Ocado: how did the online supermarket emerge a winner?

 

For years, the online supermarket Ocado has never made a profit, even if it has leveraged all the latest technologies to ensure that it delivers an excellent service. Nonetheless, ever since the pandemic, things have changed for the better for the firm.

Indeed, the first lockdown that was reinstated turned things around for the company. People started flooding the website and trying to secure a slot of delivery was an extremely difficult task. Some customers have admitted to setting up alarms for the middle of the night or waiting for hours in virtual lines. Just recently, it took just five hours for Christmas slots to be filled. Usually, the amount of time taken is five days. Even if the online supermarket is having to turn down customers, demands for its services are increasing.

The firm has been able to create such an impact because of the technologies that it uses. Its warehouse is staffed by 1,050 “personal shoppers”. It also leverages 1,800 robots. The size of small washing machines, these are constantly whizzing around moving plastic crates full of products that have been ordered. Thanks to these, Ocado is able to pick and pack online orders much more quickly than other supermarkets, even giants like Tesco.


Ocado uses robots to process orders © Royalty-free image

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