In recent years, there has been a dramatic shift in our consumer buying behavior. Quick Commerce was once a relatively unknown concept, and if you forgot to buy milk, you had to wait until the store opened the next morning. However, with the rapid changes we have witnessed and the insights provided by data, new ideas for services that can meet our evolving consumer needs have emerged. One of these innovative services is Kavall.
Quick commerce laid the foundation for 
Kavall made a splash in Stockholm in 2020, quickly becoming a huge success. The company and its innovative business model then rapidly expanded to Malmö and Göteborg before venturing into international markets with the opening of three stores in Finland and one in Norway.
Following this growth, Kavall shifted its focus from prioritizing expansion to emphasizing profitability. According to Peter Simon, one of the founders of Kavall, the company's launch happened swiftly, with the entire process of founding, establishing, and launching occurring within just five weeks. "There were many decisions made in a short period of time," he shares.
The stores average around 300–400 square meters in size and stock approximately 3000 different items. Today, Kavall is part of the Mathem group and operates under the name Mathem Express.
What is Quick Commerce?
Quick commerce, also known as q-commerce, is a rapidly growing trend in the world of online shopping. It focuses on providing quick delivery, typically within minutes, to meet the growing demands of convenience-seeking consumers. This innovative concept has revolutionized the way we shop, offering a seamless and efficient shopping experience.
Photo: Peter Simon, one of the founders of Kavall (now Mathem Express)
Delivery in 10 minutes
During its launch, Kavall boldly made a customer promise of delivering orders within 10 minutes of being placed. "We started with 10 minutes, as aggressively as possible, but with a long-term goal of 30 minutes as the offering grows," Peter says. He further explains, "We didn't have to focus too much on coordinating orders for efficiency and profitability; we could deliver one order at a time."
During those ten minutes, the workflow was divided as follows:
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Maximum of 2-3 minutes picking and packing each order.
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The remaining 6-7 minutes are dedicated to swiftly cycling out and delivering the order to the customer.
The previous WMS failed to meet customer expectations
As Kavall experienced a gradual increase in the number of orders, they encountered challenges with their WMS solution. Peter explains that they initially chose a WMS integrated with Shopify for its quick setup, but soon realized they had no control over the integration. They had to rely on hoping that Shopify was aware of any issues that arose.
He continues:
"It worked well for quite some time, but as our volume increased, the integration speed decreased. It could take up to a minute for our pickers to see the order in their system."
A costly minute that corresponds to approximately 10% of the promised delivery time.
Order synchronization delay
Peter continues to explain that this situation caused unnecessary stress in the stores. The staff constantly tried to update the view of incoming orders on their screens to avoid missing anything. This was happening in a business where they had a promised and aggressive customer commitment, which already added a small adrenaline rush when everything went according to plan.
There were incidents and occasions when it could take an hour for the order to sync with the WMS, which was unacceptable.
"We needed more data from our WMS to be able to learn and become more granular in our improvement initiatives, to trigger inventories based on various business events, and so on," Peter explains. "And that's where we were really locked in."
Bitlog among the few that could meet Kavall's requirements
"At the beginning, we had a list of suppliers to talk to, but many were disqualified early on due to the speed our business requires," Peter reveals. "Many of them didn't synchronize orders frequently enough, so it wasn't even worth considering further discussions."
New functionality
Prior to the launch of Bitlog WMS at Kavall, we collaborated to develop some exciting new features to ensure seamless order synchronization and streamline the picking process.
At Bitlog, we pride ourselves on working closely with our customers and always listening to their needs. Our Co-Pilot and swipe-to-bin features are just a few examples of the functionality that our partnership with Kavall has brought to life.
Bitlog WMS's UI
Bitlog's user interface (UI) was another aspect that caught Kavall's attention when choosing a supplier. Compared to other providers, Bitlog's UI felt modern, fast, and user-friendly, which is crucial for the store staff who work with it daily.
Results: Real-time synchronization and efficiency
With the implementation of Bitlog WMS, Kavall (now Mathem Express) can now maintain accuracy and start picking orders as soon as they come in, thanks to the Autopilot feature that continuously syncs orders. The staff no longer needs to update the order view multiple times; they can trust that all placed orders will be visible in their system and applications. Every order can be picked as soon as the customer completes their purchase.
"We can estimate the picking time for each order based on data from Bitlog and incorporate it into our route optimization," Peter explains. "We're trying to automate as much as possible."
Peter emphasizes the positive partnership they have with Bitlog in further developing their WMS. He mentions that it was crucial to be able to influence product development when they needed functionality that wasn't available. Together, they have developed features that are now standard in Bitlog WMS for all users.
Live data and reposts
He also emphasizes the importance of real-time data analysis:
"Having the ability to extract all data from Bitlog WMS through reports allows us to focus on improving our operations," Peter explains. "We rely heavily on data to continuously streamline processes and analyze and compare our stores and products."
He continues:
"Physical products and inventory are a new domain for us [founders], and it felt good to have a partner with whom we could share experiences and who could provide insights on how to set it up, not just technically but also in terms of process improvements."
Together, we have worked to develop functionality and set up Bitlog WMS to facilitate Kavall's fast-paced operations and make inventory management a positive experience. Perhaps even enjoyable. Instead of the previous stress caused by long lead times.
"We feel confident with the support from Bitlog, they are great. We have received prompt assistance whenever we needed it."
Peter Simon, Kavall Founder
Collaboration with Bitlog
Together, we have worked to develop functionality and set up Bitlog WMS to facilitate Kavall's fast-paced operations and make inventory management a positive experience. Perhaps even enjoyable. Instead of the previous stress caused by long lead times.
Looking back on the collaboration, Peter reflects with great positivity and praises the support provided by Bitlog. "We feel confident with the support from Bitlog, they have been fantastic. We have received prompt assistance whenever we needed it."
With the right system support in place, Kavall can continue to fulfill its customer promise.
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Story by
Fia Jonsson