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Kroger plans another two Ocado ‘spoke’ sites

Supporting fulfillment facilities extend online grocery delivery reach in greater Nashville, Chicago areas

Russell Redman

July 14, 2022

3 Min Read
Kroger Ocado spoke facility-Indianapolis-exterior.jpg
Kroger so far has announced 12 Ocado-automated spoke centers, five of which are now live, including the Indianapolis location pictured above.Kroger

The Kroger Co. is adding a pair of Ocado-automated “spoke” e-commerce fulfillment facilities in Tennessee and Illinois to help process online grocery orders.

Cincinnati-based Kroger said Thursday a 40,000-square-foot spoke on Polk Avenue in Nashville, Tenn., will work with its 375,000-square-foot, Ocado-powered customer fulfillment center (CFC) in Forest Park, Ga., increasing the Kroger Delivery network’s reach in the greater Nashville area to customers up to 200 miles from the CFC hub, which opened this past February.  

A bigger spoke site in Maywood, Ill., sized at nearly 80,000 square feet, will support Kroger’s Ocado CFC in Pleasant Prairie, Wis., an approximately 340,000-square-foot facility that went live in late June. The new spoke will enable Kroger Delivery to reach customers in the Chicago metropolitan area.

Including the Nashville and Maywood locations, Kroger and Ocado so far have announced 12 spoke sites, which serve as last-mile, cross-dock sites to enlarge the service radius of CFCs. Five spokes are now live — in Miami, Tampa and Jacksonville, Fla.; Lockbourne, Ohio; and in Indianapolis — and another five are planned for Louisville, Ky.; Oklahoma City; and Austin and San Antonio, Texas, and Birmingham, Ala. Kroger didn’t give an opening time frame for the new spokes in Tennessee and Illinois.

Related:Kroger opens Ocado-powered warehouse in Wisconsin

“Kroger Delivery offers customers a truly differentiated service. Orders are transported in refrigerated trucks and delivered by trained Kroger uniformed associates, giving customers an unparalleled white glove delivery experience,” Bill Bennett, vice president and head of e-commerce at Kroger, said in a statement. “Kroger Delivery is part of our rapidly expanding seamless ecosystem that provides customers with fresh and quality products when and where they want it, all with zero compromise and at an incredible value.”

When unveiling their partnership in May 2018, Kroger and United Kingdom-based Ocado Group said they planned to open 20 CFCs in the United States over the ensuing three years. The Ocado CFCs and supporting facilities use vertical integration, machine learning and robotics to service online grocery orders and are expected to extend Kroger’s reach to a larger geographic footprint, including areas where it doesn’t operate brick-and-mortar stores.

To date, Kroger has announced 17 Ocado-driven CFCs, with five now operational. Besides the Forest Park and Pleasant Prairie locations, they include a CFC in Monroe, OhioKroger's first Ocado facility — that went live in April 2021; a 375,000-square-foot CFC that opened in Groveland, Fla., last June; and a 350,000-square-foot CFC that launched in Dallas this spring. In early March, Kroger said it plans to construct a 270,000-square-foot, “Cleveland region” CFC that will serve areas in northeastern Ohio and Pennsylvania, with the latter representing the grocer’s 37th state. And then last month, a nearly 300,000-square-foot CFC was announced for Aurora, Colo.

Related:Kroger kicks off grocery delivery in South Florida

Other Ocado CFCs reported by Kroger run from 135,000 to 375,000 square feet and include locations in Frederick, Md.; Phoenix; and Romulus, Mich., as well as Charlotte, N.C., the Pacific Northwest; and the Northeast, the latter representing another location where Kroger lacks stores, along with Pennsylvania and Florida (save for a Harris Teeter store in the Jacksonville area). The retailer also has announced plans for two CFCs in Southern California and two more in Florida.

Among its efforts to drive use of its online grocery shopping, delivery and pickup services, Kroger yesterday said it has rolled out its Boost by Kroger online benefits program nationwide. Boost is offered in two membership tiers, priced at $59 or $99 annually. All members get free delivery for online orders of $35 or more and double fuel points (up to $1 off per gallon of gasoline) for each dollar spent on groceries and general merchandise. The $59 annual membership provides delivery within 24 hours, while the $99-per-year option offers delivery in as soon as two hours. Kroger estimated that a Boost membership can save customers more than $1,000 per year on fuel and grocery delivery.

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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