours before delivery. +1
Cost Full transport and delivery overhead has to go on every pint. Milk shares transport with other goods. +2
Quality Service usually very good but the quality of the overall experience can suffer if you're not home to put it in the fridge soon enough. Chilled delivery end to end avoids milk going off too soon. +2
Carbon Footprint Dedicated journey just for milk. Shared overheads with other items being delivered. +4
Time A few seconds to fetch from the door. A few seconds to fetch from the localnet hatch. 0
Resources Used Glass bottles reused an impressive number of times. Would aim to replicate this for not just milk but others goods too. 0
Reuse & Recycling Glass bottles reused an impressive number of times. Would aim to replicate this for not just milk but others goods too. 0
Landfill Waste Very low. Very low. 0
Other Differentiators

Services