Coles to Introduce Robot-Driven Grocery Platform in Australia

Homebrand, Coles in collaboration with Ocado, British online supermarket, is set to introduce robot-driven grocery platform to Australia. In an official statement, Coles said it would pay Ocado to open automated fulfillment centres in Melbourne and Sydney by 2023. It will boost its home delivery capacity and profitability.

Currently, Coles staff pick items for home delivery by hand from Coles supermarkets or at 'dark stores'. On the other hand, Ocado's warehouses are run by small robots, which pick individual grocery items from a vertical stacking system and load them into the customer's order boxes.

Steven Cain, Coles Chief Executive Officer said a step with Ocado will be a big achievement. Cain said their online business is growing rapidly, but it is less profitable than its brick and mortar business because of the cost of packing and delivering orders. He explained that the move to a website and warehouse run by Ocado would change all that. "The picking accuracy is better, the product is better and we will be able to offer more delivery windows than we can today. We should start making improved profits out of online." Cain explained that its a combination of better sales and margin as the website's better and you are offering a wide range of products. "And we believe that the Ocado picking system is the most efficient in the world."

Ocado works with other supermarket giants in the world, including Marks and Spencer and Morrisons in the UK and Kroger in the United States.