Ocado has secured an agreement with Auchan’s operation in Poland to provide its grocery delivery technology at a customer fulfilment centre in Warsaw, with further centres to be announced in the future.
Auchan Poland will also use Ocado’s In-Store Fulfilment (ISF) software across its hypermarkets in the country to enable more efficient picking for online orders.
The move marks the second time that France’s Auchan has teamed up with Ocado’s Solutions business following a partnership with its Spanish Alcampo business last year. The two firms said today that they would also explore opportunities to partner in other geographies.
Gérard Gallet, Chief Executive of Auchan Retail Poland, said: “The development of e-commerce services is our priority direction, which we have been consistently pursuing for years, and recently especially intensively. The partnership agreement with Ocado Solutions is the best proof of our commitment. I am convinced that the introduction of such innovative and forward-looking solutions will be a significant step for our company on the way to achieving the leading position in the e-grocery market in Poland.”
The structure of fees will be similar to those agreed with other international Ocado Solutions partners whereby Auchan Poland will pay Ocado certain fees upfront and during the development phase. Ongoing fees will then be linked to both sales achieved and installed capacity within the CFC and service criteria.
Tim Steiner, Chief Executive of Ocado Group, commented: “We are pleased to bring a second Auchan business to our global platform, and to welcome Auchan Poland to the club of innovative and forward-looking retailers who are using the Ocado Smart Platform to power their online grocery business.”
Last month, Ocado and French supermarket group Casino unveiled plans to develop e-commerce logistics warehouses for all grocery retailers in France as part of an extension to their current partnership into a new joint venture.
NAM Implications:
- The key to Ocado’s success in selling services/tech will be the choice of retail partners.
- And linking ongoing fees sales achieved will help in optimising their customer portfolio…
- …all the more reason for Ocado to consider selling off their retail business (to M&S?)
