Albertsons Cos., Takeoff Technologies develop strategic partnership focused on future of grocery e-commerce
Micro-fulfillment centers bring together the proximity of brick-and-mortar stores with the automation capabilities of a large warehouse.
Albertsons Cos., Boise, Idaho, and Takeoff Technologies, Waltham, Mass., teamed up to collaborate on the future of grocery micro-fulfillment centers (MFC) to drive the future of e-commerce order fulfillment.
Albertsons Cos. purchased additional MFCs from Takeoff, and is evaluating market expansion opportunities. Albertsons partnered with Takeoff Technologies in 2018 to pilot the micro-fulfillment center concept and Takeoff’s artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, making it what is said to be the first national grocer to implement an automated e-commerce fulfillment solution. Another pilot unit is scheduled to begin operations at a Safeway in San Jose, Calif., before the end of 2019.