To service fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) in the future, the logistics sector will have to speed up processes and find ways of getting goods to people more quickly and more efficiently as consumers become more demanding. In a world first, CommonSense Robotics has launched the smallest distribution centre for profitable one-hour grocery deliveries Launched in 2015 in Israel with the sole purpose of getting groceries to customers faster and fresher, the company is redefining the way goods are fulfilled and delivered within cities, says business transformation expert, Sean Culey. Culey said grocery logistics had significantly improved to same-day delivery in the past few years as the sector grew in the e-commerce space, but more recently had been under pressure to deliver more quickly. According to CommonSense Robotics, online grocery shopping momentum is showing no signs of slowing down, but with that comes the reality that shoppers no longer want same-day delivery, but rather one-hour delivery. This saw the company launch its first-of-a-kind distribution centre at the end of last year in Tel Aviv and demand, it says, is growing. Operated by hundreds of robots, the centre can fulfil thousands of orders daily and houses more than 10 000 different products in only 6000 square feet of space – or a tenth of the space of an average football field. Most robotic distribution centres take up the size of anything from four to 20 football fields. “In order to fit our site into small tight urban areas every single element has been designed to optimise space efficiency. Robots travel in all directions on the ground or on the shelves and can meet each other anywhere on the map allowing us to fulfil any order,” said a spokesman for the company. A typical order takes less than five minutes to fulfil in this distribution centre. “That means five minutes after the customer has placed their grocery order online it is ready to be delivered.” According to CommonSense Robotics the ultimate goal is to have these micro distribution centres scattered in city centres allowing the delivery of goods faster and more efficiently.
Five minutes after the customer has placed their grocery order online it is ready to be delivered. – CommonSense Robotics
