7NOW uses IT to match “products available in stores now” with “delivery operators available now.” According to Kodera, it was designed to provide a new, enhanced customer experience. 

“If we create a system that allows customers to check and order what’s in stock at actual stores over the internet, they can choose products as freely and easily as they would in a store,” Kodera explains. “We aimed to create an environment where customers can seamlessly purchase products, transcending the differences between real and online stores.” 

“When we developed a service that delivered ordered products in 30 minutes, the sales changed dramatically,” he continues. “This means that for customers, just like the physical convenience of having a store nearby, the psychological and temporal factors—or 'time convenience' of getting products quickly—are also important. To support this in the logistics area, we have established a system that matches delivery companies.”

In September 2023, they also launched the 7NOW mobile app. “We developed the app to make ordering easier and more convenient for customers while prioritizing ease of use in the design,” explains Harumi Aizawa, Planning Development Team, 7NOW Promotion Department, System Planning Division of Seven & i Net Media. “To help customers browse and select products as they would in stores and to recreate the in-store atmosphere, we opted for a shelf layout that mimics the physical shopping experience. We even recreated the shelf bars used to keep products from falling. We also applied category and text search for quick product searches. Through these efforts, we wanted our customers to grab more items casually and enjoy shopping.”

Around the time the company developed the app, they also began developing a system to display the location of drivers in real time on the app screen. 

“We wanted to further enhance the 'new shopping experience' by easing customers' concerns and providing a sense of assurance,” Kodera says. “We outsource our delivery operations to a variety of external partners. Especially because of this, we wanted to display the delivery staff's current location, regardless of the assigned delivery operator, to ensure that our customers can rest assured when they wait for their purchase to be delivered.”

The project began around the end of 2022, and it was led by Hayato Taiko, DX Engineering Unit Officer, Group System Department and Development Direction Unit Officer, DX General Management Office of Seven & i Holdings. “We started the development work by extending the features of the 'Last Mile DX Platform,' which is the foundation of logistics, such as arranging delivery staff,” Taiko explains. “To display the current location of the delivery staff in real time and provide the correct delivery time, it is also essential to calculate the time required based on the actual route, not just the straight-line distance. At the same time, we must ensure security when our customers view the information.”

Led by Taiko, the development team turned to Google Maps Platform Mobility services, a solution specifically designed for logistics and delivery providers.

The first reason was the system's scalability and stability. “As the 7NOW service expands its reach throughout Japan, we will need to simultaneously handle huge amounts of delivery information,” Taiko says. “Google Maps Platform not only ensures the highest level of capacity and scalability, but also enables us to offload utilization and processing of location information using Google Cloud and APIs. For the company, this was the ideal choice.”

The second reason was its reliability. “I regularly use Google Maps in my daily life,” Taiko explains. “Many companies also utilize the Google Maps Platform and Google Cloud to provide location services. This shows how reliable they are and how easy they are to develop.” 

He also notes that the Google Maps Platform team offers quality support. Through the guidance of the Google Maps Platform, they got to know the development partner Navagis. When faced with development decisions, they received valuable advice from Navagis, a Google Cloud partner who specializes in location services, which significantly shortened the development time.

The final reason was cost. During the delivery process, the system needs to repeat API calls to display the delivery staff's location accurately and continue displaying correct delivery times. “Google Maps Platform Mobility services offers a fixed rate per completed delivery.” Taiko explains, “It was an ideal solution for saving costs while offering our customers a better experience through easing their concerns and providing a sense of assurance.”

Currently, many APIs run on 7NOW. Based on the delivery information that customers input on the app, the system searches for stores that can deliver the ordered products and determines the delivery staff in charge. It calculates the delivery time based on the distance and traffic conditions, obtains the current location of the delivery person, and then displays it in real time on the app—all using Google Maps Platform Mobility services to implement this series of processes.

Although the company has just completed implementing the application, Kodera already recognizes a solid and positive effect. “This initiative has significantly contributed to easing customers' concerns and providing a sense of assurance,” he says. “Many customers check the delivery status, and we receive a lot of positive feedback about how convenient our service has become. Meanwhile, for the stores, not only has the number of customer inquiries decreased, but various synergistic effects have also been achieved.”

The most significant benefit is increased sales at existing stores while developing new online customers with high-order values. In fact, data shows that there are cases where customers who’ve learned about products through the app have come to the stores or where customers who’ve been shopping at the store have made other purchases online. In addition, with the ability to accurately see the current location of the delivery staff, new ways of using the service that suit customers' lifestyles are also becoming popular. 

“7-Eleven has been a familiar 'shopping hub.' Through 7NOW, we are expanding our contact points with customers, whether they are at home or out and about,” Kodera explains.

Taiko explains the next step the company will take with the Google Maps Platform.  “Japanese addresses are more complicated than those in other countries. In this project, we have built a system that improves customer experience. The next phase is the 'Last One Mile' delivery part, and we are currently considering what kind of features we can implement for delivery staff,” he says. “By strengthening the navigation experience using Google Maps Platform Mobility services, we can further enhance the experience of delivery staff, and in turn improve the customer experience.”