Kroger and Ocado announce 3 new robotic fulfillment centers (digitalcommerce360.com)

Kroger and British online grocery retailer and technology vendor Ocado Group Plc (No. 25 in the Digital Commerce 360 Europe 500) plan to build the centers in the West, Pacific Northwest and Great Lakes regions of the United States. The new center in the West will measure 300,000 square feet, the Pacific Northwest center will be 200,000 square feet and the facility in the Great Lakes region facility will be 150,000 square feet. Kroger did not disclose the exact locations but says it plans to reveal them soon.

The newly planned facilities join six similar facilities now planned or under construction. Those previously announced sites are Monroe, Ohio; Groveland, Florida; Fredericksburg, Maryland; Atlanta, Georgia; Dallas, Texas; and Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. Kroger has said its goal is to build 20 “Ocado-powered” ecommerce fulfillment centers in the United States. Each fulfillment center will use Ocado’s robotic warehouse technology.

Kroger says the center in Monroe, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati, will be the first to open in early 2021. The retailer also plans to make it operational in early 2021.

In May 2018, Kroger agreed to buy a stake in Ocado and license the British grocer’s automated warehouse technology, designed to fulfill online orders for delivery to consumers’ doors. The deal was Ocado’s first in the United States. Under the terms of the agreement, Kroger became Ocado’s exclusive U.S. partner.
more at source: https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2020/06/09/kroger-and-ocado-announce-3-new-robotic-fulfillment-centers/