ROMULUS, Mich., Sept. 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kroger
Co. (NYSE: KR), America's largest grocery retailer, and Ocado (LSE:
OCDO), a world leader in technology for grocery ecommerce, today
announced Romulus, MI, as the
latest location for a Customer Fulfillment Center (CFC). The
location confirms a previous announcement stating Kroger and Ocado
would construct a CFC in the Great Lakes Region.
"Kroger is incredibly excited to develop one of our
industry-leading Customer Fulfillment Centers in Michigan in relationship with Ocado to bring
fresh food to our customers faster than ever before," said
Robert Clark, Kroger's senior vice
president of supply chain, manufacturing and sourcing. "We continue
to invest in and constantly improve our e-commerce capabilities,
focusing on cost-effective solutions. Our partnership with Ocado is
an essential part of our evolving seamless ecosystem. In
Michigan, we are engineering a
smaller model for the region, leveraging advanced robotics
technology and creative solutions to redefine the customer
experience and respond to the growing demand for grocery e-commerce
services."
Kroger has partnered with Ocado to accelerate its ability to
provide customers with anything, anytime, anywhere. The CFC model –
an automated warehouse facility with digital and robotic
capabilities – will be used to serve customers across the region.
Kroger is designing a flexible distribution network, combining
disaggregated demand and the proximity of its stores and facilities
that vary in design and size.
"Grocery ecommerce has reached an inflection point in 2020, and
with Kroger we are developing a game-changing ecosystem
for serving online grocery across the
United States. Powered by Ocado's state of the art
technology, this site illustrates the unique flexibility of Ocado's
technology, as we are able to deploy sites of different sizes in
different regions, to maximize penetration across diverse markets,"
said Luke Jensen, CEO of Ocado Solutions. "Ocado's proven
technology will allow Kroger to achieve the lowest
cost-to-serve in the market, combined with the best freshness,
accuracy and service."
"Kroger's decision to invest $95
million and create 250 new jobs in Romulus further demonstrates that Wayne County is a global leader in logistics
and fulfillment industries. Kroger's continued commitment to our
region with the innovative new grocery delivery service provided by
this high-tech facility will help improve access to fresh foods in
southeast Michigan at a time when
this service is more important than ever to keep residents safe and
healthy," said Warren Evans,
Wayne County Chief Executive.
This new 135,000-square-foot CFC will accelerate Kroger's
ability to expand its products to a larger footprint. This facility
will create 250 new jobs, benefitting the City of Romulus/Aerotropolis region.
The facility will be located at 15675 Wahrman in Romulus. The CFC is expected to become
operational 18 months after the site breaks ground and will support
customers in several markets, including Michigan, Northern
Ohio, and Indiana.
About The Kroger Co.
At The Kroger Co.
(NYSE: KR), we are Fresh for Everyone™ and dedicated to our
Purpose: To Feed the Human Spirit®. We are, across our family
of companies, nearly half a million associates who serve over 11
million customers daily through a seamless shopping experience
under a variety of banner names. We are committed to creating
#ZeroHungerZeroWaste communities by 2025. To learn more about us,
visit our newsroom and investor relations site.
About Ocado Solutions
Ocado Solutions is responsible
for Ocado's corporate partnerships, providing the Ocado Smart
Platform (OSP) as a service to retailers around the world. OSP
comprises access to Ocado's physical infrastructure solutions,
running highly efficient warehouse operations for the single pick
of products, together with the entire end-to-end proprietary
software applications required to operate a world class online
grocery business. It is underpinned by Ocado's proven expertise and
experience as a dedicated online grocer in the UK.
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SOURCE The Kroger Co.