USA – America’s grocery retailer, Kroger and British online grocery retailer, Ocado have unveiled plans of further expanding their partnership with the construction of three new Customer Fulfillment Centers (CFC).
The companies Plan to set up the new facilities in the Great Lakes, Pacific Northwest and West regions to support grocery retailer’s e-commerce initiatives in the regions.
“Kroger is incredibly excited to construct three additional industry-leading Customer Fulfillment Centers across the country in relationship with Ocado to bring fresh food to our customers more conveniently than ever before,” said Robert Clark, Kroger’s senior vice president of supply chain, manufacturing and sourcing.
“Through our strategic partnership, we are engineering a model for these regions, leveraging advanced robotics technology and creative solutions to redefine the customer experience.”
Kroger has partnered with Ocado to accelerate its ability of reaching out to more customers in an efficient and effective way. The retailer said that the CFC model – incorporating state-of-the-art automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) – will be used to expand its products to a larger footprint.
The company revealed that the new facility in the West will measure 300,000 square feet while the new facility in the Pacific Northwest will occupy 200,000 square feet and the facility in the Great Lakes region measuring 150,000 square feet.
The companies said that the exact locations of the new facilities will soon be announced. When operational, the facilities are expected to collectively create more than 1,000 new jobs, with the potential for hundreds of additional career opportunities.
“Kroger and Ocado are building an ecommerce ecosystem across the U.S. that will deliver unrivalled online experiences to more customers, in more ways and in more markets,” said Luke Jensen, CEO of Ocado Solutions.
“Spanning a range of automated CFC sizes, these three new sites will be key parts of this growing and flexible fulfillment network. Alongside the scale and wider benefits of larger CFCs, smaller format and mini CFCs will allow Kroger to reach more geographies with Ocado’s automation, while also catering to a wide range of options for delivery.”
The newly named locations will complement the retailer’s previously announced CFC sites in Monroe, Ohio; Groveland, Florida; Fredericksburg, Maryland; Atlanta, Georgia; Dallas, Texas; and Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin.
Kroger revealed that it plans to open the country’s first CFC in Monroe, Ohio, in early 2021.
Liked this article? Subscribe to Food Business Africa News, our regular email newsletters with the latest news insights from Africa and the World’s food and agro industry. SUBSCRIBE HERE
