Kroger national fulfillment network expands
with addition of Romulus, Customer
Fulfillment Center
ROMULUS,
Mich., Oct. 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kroger
Co. (NYSE: KR), America's largest grocery retailer, today announced
the official opening of its newest Customer Fulfillment Center
(CFC) in Romulus, Michigan.
Powered by the Ocado Group (LSE: OCDO), the CFC will leverage
advanced robotics technology and creative solutions to redefine the
customer experience for customers in the greater Detroit area.
"Kroger has served customers in the state of Michigan for more than a century and we are
thrilled to bring Kroger Delivery to greater Detroit," said Bill
Bennett, Kroger Vice
President, and Head of E-commerce. "We are passionate about
delivering a fresh, convenient customer shopping experience with
zero compromise on quality, selection, and affordability. From the
refrigerated trucks, to the trained and uniformed drivers, to the
white glove delivery experience at the door, Kroger Delivery brings
that same zero compromise experience to a new delivery option for
customers. This new offering builds on all the other benefits
of shopping Kroger online, including an entirely personalized
shopping experience, easy digital coupons, valuable fuel points,
and fresh, high-quality products, shoppable on the Kroger app or on
Kroger.com"
The approximately 135,000-square-foot facility, situated on
Wahrman Road in Romulus, will
reach customers up to 90 minutes from the site. Establishing an
unmatched standard for grocery delivery, Kroger Delivery utilizes
cutting-edge technology to shop and transport groceries. From
temperature-controlled vans and machine learning algorithms that
optimize delivery routes, orders are delivered to customers'
doorsteps by trained Kroger associates ensuring a best-in-class
delivery experience.
Local shoppers also have access to the newly launched Boost by
Kroger annual membership program. For either $59 or $99 per
year, Boost provides customers with benefits like unlimited free
delivery on orders of $35 or more and
two Fuel Points for every $1 spent on
groceries and general merchandise purchases through Delivery,
Pickup and in-stores. Kroger estimates the membership can save
customers more than $1,000 per year
on fuel and grocery delivery.
"Wayne County is proud to be a
leader in defining the future of grocery shopping," said
Warren C. Evans, Wayne County
Executive. "The Kroger Fulfillment Center, the first in
Michigan, will be a tremendous
service for our residents to help them manage their busy
lives."
The new customer fulfillment center will employ more than 700
associates as Kroger Delivery continues to expand its services
throughout southeast Michigan.
"This was a true public-private collaboration that connects
millions of residents with healthy foods in new and innovative
ways," said Christopher Girdwood,
Detroit Region Aerotropolis Development Corporation CEO.
Kroger Delivery CFCs, powered by Ocado Group have achieved a
significant step up in geographical penetration and in customer
satisfaction. Kroger is bringing these benefits to the Greater Detroit Area with the Romulus CFC, and
to more U.S. markets.
"Ocado's world-leading technology is already powering CFCs with
Kroger across six states and supporting Kroger Delivery to bring a
world-leading service to multiple new and existing Kroger markets
around the country," said Luke
Jensen, CEO of Ocado Solutions. "Our CFC in Romulus is already bringing a game-changing
online grocery experience to customers in the greater Detroit area, and we look forward to bringing
this to Kroger customers from coast to coast across the U.S. as our
partnership continues to grow."
Kroger Delivery Explained
The expansion to Romulus
represents an extension of a partnership between Kroger and Ocado
Group, a world leader in technology for grocery e-commerce. In
2018, the companies announced a collaboration to establish a
delivery network that combines artificial intelligence, advanced
robotics, and automation in a bold new way, bringing
first-of-its-kind technology to America.
The delivery network relies on highly automated fulfillment
centers. At the hub sites, more than 1,000 bots move around giant
3D grids, orchestrated by proprietary control systems. The grid,
known as The Hive, contains totes filled with products and
ready-to-deliver customer orders. As customers' orders near
delivery times, bots retrieve products from The Hive and present
them at pick stations for items to be sorted for delivery, a
process governed by algorithms that ensure items are intelligently
packed. For example, fragile items are placed on top, bags are
evenly weighted, and each order is optimized to fit into the lowest
number of bags, reducing plastic use. Bags are also recyclable,
reflecting Kroger's commitment to its Zero Hunger | Zero Waste
commitment to rid its communities of hunger and waste.
Kroger's end-to-end cold solutions keep groceries fresh once
loaded into a customized refrigerated delivery van, which can store
up to 20 orders. Powerful machine learning algorithms optimize
delivery routes, considering factors such as road conditions and
optimal fuel efficiency. Vans may travel up to 90 miles with orders
from the hub and spoke facilities to make deliveries. Associates at
the spoke facility will deliver orders within their service area,
adding ZIP codes as demand grows.
Kroger currently operates customer fulfillment centers in
Monroe, OH, Groveland, FL, Forest Park, GA (Atlanta), Pleasant
Prairie, WI, Dallas, TX and
Romulus, MI (Detroit), with additional customer fulfillment
centers slated for California,
Frederick, MD, Phoenix, AZ, Cleveland, OH, Charlotte, NC, Aurora, CO (Denver), as well as South Florida and the Northeast.
Media Assets
To download Kroger Delivery photography and video,
visit here.
About Kroger
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 Group
Ocado Group is a UK based technology company admitted to trading
on the London Stock Exchange (Ticker OCDO). It provides end-to-end
online grocery fulfillment solutions to some of the world's largest
grocery retailers and holds a 50% share of Ocado Retail Ltd in the
UK in a Joint Venture with Marks & Spencer. Ocado has spent two
decades innovating for grocery online, investing in a wide
technology estate that includes robotics, AI & machine
learning, simulation, forecasting, and edge intelligence.
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SOURCE The Kroger Co.