Kroger and Ocado have announced the continuation of their partnership and have released plans to open three new Customer Fulfillment Centers in the Great Lakes, Northwest, and West regions. According to the Kroger press release, the one in the West region will measure 300,000 square feet, Pacific Northwest will measure 200,000 square feet, and the Great Lakes facility will measure 150,000 square feet. Collectively, these facilities will create 1,000 new jobs.
"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, in a Kroger and Ocado press release. "Through our strategic partnership, we are engineering a model for these regions, leveraging advanced robotics technology and creative solutions to redefine the customer experience."
The Customer Fulfillment Centers in these three new locations are alongside CFCs in Monroe, OH; Groveland, FL; Fredericksburg, MD; Atlanta, GA; Dallas, TX; and Pleasant Prairie, WI. The Monroe, Ohio location is planned to open in early 2021, which will be the brand’s first CFC.
"Kroger and Ocado are building an ecommerce ecosystem across the U.S. that will deliver unrivaled online experiences to more customers, in more ways, and in more markets," said Luke Jensen, CEO of Ocado Solutions, in the same news release. "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."
Kroger and Ocado broke ground on the Monroe, Ohio, Customer Fulfillment Center last year, and the brand invested $55 million into the shed and will measure 335,000 square feet, as well as create more than 400 jobs.
"This is a historic moment for our partnership. With construction starting for Kroger's first customer fulfillment center in the Cincinnati region, we are now well on the way to a nationwide revolution in how Kroger customers experience ecommerce," said Luke Jensen, CEO of Ocado Solutions, in a press release about the ground-breaking in 2019. "In a fast-developing landscape for grocery retail, Kroger's determination to continue delivering the best experience for its customers, online as in stores, is unparalleled. I am excited that we will shortly bring the world-class innovation of the Ocado Smart Platform to their operations, as well as create exciting opportunities for engineers and technologists across the country to work with Ocado's cutting edge robotics and automation."