Australian supermarket Coles has announced the launch of two new CFCs, operated by Ocado.
Ocado revealed the two CFCs commenced operation in July and had had begun to serve communities in Metropolitan Melbourne and Sydney, “introducing a new level of customer service and differentiated home delivery offer in those markets” it said. Next-day home delivery orders from stores in metropolitan Melbourne and Sydney are expected to be transitioned to the CFCs by the end of December, “with further growth thereafter”.
The launch of the sites had been delayed by over a year, in order to “rectify construction issues” at the Melbourne site. The hold-up pushed costs to more than A$400m.
The two Australian sites, and the July launch of Spanish supermarket Alcampo’s Madrid CFC, means Ocado now operates 25 live CFCs around the world.
In June, Canadian supermarket partner Sobeys said it had paused the opening of a fourth Ocado robotic warehouse, which had been due to open in Vancouver in 2025. The two companies also agreed to end terms related to mutual exclusivity in Canada, which means they can seek other partners.
Earlier this year, Ocado’s US partner Kroger announced it was closing three hub-and-spoke facilities as they “did not meet the benchmarks we set for success” the supermarket chain said at the time. However, last month Ocado said Kroger had “placed an order for a wide range of new automated technologies” to roll out across its fulfilment network.
Of the Coles launch, Ocado said the sites would “enable Coles customers to experience significant improvements in freshness, perfect order rates and range, as well as opportunities to trial new products”.
Tim Steiner, CEO of Ocado Group, said their launch was an “exciting moment” given Australia was “one of the fastest-developing markets in the world for grocery e-commerce”.
“As these CFCs ramp up, we are excited to help Coles bring a step-change in customer experience online to households across Sydney and Melbourne,” he added.
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