Kroger Delivery Expands in Miami Area
Kroger is expanding its delivery program in South Florida. The grocer’s newest spoke facility has just opened in Opa-Locka, and will work in partnership with the fulfillment center in Groveland, Fla.
Powered by Ocado Group technology, the 60,000-square-foot spoke facility will be staffed by 90 new associates and serve the Miami metropolitan area. The new facility is the second of its kind in the area, following the first spoke facility’s opening last June.
Kroger said the newest spoke facility will serve communities between Port St. Lucie in the north to Homestead in the South, on both the east and west sides of I-95. Customers in Florida can order their favorite private label items through Kroger Delivery in the Miami, Jacksonville and Tampa areas.
"We are thrilled to connect more Floridians to the Kroger Delivery shopping experience, which brings thousands of digital coupons, valuable fuel point* and the freshest products directly to customers' doors," said Bill Bennett, Kroger VP and head of E-commerce. "Whether they are using the Kroger app or browsing our weekly ad at Kroger.com, customers can enjoy fresh, high-quality, affordable groceries delivered by best-in-class uniformed drivers."
At the Kroger Customer Fulfillment Centers, more than 1,000 bots move around giant 3D grids, orchestrated by Ocado Group control systems. The grid, known as The Hive, contains totes filled 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 packed correctly.
“We've been working closely with the Kroger team since they started looking to expand to South Florida and knew this was a geography that would offer significant growth potential," said James Kohnstamm, EVP of the Miami-Dade Beacon Council. "From a customer standpoint, we have over a million households and hundreds of new residents relocating to Miami each week. From a workforce standpoint, we have a deep bench of talent with expertise in cold chain and logistics management, as well as multiple startups dedicated to driving innovation in the trade and logistics space."
Kroger currently operates customer fulfillment centers in Monroe, Ohio, Groveland, Fla., Forest Park, Ga. (Atlanta), Pleasant Prairie, Wisc., Dallas, Texas, Romulus, Mich. (Detroit) and Aurora, Colo. with additional customer fulfillment centers planned for California, Frederick, Md., Phoenix, Ariz., Cleveland, Ohio, Charlotte, N.C., as well as South Florida and the Northeast.