Ikea UK
Ikea UK has opened a new 452,000 sqft customer distribution centre in Dartford, Kent.
The retailer says that the new multi-million-pound facility will enable faster, more sustainable home deliveries to customers in London and the southeast of England.
Located at the former Littlebrook Power Station site near the Dartford Crossing and M25, the DC is placed on the border of London to deliver almost one million orders annually – with many reaching customers within 24 hours of an order being placed.
Today, almost every second Ikea purchase in London takes place online.
Closer to the customers that it serves, the facility will enable a significant reduction in CO2 emissions and is operated by 100% renewable energy.
By 2025, 100% of Ikea customer orders in London will also be delivered by electric vehicles.
To enable this, the retailer will install 28 rapid HGV chargers at the distribution centre, to power up HGVs while loading and unloading goods in under an hour. Additionally, 60 overnight chargers are set to be installed.
Domino’s Pizza
Domino’s Pizza is testing out autonomous robots for the delivery of its home orders in Spain.
A collaboration with Goggo Network has resulted in five robots operating in the Madrid town of Alcobendas, which has more than 116,000 inhabitants.
These are equipped with the likes of cameras, radar and ultrasound sensors, which allow them to recognise and locate themselves with complete precision in real-time, even in complex urban environments. They are also completely electric.
Customers can follow the path of the robot by GPS and receives a text message when it is about to arrive, with a code to open a door and grab their food. Once delivered, the robot returns to the store on its own.
Yochananof
A2Z Smart Technologies Corp. reports that, in addition to an existing order of 1,300 smart carts from Yochananof, the Israeli grocery retailer intends to purchase up to another 1,700.
The Cust2Mate smart cart platform automatically scans purchased products and enables in-cart payment, allowing customers to “pick and go” and bypass cashier checkout lines.
Additionally, retail grocers can direct shoppers to discounted products, in-store promotions, and other offers to move inventory from the shelves into carts.
