Save Mart automates picking and packing at dark store
The Save Mart Companies is supporting a same-day grocery delivery and pick-up service with automated micro-fulfillment technology.
Partnering with robotics start-up Fulfil Solutions, the regional grocery conglomerate opened a dark store, which serves as a micro-fulfillment warehouse, a few months ago in the San Francisco Bay-area city of Mountain View, Calif. The dark store acts as a distribution hub for Save Mart’s same-day delivery and pick-up offering called Lucky Now.
Within minutes of receiving an order, Fulfil robots pick all categories of groceries, including refrigerated and frozen goods. The robots then bring packed grocery bags to a waiting area where human drivers collect them.
The Fulfil's platform leverages artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and optical and sensor technologies to enable inventory management and quality control. Mobile robots split and sequence items to prevent damage and minimize pack time.
In addition, proprietary dispense stations redistribute inventory to balance load, and sensor fusion algorithms confirm that items are packed correctly. A database tracks every item’s location, origin and expiration.
Save Mart is also offering two-hour grocery delivery from stores in California’s Central Valley in partnership with Amazon. Customers can order their Save Mart grocery delivery through the Amazon app or a dedicated page of the Amazon e-commerce site.
“The Save Mart Companies is thrilled to embrace innovative technologies that help deliver on-demand groceries to our customers on their own terms,” said Shane Sampson, executive chairman of the board, The Save Mart Companies. “With Lucky Now, powered by Fulfil’s robotic automation, we are excited to offer the best value on local and fresh products that our shoppers have come to know and trust.”
“To address the many challenges facing online grocery, retailers must adopt efficient automation that substantially reduces costs and provides the accuracy, quality and convenience customers expect,” said Fulfil CEO and President Mir Aamir. “That’s why our fully automated solution represents such a revolutionary step forward. Not only does it make online grocery retailing profitable while meeting customer expectations, but it also prioritizes social and environmental responsibility by cutting carbon emissions, eliminating food waste and enabling healthier food to reach more households at lower cost.”
The Save Mart Companies is a Kingswood Capital Management, LP portfolio company. The company operates approximately 200 traditional and price-impact stores under the banners of Save Mart, Lucky, and FoodMaxx which operates grocery stores throughout California and Northern Nevada, In addition to its retail operation, the company also operates Smart Refrigerated Transport and is a partner in Super Store Industries (SSI), which owns and operates a distribution center in Lathrop, and the Sunnyside Farms dairy processing plant in Turlock, Calif.