The fusion of brick-and-mortar and e-commerce is manifesting in automated warehouses across the retail landscape. In the same vein as Albertsons and Kroger, Ahold Delhaize is taking a stab at putting itself first in the e-commerce race by rolling out small, automated warehouses to speed order picking and cut delivery times, according to a Reuters report. Chief Executive Frans Muller confirmed the deal on Wednesday.
“With the robotized solution we can optimize those picking costs and be closer with micro fulfillment to our catchment areas. We also reduce the cost of the last mile,” Muller said.At an investor event on November 13th, Ahold Delhaize is expected to showcase a new partnership with Takeoff—the same partner used by Albertsons—that will provide the retailer with miniature “robot supermarkets” attached to its stores to automate order collection, Reuters said. Each warehouse costs around $3 million to build, a price tag Takeoff notes is less than the cost to revamp a store.
Ahold Delhaize’s deal follows Albertsons'—which recently announced its own automated fulfillment pilot—and Kroger’s own announcements. Kroger is partnering with British e-commerce giant Ocado, reported on by our sister publication AndNowUKnow, to build three of 20 high-tech Ocado warehouses on U.S. soil in the next couple of weeks, Each location will take two years to build and cost about $39 million.
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