Hy-Vee equips select stores with automated fulfillment hubs
Regional Midwest grocery/convenience chain Hy-Vee Inc. is supporting omnichannel commerce with micro-fulfillment.
Hy-Vee is deploying Takeoff Technologies' micro-fulfillment technology, which uses automated robots to retrieve grocery items from a compact in-store storage center for streamlined picking, in select metro stores to support its Aisles Online omnichannel grocery ordering service.
As a result, Hy-Vee intends to make the Aisles Online order picking process more efficient for those employees shopping orders. According to research by Takeoff Technologies, retailers can use micro-fulfillment capabilities to fulfill an average order of 25 items with five minutes of labor and increase productivity of online fulfillment by up to 10 times when combined with the work of human associates.
While Hy-Vee customers will not see any changes to the way their orders are handled, the grocer hopes that its new micro-fulfillment platform will help meet its goal to offer more time slots and availability for customers utilizing the Aisles Online service.
“A network of Micro Fulfillment Centers powered by Takeoff’s technology will help create new competitive advantages for Hy-Vee and enhanced online services for Hy-Vee customers,” said Jose Aguerrevere, CEO and co-founder of Takeoff Technologies.
“We anticipate a very successful partnership between our two organizations, founded on Takeoff’s deep e-grocery expertise combined with Hy-Vee’s industry-leading grocery capabilities,” said Mitch Freeman, president of Takeoff Technologies.
“Hy-Vee is one of the most innovative grocery retailers worldwide, which is why we are so excited to work hand-in-hand with them to introduce this technology,” said Curt Avallone, chief business officer of Takeoff.
Hy-Vee innovates in online delivery
Hy-Vee already offers a range of tech-supported options for online delivery. In January 2022, the grocer launched two websites, Hy-VeeDeals.com and ShopPetship.com, with ship-to-home services available across the country. And during the peak pandemic period in fall 2020, the retailer partnered with on-demand delivery platform DoorDash to provide home delivery of online grocery deliveries.
Since initially partnering with DoorDash, Hy-Vee has also been enabling consumers across Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska to order alcohol directly within the Hy-Vee grocery marketplace stores on the DoorDash app and website. More recently, the grocer teamed up with the Uber Eats online delivery platform to offer on-demand and scheduled grocery delivery to customers across the Midwest.
Headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa, Hy-Vee Inc. is an employee-owned corporation operating more than 550 retail stores across eight Midwestern states – Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin.