Kroger Delivery Arrives in Birmingham, Ala.

Kroger Delivery has arrived in a new market: Birmingham, Ala.

The grocer’s newest 50,000-square-foot spoke facility has opened in the city, and will work with the regional fulfillment center in Atlanta, making Kroger Delivery available to more customers in the greater Birmingham area. The facility will employ more than 160 associates, and allow delivery up to 90 minutes from the hub.

"Kroger Delivery starts by bringing the shopping experience to wherever our customers are, whether they are using the Kroger app or browsing our weekly ad at Kroger.com. Here, customers can access our seamless experience that promises an extensive assortment, thousands of digital coupons, and an entirely personalized shopping trip," said Bill Bennett, Kroger Vice President, and Head of E-commerce. "Through this zero-compromise service, customers can get fresh, affordable groceries brought to their door through a best-in-class white glove delivery experience, enabled by our refrigerated trucks, and amazing trained drivers. This cutting-edge technology sets a new unmatched standard for grocery delivery."  

The expansion to Birmingham continues the partnership between Kroger and Ocado Group. At the hub sites, more than 1,000 bots move around giant 3D grids, orchestrated by proprietary control systems. The grid, known as The Hive, contains totes with products and ready-to-deliver customer orders.

As customers' orders near delivery times, bots retrieve products from The Hive and present them at pick stations for items to be sorted for delivery, a process governed by algorithms that ensure items are intelligently packed.

"For people who live in food deserts, getting groceries can be a real challenge,” said Cornell Wesley, Director, Department of Innovation and Economic Opportunity, City of Birmingham. “Eliminating the distance to the grocery store from the doorstep can positively impact our citizens who are most in need of healthy food options. As a community we are excited about Kroger choosing Birmingham for this expansion and are eager to partner with them in exploring more ways to solve for food deserts,"

Kroger currently operates customer fulfillment centers in Monroe, Ohio, Groveland, Fla., Forest Park, Ga., Pleasant Prairie, Wisc., Dallas, Texas and Romulus, Mich., with additional customer fulfillment centers slated for California, Frederick, Md., Phoenix, Ariz., Cleveland, Ohio, Charlotte, N.C., Aurora, Colo., as well as South Florida and the Northeast.