Kroger Plans Three More Customer Fulfillment Centers With Ocado

As part of its effort to provide customers with fresh food anytime and anywhere, Kroger is expanding its Ocado partnership, with plans to construct three new customer fulfillment centers (CFCs) in the Great Lakes, Pacific Northwest and West regions. 

The new facility in the West will measure 300,000 square feet, while the facility in the Pacific Northwest will measure 200,000 square feet and the facility in the Great Lakes region will measure 150,000 square feet. When operational, the facilities will collectively create more than 1,000 new jobs, with the potential for hundreds of additional career opportunities. The exact locations of the new facilities will soon be announced.

"Spanning a range of automated CFC sizes, these three new sites will be key parts of this growing and flexible fulfillment network,” said Luke Jensen, CEO of Ocado Solutions, a leader in technology for grocery e-commerce. “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."

The newly named locations will complement the retailer's previously announced CFC sites in Monroe, Ohio; Groveland, Fla.; Fredericksburg, Md.; Atlanta; Dallas; and Pleasant Prairie, Wis. Kroger plans to open the country's first CFC in Monroe, a suburb of Cincinnati, in early 2021.

"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, SVP of supply chain, manufacturing and sourcing for Cincinnati-based Kroger. "Through our strategic partnership, we are engineering a model for these regions, leveraging advanced robotics technology and creative solutions to redefine the customer experience."