What further differentiates FreshDirect from its many competitors is that it also concentrates on the assemble-to-order for its meals and entire orders, comparable in execution of this strategy to Dell Computer and their production of customized PCs (Laseter, Berg, Turner, 2003).
The company's three most dominant competitors include D'Agostino Supermarkets, Dean & DeLuca, and Peapod, LLC. The first two competitors began with traditional storefront supermarkets and gradually expanded into a multichannel selling model. Peapod LLC began also as an Internet-only based online retailer and today has scaled to support over 20 different metro, suburban and local community locations, charging $9.95 delivery fees for basic orders. None of these three competitors have relied on the Internet to create significant gains in procurement, supply chain optimization and supplier collaboration or the development of just-in-time inventory practices more comparable to the high tech than food industry (Laseter, Berg, Turner, 2003). These are the….

Fresh Direct
Product planning

FreshDirect: A unique opportunity

Consumers today are busy -- often so busy they do not have time to shop. Grocery shopping is time-consuming, especially after work. Getting to the store, parking, navigating the aisles (especially with small children) and checking out -- not most consumers' idea of a fun evening. FreshDirect offers a great solution: online shopping. With a few clicks of a mouse, and for a small fee, the chore of grocery shopping is accomplished with great ease for the consumer. There is no need to even carry heavy shopping bags to the car.

Consumers are health-conscious and want to improve the quality of their lives by cooking at home more and eating out less. However, it is easy to grab takeout rather than grocery shop because of the pressures surrounding the chore of shopping. FreshDirect ensures that healthy foods are waiting on the customer's door when he or….