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Wakefern pilots space-savvy online grocery automation

Storage-and-retrieval system expected to boost ShopRite store’s e-commerce capacity

Russell Redman

August 11, 2021

2 Min Read
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ShopRite of Kingston (N.Y.) is testing the Kardex Remstar Shuttle XP Vertical Lift Module storage solution.ShopRite of Kingston

Wakefern Food Corp. is looking at in-store automation to improve fulfillment of online grocery orders.

A Kingston, N.Y., supermarket under the retail cooperative’s ShopRite banner is testing the Kardex Remstar Shuttle XP Vertical Lift Module (VLM) storage solution, Wakefern said Wednesday. The compact automated storage-and-retrieval system is designed to provide high-capacity storage in small spaces.

According to Wakefern and Switzerland-based Kardex, ShopRite marks second U.S. grocery to use the vertical Kardex Remstar Shuttle XP system.

“We are excited to use the Kardex Remstar Shuttle XP as another tool to enhance online shopping service,” Steve Henig, chief customer officer at Wakefern, said in a statement. “Our ShopRite from Home online shopping service is one of the fastest-growing parts of our business, and we are always looking for ways to streamline the online shopping process for our customers.”

ShopRite of Kingston, owned and operated by Wakefern member ShopRite Supermarkets Inc., is piloting the e-commerce storage solution in its ShopRite from Home department. Grocery orders are stored in totes on trays inside the Shuttle XP, and the unit automatically delivers the totes upon an order barcode scan when customers arrive at the store for pickup. The system also can deliver orders when a customer checks in for curbside pickup, the companies said.

Related:Wakefern taps dunnhumby to sharpen merchandising

Kardex noted that the Shuttle XP increases a store’s storage capacity fivefold as well as reduces order errors and customer wait times. The system also expands slot capacity for stores with limited space for processing online grocery orders.

“The Shuttle XP is a great solution for managing online orders in a small area,” according to Mark Dunaway, president of North America operations for Kardex Remstar, which has a U.S. office in Westbrook, Maine. “Our collaboration with ShopRite and Wakefern is a good example of how leveraging automation and technology can provide an enhanced customer experience.” 

On the automation front, Wakefern also has deployed robotics-driven micro-fulfillment centers (MFCs) powered by Waltham, Mass.-based Takeoff Technologies at three ShopRite locations in New Jersey to handle increased online grocery order volume and speed up fulfillment. The first Takeoff MFC launched in 2019 at a ShopRite in Clifton (Inserra Supermarkets), followed by facilities at stores in Egg Harbor (Village Super Market) and Flemington (ShopRite of Hunterdon County).

Keasbey, N.J.-based Wakefern’s retail network includes 362 supermarkets overall under the ShopRite, Price Rite Marketplace, The Fresh Grocer, Dearborn Market, Gourmet Garage, and Fairway Market banners in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. ShopRite’s nearly 280 stores are in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware and Maryland.

Related:Wakefern opens robotics-driven warehouse for online grocery

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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