Ocado Group plc and Ocado Retail Ltd. announced the location of a sixth Customer Fulfilment Centre (CFC) in the UK in Bristol, to support the growth plans of Ocado Retail.
The facility, which will be Ocado Retail’s first mini-CFC, is expected to go live at the end of 2020 or early 2021.
“The Ocado Smart Platform is constantly evolving as we innovate to adapt to changing customer needs,” Tim Steiner, Chief Executive of Ocado Group, said. “We can now deliver the best customer experience across a whole range of customer missions, through CFCs, mini-CFCs, and micro fulfilment centres. Ocado’s technology is dynamic and constantly improving, delivered through tried and tested solutions with proven and attractive economics. Our mission is to deliver the future of online shopping today, and we believe we are succeeding.”
Despite its smaller size, the Bristol mini-CFC will achieve productivity close to that in Ocado’s standard facilities. It will be able to process more than over 30,000 orders per week compared to approximately 85,000 orders per week expected from Ocado CFC 5, currently under construction at Purfleet.
The mini-CFC will offer a full grocery range direct from the facility. Customers in Bristol and the surrounding area will have a wider range of options for delivery, including placing orders for delivery the same day. For Ocado, it will save on the cost of spoke sites, which will offset most of the additional costs of the supply chain.
The Bristol mini-CFC, consisting of a 150,000 sq ft warehouse in Avonmouth delivered by St. Modwen, is expected to support around 815 jobs in the local area.
“Securing a customer of this nature is testament to the quality of our scheme, its prime location and confirms our commitment to speculatively build-out sites where appropriate,” Peter Davies, Development Director at St. Modwen Industrial & Logistics, said. “Across our parks, we’re able to cater to both leading national occupiers as well as small-to-medium-sized industrial and logistics businesses. Ocado Retail is a strong addition to our growing list of high-quality customers and the company’s developing offering in the South West will bring significant investment in the regional economy and support hundreds of new jobs.”
