With the growth in e-commerce, Ocado has decided that it must step things up. Indeed, customers
are constantly looking for innovative technology that will help them complete
daily tasks, such as buying groceries, easily.
To meet with their demands, the firm has announced that it
has acquired two robotics companies in the US. These will work on technologies
that will make their warehouse operations more efficient. One of them is Kindred Systems, which is headquartered
in San Francisco and was bought for $262 million in cash, and the other is Haddington
Dynamics, a Las Vegas company, acquired for $25 million in cash and shares.
Both firms are going to develop systems that will make picking and packing of
groceries easier. The online supermarket firm said that this was one of
the biggest challenges in robotics.
The first start-up mentioned employs 90 people, 45 of which
are engineers. It builds machines that are used to pick and pack orders. The
other one designs robotics arms. Ocado’s
Chief Executive Tim Steiner advanced that these acquisitions will allow it to “accelerate
delivery, innovate more and grow faster”. Despite the fact that they will
create an impact on the firm’s earnings, it is estimated that they will
increase revenues in the next financial year by approximately £30 million.
Ocado is working on new technologies © Royalty-free image
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