Flower Subscription Service Blooms With Intelligent Route Optimization

Flower subscription delivery with a twist

Bear’s Blooms is a flower subscription service with a twist – instead of a ready-made vase, its customers get a box of fresh flowers each week that they can arrange themselves.

Started by siblings Tess and Parker Atkins, this family business has exploded in popularity and now delivers hundreds of flower boxes every day across four Canadian cities. 

The need for route optimization

When Bear’s Blooms was coming together, the team knew they wanted the business to scale. That meant they needed a robust delivery management system, including route optimization, that could grow with them.  

“We knew we needed route optimization right from the beginning,” explained CTO Parker. “In theory, we could just have drivers plan their own routes and use free tools like Google Maps and Mapquest. But we knew that there was a more efficient way of doing things.”

“I can’t picture Bear's Blooms thriving without Routific. Having route optimization gives us the confidence to expand and grow.” — Tess Atkins, Bear's Blooms CEO 

Just as planned, Bear’s Blooms has expanded its operations from Vancouver and now delivers in Victoria, Calgary, and Toronto.

“Routific gives us the confidence to branch out, even if we don’t know the local landscape,” Tess said. “We’re glad we made this choice at the beginning. Now we can focus on bigger and better things for the brand.”

The team plans and dispatches each day’s routes to their fleet of drivers using the Routific Driver App. “Our drivers love the app! We’ve noticed that everything gets done so much faster ever since they started using it,” said Tess. “The drivers are able to access notes faster for each address and can attach pictures as well. They can even toggle between Google Maps and Apple Maps faster than opening up their browser.”

Delivering perishable goods

With flower delivery, speed is important — nobody wants to get wilted blossoms!  Shorter, more optimized routes help Bear’s Blooms deliver faster, giving the co-owners peace of mind. They can focus on meeting customer needs.

“Our customers need to know when their flowers arrive, so they can present them when they are freshest.” Keeping customers updated on when they can expect a delivery is key.

“We use Routific’s customer notifications to automatically send an email to customers telling them when their deliveries will arrive,” explained Tess. “And we often have the ability to leave them on the front porch, for example. Letting our customers know that bit of information is key to a good customer experience.”

But it doesn’t stop there. Routific is an integral part of Tess and Parker’s daily routines. They’ve integrated the system into many parts of Bear’s Blooms — to the point where they find it hard to imagine living without Routific. It is their delivery management system, helping them organize and optimize routes; their customer notification system, helping them stay connected with customers while deliveries are out; and their go-to resource for drivers, helping deliveries run smoother and faster.

A blossoming business

So what’s next for Bear’s Blooms?

“We want to expand,” explained Tess. “We have a few new products coming out soon, and we’d like to expand our service area.”

“And after that, maybe world domination,” Parker joked. “But for now — flowers!”