Grocer opens new spoke serving the southern
region and celebrates more than 160 new associates
BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Sept. 16,
2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR),
America's largest grocery retailer, today announced the official
opening of a new spoke in Birmingham,
Alabama. Serving as a last-mile cross-dock location, the new
spoke will operate as a seamless extension of the regional
fulfillment center in Atlanta,
making Kroger Delivery available to more customers in the greater
Birmingham area. Kroger was joined
by the local community to officially open the spoke and celebrate
the new associates.
"Kroger Delivery starts by bringing the shopping experience to
wherever our customers are, whether they are using the Kroger app
or browsing our weekly ad at Kroger.com. Here, customers can access
our seamless experience that promises an extensive assortment,
thousands of digital coupons, and an entirely personalized shopping
trip," said Bill Bennett,
Kroger Vice President, and Head of
E-commerce. "Through this zero-compromise service, customers can
get fresh, affordable groceries brought to their door through a
best-in-class white glove delivery experience, enabled by our
refrigerated trucks, and amazing trained drivers. This cutting-edge
technology sets a new unmatched standard for grocery delivery."
Local shoppers also have access to the newly launched Boost by
Kroger annual membership program. For either $59 or $99 per
year, Boost provides customers with benefits like unlimited free
delivery on orders of $35 or more and
two Fuel Points for every $1 spent on
groceries and general merchandise purchases through Delivery,
Pickup and in-stores. Kroger estimates the membership can save
customers more than $1,000 per year
on fuel and grocery delivery.
The approximately 50,000-square-foot facility will work in
conjunction with the Atlanta
fulfillment center, increasing the network's reach to customers up
to 90 minutes from the hub. The facility is located on West Oxmoor
Drive in Birmingham's Jefferson County and will employ more than 160
associates.
"For people who live in food deserts, getting groceries can be a
real challenge. Eliminating the distance to the grocery store from
the doorstep can positively impact our citizens who are most in
need of healthy food options. As a community we are excited about
Kroger choosing Birmingham for
this expansion and are eager to partner with them in exploring more
ways to solve for food deserts," said Cornell Wesley, Director, Department of
Innovation and Economic Opportunity, City
of Birmingham.
"The Birmingham Business Alliance team was proud to assist
Kroger with their momentous launch in the Birmingham market. Kroger's commitment to
being a champion employer for our community has been evident since
day one, and we are looking forward to supporting their continued
success here," said Emily Jerkins
Hall, President & Chief Operating Officer, Birmingham
Business Alliance
Kroger Delivery Explained
The expansion to
Birmingham represents an extension
of a partnership between Kroger and Ocado Group, a world leader in
technology for grocery e-commerce. In 2018, the companies announced
a collaboration to establish a delivery network that combines
artificial intelligence, advanced robotics, and automation in a
bold new way, bringing first-of-its-kind technology to America.
The delivery network relies on highly automated fulfillment
centers. At the hub sites, more than 1,000 bots move around giant
3D grids, orchestrated by proprietary control systems. The grid,
known as The Hive, contains totes with products and
ready-to-deliver customer orders. As customers' orders near
delivery times, bots retrieve products from The Hive and present
them at pick stations for items to be sorted for delivery, a
process governed by algorithms that ensure items are intelligently
packed. For example, fragile items are placed on top, bags are
evenly weighted, and each order is optimized to fit into the lowest
number of bags, reducing plastic use. Bags are also recyclable,
reflecting Kroger's commitment to its Zero Hunger | Zero Waste
commitment to rid its communities of hunger and waste.
Kroger's end-to-end cold solutions keep groceries fresh once
loaded into customized refrigerated delivery van, which can store
up to 20 orders. Powerful machine learning algorithms optimize
delivery routes, considering factors such as road conditions and
optimal fuel efficiency. Vans may travel up to 90 miles with orders
from the hub and spoke facilities to make deliveries. Associates at
the spoke facility will deliver orders within their service area,
adding ZIP codes as demand grows.
Kroger currently operates customer fulfillment centers in
Monroe, OH, Groveland, FL, Forest Park, GA (Atlanta), Pleasant
Prairie, WI, Dallas, TX and
Romulus, MI (Detroit), with additional customer fulfillment
centers slated for California,
Frederick, MD, Phoenix, AZ, Cleveland, OH, Charlotte, NC, Aurora, CO (Denver), as well as South Florida and the Northeast.
Media Assets
To download Kroger Delivery photography
and video, visit here.
About Kroger
At The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), we are
Fresh for Everyone™ and dedicated to our Purpose: To Feed the Human
Spirit®. We are, across our family of companies, nearly half a
million associates who serve over 11 million customers daily
through a seamless shopping experience under a variety of banner
names. We are committed to creating #ZeroHungerZeroWaste
communities by 2025. To learn more about us, visit
our newsroom and investor relations site.
About Ocado Group
Ocado Group is a UK based technology
company admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange (Ticker
OCDO). It provides end-to-end online grocery fulfillment solutions
to some of the world's largest grocery retailers and holds a 50%
share of Ocado Retail Ltd in the UK in a Joint Venture with Marks
& Spencer. Ocado has spent two decades innovating for grocery
online, investing in a wide technology estate that includes
robotics, AI & machine learning, simulation, forecasting, and
edge intelligence.
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SOURCE The Kroger Co.