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Kroger launches Ocado ‘spoke’ facility in central Ohio

Ninth ancillary fulfillment center extends online grocery delivery reach in home state

Russell Redman

May 25, 2022

4 Min Read
Kroger truck-Indianapolis Ocado spoke facility.jpg
The 61,000-square-foot spoke in Lockbourne, Ohio, will work with Kroger’s 375,000-square-foot, Ocado-automated customer fulfillment center in Monroe, Ohio, to serve the Columbus area.The Kroger Co.

The Kroger Co. has opened an Ocado-automated “spoke” e-commerce fulfillment facility to help process online grocery orders in central Ohio.

Located on Shook Road in Lockbourne, Ohio, the 61,000-square-foot spoke will work with Kroger’s 375,000-square-foot, Ocado-automated customer fulfillment center (CFC) in Monroe, Ohio, and serve as a last-mile cross-dock site, the supermarket giant said Wednesday. The Lockbourne spoke will extend the reach of the Monroe CFC “hub” to customers up to 200 miles away — at full capacity enabling consumers in more than 250 central Ohio ZIP codes, including the Columbus area, to access Kroger Delivery service, Kroger noted. The new spoke facility, which has begun filling online orders, will employ up to 200 associates.

“When our customers think of food, they think of Kroger,” Gabriel Arreaga, senior vice president and chief supply chain officer at Cincinnati-based Kroger, said in a statement. “The addition of a spoke facility in the Columbus division is one more state-of-the-art example of how Kroger is fulfilling its commitment to providing our customers anything, anywhere, anytime.”

Including the new site, Kroger so far has announced nine Ocado spoke facilities. Four spokes are now live — in Lockbourne, Ohio; Tampa and Jacksonville, Fla.; and in Indianapolis — and another five are planned for Louisville, Ky.; Oklahoma City; and Austin and San Antonio, Texas, and Birmingham, Ala.

Related:Kroger readies grocery delivery for South Florida

Kroger home delivery-grocery bags.jpg

The Lockbourne spoke will extend the reach of the Monroe “hub” to customers up to 200 miles away, at full capacity enabling consumers in more than 250 central Ohio ZIP codes to access Kroger Delivery service.

When unveiling their partnership in May 2018, Kroger and United Kingdom-based Ocado Group said they aimed to open 20 CFCs in the United States over the next three years, with Kroger executives citing the potential for facilities in markets where the company doesn’t have stores.

Overall, Kroger has announced 17 Ocado-driven CFCs, with four now operational. They include the CFC in Monroe, Ohio — Kroger's first Ocado facility — that went live in April 2021; the Groveland CFC; a 375,000-square-foot CFC in Forest Park, Ga., that opened this past February; and a 350,000-square-foot CFC that launched in Dallas this spring. In early March, Kroger said it aims to construct a 270,000-square-foot, “Cleveland region” CFC that will serve areas in northeastern Ohio and Pennsylvania, with the latter representing the grocer’s 37th state.

Other Ocado CFCs reported by Kroger run from 135,000 to 375,000 square feet and include locations in Frederick, Md.; Phoenix; Pleasant Prairie, Wis.; and Romulus, Mich., as well as unspecified sites in North Carolina, the Pacific Northwest, the West and the Northeast, the latter representing another location where Kroger lacks stores, along with Pennsylvania and Florida (save for a Harris Teeter store in the Jacksonville area). The retailer also has announced plans for two CFCs in Southern California and two more in Florida.

Related:Kroger plans another three Ocado e-commerce ‘spokes’

In early March, Kroger said it expects to open 17 new Ocado-powered facilities, including CFC hubs and spokes, within the next 24 months. Each Ocado CFC covers a delivery radius of up to 90 miles, and smaller facilities and spoke locations extend the area served by each CFC.

“We’re proud to expand the Kroger fulfillment network in our home state,” Arreaga commented about the Lockbourne spoke. “The new service is an innovative addition to the expanding digital shopping experience available to Kroger customers. Our delivery business continues to accelerate with the growth of fulfillment and spoke facilities. This expansion will further our commitment to create career opportunities and serve shoppers fresh food fast through interconnected, automated and last-mile solutions across America.”

Kroger added that the launch of the Columbus-area spoke follows the debut of the Boost by Kroger Plus annual membership program in the region. The subscription service offers two membership tiers, priced at $59 or $99 per year. All members get free delivery for online orders of $35 or more and double fuel points (up to $1 off per gallon of gasoline) for each dollar spent on groceries and general merchandise in stores or online via pickup or delivery. The $59 annual membership provides delivery within 24 hours, while the $99-per-year option offers delivery in as soon as two hours.

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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