Lotte and UK-based Ocado Join Forces to Boost Logistics Competitiveness

Global Retail Tech Company Achieves 4 Trillion KRW Annual Revenue Last Year
Provides Comprehensive Solutions for Online Grocery Delivery Process
UK Ocado Food Waste Rate 0.4%...On-Time Delivery Rate 98%
Robots Handling Picking and Packing Pick Over 50 Items Within Seconds

Okado UK Automated Logistics Center (CFC) (Photo by Lotte Shopping).

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] Ocado, which has partnered with Lotte's distribution group to strengthen logistics solution competitiveness, is a UK-based global retail tech company. Founded in 2000 by three former Goldman Sachs employees, it is a UK online supermarket company that was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2010. As of 2021, it achieved remarkable growth with an annual revenue of ?2.499 billion (approximately 4 trillion KRW) in its 20th year since establishment. By starting to provide global retailers with solutions (OSP) for the entire online grocery delivery process, it has transformed into a technology-leading software and robotics platform company.

Ocado Smart Platform (OSP) organically provides client companies with data-driven demand forecasting and inventory management, automated logistics center construction, and efficient delivery and dispatch services based on advanced technology automated fulfillment centers (CFCs). Currently, it has partnerships with 11 companies in 9 countries including Ocado Retail and Morrisons in the UK, Kroger in the US, Sobeys in Canada, Coles in Australia, Aeon in Japan, Casino in France, Bonpre and Alcampo in Spain, ICA in Sweden, and Auchan in Poland.

OSP maintains low food waste rates and high delivery accuracy through thorough demand forecasting and inventory management based on data and artificial intelligence (AI). Ocado UK's food waste rate is about 0.4%, significantly lower than domestic large supermarkets (3%) and grocery stores (4%). The on-time delivery rate is around 98%. The core of Ocado's CFC is the grid-shaped rail design resembling a Go board that stores products and the robots responsible for picking and packing. Robots, designed exclusively by Ocado, freely move over the CFC that looks like a hive matrix. The hive can store more than 45,000 items and can pick over 50 items within minutes.

On the 1st, Lotte Shopping announced that it will invest about 1 trillion KRW by 2030 in partnership with the UK retail tech company 'Ocado' to strengthen logistics solution competitiveness. The plan is to open an automated logistics center in 2025, expand it to six centers by 2030, and achieve sales of 5 trillion KRW in the online grocery market by 2032.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.