Woolworths launches automated eStore in Melbourne
Wrong items sneaking into shopping bags, orders not delivered on time and congested aisles are the problems Woolies is fixing with “a potential game-changer”.
There’s nothing more annoying than getting your online grocery order delivered later than expected only to discover some of the items are wrong.
As online grocery shopping has increased due to the pandemic, Woolworths is looking for ways to make the process smoother and quicker with less errors.
Starting with a Melbourne store today, Woolworths has rolled out new technology which enables quicker delivery of online orders as well as being potentially more accurate.
RELATED: Ooshie on eBay for $100K hugely undersold
It could also help reduce congestion in the aisles for in-store customers in the area, as Woolies’ personal shoppers pick most items from the back without needing to come into the store.
The floor in Carrum Downs can hold up to 10,000 of the most in-demand grocery products so that personal shoppers don’t have to go to the shopfront, but fresh fruit and vegetables and meat will continue to be picked from the shopfloor.
Woolworths Group CEO Brad Banducci labelled it “a potential game-changer”.
The automation “dramatically improves the speed, efficiency and accuracy of the picking process” of thousands of online orders which are delivered to customers in southeast Melbourne suburbs each week, including on a same day basis.
RELATED: Woolies announces huge half-price sale
“It will help us deliver unparalleled speed and accuracy in the online picking process while keeping us close to our customers for faster and more flexible deliveries to the home,” Mr Banducci commented.
“This speed and proximity is key to boosting the availability of the same day deliveries more and more of our customers want given their busy lives.”
The supermarket giant is the first retailer to deploy the micro-automation technology in Australia which comes as online orders have more than doubled in Victoria this year for the supermarket.
“The continued growth in online grocery gives us an opportunity to reimagine what the future of our stores will look like,” Mr Banducci said.
“As customer expectations continue to rise, we’re investing in new technology to keep pace with the growth and focusing on building an ever more convenient online offer.”
The 2400sq m “eStore” has been built at the back of its existing Carrum Downs supermarket in Melbourne’s southeast to keep up with online order demand in the area.
The new tech helps dispatch five times the online order volumes of a standard Woolworths store.
It will also create more jobs, with Woolworths already hiring around 50 new online team members and 100 more to come on-board as the site ramps up to full capacity in the months ahead.
The e-commerce floor uses “state-of-the-art technology” to sort and move products from automated storage units directly to team members hand picking customer orders, Woolworths said.
Woolworths said the Carrum Downs eStore will service a key growth corridor in Melbourne and help Woolworths keep pace with customer demand.
Woolworths first announced its partnership with Takeoff, the company that has produced the technology, in August 2019.
Carrum Downs is one of three initial Woolworths Group sites to trial the capability in 2020, with others deployed in Auckland and Christchurch, New Zealand.
Full list of what’s open this long weekend
With millions of Aussies enjoying a public holiday this coming Monday, here’s what stores are staying open in each state, and which ones are remaining closed.
Fresh blow for Coles, Woolies over discounts
Coles and Woolworths are facing a new class action headache over allegations they promoted specially-marked products with false discounts.
Hilarous fail behind US panic-buying frenzy
Supermarket shelves are being stripped bare across the US amid fears a port strike could cripple supply chains - and there’s one product everyone’s racing to buy.