Grocery automation startup Takeoff Technologies has partnered with Knapp, a warehouse logistics and automation solutions provider to open 50 micro fulfillment center sites across North America, according to a press release. The project will total about $150 million and is expected to process $1.5 billion of eCommerce sales per year. Thirteen of the sites will come online by the end of the year and the rest by the end of 2020. The companies also announced a next-generation design that they say will increase output and decrease friction. One of those new elements is an open-shuttle technology that will optimize the space used for order sorting and ultimately improve the fulfillment process. Takeoff is also creating an “Implementation Team” that will focus on launching multiple sites per week. By the end of 2020, Takeoff will have accumulated at least $2 billion in gross merchandise volume for our retail partners. Although automated order fulfillment is still in its early stages, Boston-based Takeoff’s new initiative underscores the growing demand for cheaper, more efficient ways to get online grocery orders to customers. The company’s micro fulfillment centers, like others jockeying for retailer contracts, operate in small spaces, making them a seemingly ideal solution for dense metros and suburban markets where eCommerce demand is highest.
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