On Spot

Highlights for On Spot and Deliverect Partnership Story — 

1. Transition from Brand Activation to Dark Store Management: On Spot, originally a brand activation agency, pivoted to managing a network of dark stores across Portugal, initially distributing Unilever ice cream and later expanding to include other brands.

2. Expansion into Dark Kitchens and Grocery Industry: On Spot plans to extend its operations into dark kitchens, aiming to boost the grocery industry in underserved areas, reflecting its ambitious growth strategy.

3. Challenges in Managing Multiple Brands and Orders: The agency faced logistical challenges in managing up to 45 brands (across three major delivery platforms) in one space, requiring significant coordination and organization.

4. Efficient Integration with Deliverect: Deliverect's integration streamlined On Spot's operations by reducing the number of tablets needed, standardizing order visuals, simplifying back-office management, and optimizing staff efficiency.

5. Post-Pandemic Adaptation and Future Growth Plans: Despite an initial drop in delivery demand post-pandemic, On Spot is adapting its product offerings and focusing on comfort and convenience to recover. The company has ambitious plans to double its presence and expand into meal markets and dark kitchens.

Deliverect, the essential tool for On Spot's dark store operation

On Spot is a Portuguese agency specialized in point-of-sale brand activation services that unexpectedly took a leap into delivery and created a network of dark stores in Portugal.

With 32 national locations and over 400 product references, On Spot has plans to extend into dark kitchens and boost the grocery industry in places that are not yet being explored.

From brand activation to dark store management

Sérgio Santos, On Spot's director of sales operations, recalls the challenge posed by Unilever shortly after the arrival of Uber Eats in Portugal: "They asked if we could get some people to be near tablets and fridges taking orders, putting ice cream in boxes and delivering them to couriers.

What started as a Unilever ice cream distribution point quickly became a network of 28 pickup points across the country, through business partnerships established with cafes and restaurants.

"We had no idea what Uber Eats was at the time," admits the director of operations.

The pandemic and its effects on restaurants led to a restructuring of the network set up for Unilever. "We started to focus on building and spreading dark stores around the country. At that point, we started to have room to approach our clients and bring them into the delivery area. That's how we brought in Sogrape, Sagres with Central de Cerveja, and a number of other clients."

But the agency's original activity also suffered with the arrival of the pandemic. Seeing the brand activation area dropping dramatically, On Spot saw delivery services as an alternative solution to rebirth the company.

In this context, On Spot created the Sales Operations area, specializing in delivery, ecommerce, and other one-off sales operations, which has established itself as an independent and relevant area in the agency's structure.

The difficulties and challenges of delivery

On Spot's dark stores can have up to 12-15 brands, multiplied by the three major delivery platforms (Bolt Food, Uber Eats, and Glovo), which is equivalent to having 45 brands in the same space.

"When we started to grow and to have stores with this range of products and brands (something like 400 product references), our main difficulties were at the logistical level, namely in everything that was reception and delivery of orders," explains the Director of Sales Operations.

The operation was in the hands of two-person teams: one accepted and invoiced the orders, and the other prepared the orders and delivered them to the couriers. "We even had 32 tablets. It was chaos."

Managing the different brands on the three platforms was also challenging: "I had two people on the team just to manage menus, change menus, add products, etc.," because it required changes store by store, brand by brand, platform by platform.

Deliverect, a winning integration

 Sergio highlights several benefits resulting from the integration, such as the drastic reduction in the number of tablets, the visual standardization of orders, the simplification of back office management, and the optimization of staff.

"Deliverect has greatly simplified our operation."

With a monthly order volume exceeding 4000 in locations like Alvalade in Lisbon, the Sales Operations director recommends integrating the system "with other partners, especially if they take advantage of the fact that they can have several stores in the same space. It's impossible to do it without Deliverect."

On Spot's delivery without post-pandemic

"Right after the pandemic, when we opened, we dropped about 40%, mainly for two reasons. First, because people started to be able to shop in traditional commerce, there wasn't as much demand anymore. On the other hand, here in Portugal, it fell with the decisive entry of chains like Getir, which made the grocery area fall a lot.

Despite the decrease, Sérgio mentions a recovery in delivery sales, explained by three main reasons: the platforms had to adjust to the new market reality; on the On Spot side, there was a reaction and adaptation of the different product offer; the comfort and convenience of the service became part of the consumers' habit, compared to traditional commerce.

Regarding the future of delivery, the director of Sales Operations at On Spot believes that "it will change and be a different delivery."

As for the future of On Spot, the plans are ambitious. Sérgio reveals that it will enter the meal market, but not only: "It's the area where we will grow. We're going to have our network of dark stores, but we're also going to have our network of dark kitchens. We're going to increase our presence in Portugal, and we're going to continue to work grocery mainly in specific areas that don't have the big platforms."

"We have a big road ahead of us to continue to grow. We will expect to double what we have today within a year and a half," he concludes.