Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 16.03
April 19, 2021
…in November 2020. “2020 was a pivotal year for grocery e-commerce, with Kroger's digital business scaling to over $10 billion—and achieving a record digital sales increase of 116%,” stated Rodney McMullen, chairman and CEO of Kroger. “We're incredibly proud to achieve this milestone that advances our position as one of America's leading e-commerce companies.” Partners Kroger and Ocado partnered to develop proprietary systems using AI, robotics, and automation for order fulfillment, picking, and delivery. They said their goal was to expand Kroger's market reach. The companies began building the new $55 million CFC in June 2019. “The introduction of the…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 7.57
April 14, 2021
…systems serve market segments such as footwear, apparel, and grocery. AHS, Caja to optimize retailer's operations AHS will complete the installation and deployment of approximately 100 robots in the new facility. Caja's dual-robot system will support roughly 108,000 square feet. The partners said they will be able to optimize the distribution center's operations to support an outbound unit volume of more than 26,000 units per day. “When AHS was looking to expand our technology offerings, we partnered with organizations that we felt not only provided something innovative, but [also] technology that could be deployed to solve real challenges in the…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 6.16
April 06, 2021
…of the space. AutoStore systems serve markets including e-commerce, grocery, industrial, and healthcare in warehouse, retail locations, or micro-fulfillment centers. It recently unveiled an innovation hub in Norway and partnered with Asian-American grocer H Mart and Bastian Solutions. “We view AutoStore as a foundational technology that enables rapid and cost-effective logistics for companies around the globe,” stated Masayoshi Son, chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group. “We look forward to working with AutoStore to aggressively expand across end markets and geographies.” “We are delighted for SoftBank to join the AutoStore team as we continue on our journey to automate all commerce…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 28.52
March 30, 2021
…micro-fulfillment center in Carlstadt, N.J., to support its online grocery operations. The company is partnering with robotics provider AutoStore and integrator Bastian Solutions to upgrade its order-fulfillment capabilities. H Mart started in 1982 with a single store in Woodside, Queens, N.Y., and has grown to more than 97 stores across the U.S. The Lyndhurst, N.J.-based company offers both Asian and Western foods and is also known for its food halls. The National Retail Federation has recognized H Mart in its list of “Hot 100 Retailers,” and Supermarket News has listed it as one of the “Top 50 Small Chains and…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 7.10
March 21, 2021
…company announced a benchmark pilot project to deliver select grocery and household essential items from Walmart stores in Fayetteville, N.C., using Flytrex’s autonomous drone delivery service. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Flytrex had launched a system delivering necessities to residents of Grand Forks, N.D., helping address the growing health crisis by keeping citizens in the safety of their own homes and reducing crowding and unnecessary contact at local stores. “Our mission is to make widespread on-demand drone delivery the rule rather than the exception – and this funding is a vote of confidence from our investors that we are…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 9.64
March 18, 2021
…somewhere else or another product altogether. Handling consumables and groceries from regional distribution centers do not meet the order fulfillment needs and expectations of today, giving room to automation systems that can. Lier predicts that globally there will be major changes in the way stores, chains, shopping centers and online shopping is set up and organized. Stores, transports, warehouses and every aspect of logistics will be connected in completely new ways. “The needs will vary from store to store, and industry to industry. Our flexibility must enable the brands to streamline operations in line with their specific needs, and to…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 17.04
February 16, 2021
…they pursue their ambitions of becoming the leading omnichannel grocery retailer in their markets. “Over the past year, all Ahold Delhaize USA companies have seen a tremendous increase in online sales growth, and we believe this growth is here to stay,” said JJ Fleeman, president of Peapod Digital Labs and Chief E-commerce Officer. “As we think about shifting consumer expectations and the future of omnichannel shopping, we must continue to build and evolve our already strong infrastructure to optimize pick-up and delivery. We’re excited to kick off this pilot with The GIANT Company and Swisslog as we continue to build…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 21.18
January 26, 2021
…a software solution that is said to improve online grocery margins, and increases the productivity of retailers’ e-commerce operations. The software based eGMS platform can be scaled to work for any size retailer and can deploy in the back of a store, within a dark-store and now in a micro-fulfillment center with Attabotics. The joint Attabotics and FoodX offering and the deployment of micro-fulfillment solutions for eGrocery will use Microsoft Azure Private Edge Zones, Azure Stack Edge and Azure Sphere. They will also use Azure Data & AI to unlock insights across the digital supply chain. The Network Supply Chain…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 29.93
January 12, 2021
…become comfortable with online ordering of perishable items and groceries. One of the significant changes in supply chain strategies we are seeing as a result of this is the rise of fulfillment centers that bring fulfillment closer to the consumer. Fulfillment centers Typically, one of the dominant components in a company’s supply chain was the large warehouse or distribution center that acted as a central hub from where products are shipped to retail outlets. These are now being joined by a network of fulfillment centers that focus on localized, direct-to-customer service. They are designed to primarily get online orders to…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 6.40
January 07, 2021
…COVID-19 accelerated the move to e-commerce for everything from groceries to classic cars, challenging existing B2B and B2C supply chain models. Amid this disruption, a flurry of innovation has thrived, including ship-from-store, curbside pickup, and hyper-local fulfillment, all of which have gone from fringe to mainstream. Concurrently, new last-mile delivery models are shaking up the balance of power in package delivery. Alan Amling, a fellow at University of Tennessee and CEO at Thrive and Advance, LLC, uses this time to explore the emerging last-mile landscape—from fulfillment to the front porch—and provide alternatives to consider as companies navigate a world where…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 7.87
December 30, 2020
…trickier part is more around the strategic decisions the grocery or omni-channel retailer needs to make, such as does the retailer want to pursue a ‘hub-and-spoke’ model or a ‘dark store’ model in which one automated facility services a densely populated area and perhaps a ring of nearby non-automated stores,” says Michel. As Michel points out, the questions will vary by sector and specific location of the center. For example, will it be best for grocers to place micro-fulfillment automation for fast-moving goods within a store that also offers a more conventional shopping experience for fresh foods? Keep in mind,…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 3.24
November 20, 2020
…challenge, but now when you include increased demand for grocery online business and home delivery, those challenges are even more acute,” Krebs says. In addition, the competition between logistics organizations and e-commerce giants concerning delivery services continues to intensify. “In response to some of these pressures, we’ve seen logistics organizations look to alternative technologies such as passive RFID and vision systems, plus make investments in automation and robotics,” Krebs says, “to squeeze even greater operational benefits from their already streamlined operations.” Forever evolving Looking ahead, Krebs expects the AIDC market to continue evolving at a steady pace. However, when it…
