Skip to content

More from Ocado

US
US English UK English
Connect with us
US
US English UK English
Connect with us
Transform online grocery
Fulfill every order
Capture online demand
Strengthen supply chain
Deliver last mile
Improve warehouse productivity
Mobile Robot Solutions
Storage and Retrieval
Grocery
3PL & Distribution
Consumer Goods
Apparel & General Merchandise
Pharma & Healthcare
Ocado Smart Platform
Retrieval bots
In-Store Fulfillment
On-grid robotic pick
Store Based Automation
Chuck AMR
Customer Fulfillment Centers
Porter AMR
Storage & Retrieval Solutions
Ocado IQ App
Robotic
Sort Putwall
Demonstrations and tours
Grocery partners
Customer stories
Articles
Newsroom
Webinars and video
Glossary
Events

Build a fulfillment network that works for every order

Give stores, dark stores and centralized facilities the right role in serving demand efficiently and profitably

Every fulfillment format brings different strengths. Stores use existing locations and inventory to serve nearby demand, dark stores provide dedicated local or regional capacity, and centralized facilities combine inventory and automation to serve wider markets at higher volumes.

Ocado helps retailers define the role of each location, apply the right operating model and technology, and connect capacity across the network. The result is a more flexible approach that can adapt as demand, service expectations and growth priorities change.

Talk to Our Solutions Team
Compare fulfillment models
Red crates containing grocery bags on a conveyor system at an Ocado fulfillment center

Every shopper promise creates many fulfillment decisions

Customer expectations are rising as channels, order profiles and service windows become more varied. Scheduled delivery, same day pickup and orders needed within the hour may all draw on the same inventory, space and labor. Fresh, fragile and bulky products add different handling requirements, while peaks can expose constraints across picking, consolidation and dispatch.

Adding people may provide short term capacity, but it can increase cost without creating enough throughput or improving the shopper experience. Optimizing one task in isolation can also move the bottleneck elsewhere. The right fulfillment model depends on where demand is concentrated, how quickly orders must be ready, what the products require and which assets are already available.

Different fulfillment formats, one connected network

Fulfillment does not need to follow the same model in every location. Ocado helps retailers give stores, dark stores and centralized facilities a clear role based on volume, local demand, service requirements, product needs, available capacity and the economics of the operation.

Each format can then use the right combination of software, robotics and automation for the work it needs to perform. Connected within a wider fulfillment network, these formats help retailers make better use of existing assets, add capacity where it creates the strongest return and serve more customer missions as demand evolves.

Fulfill from stores

Unlock more online growth from your store network

Store associate using a wrist-mounted picking device beside fresh produce

Use inventory already close to customers to serve pickup, local delivery and rapid orders while supporting store replenishment.

Stores are valuable fulfillment assets, but online orders add work to buildings designed around shoppers. Associates must pick accurately while shelves are replenished, customers move through the aisles and demand changes throughout the day. As volumes grow, adding labor can increase cost without creating enough capacity, while poor coordination can affect both online service and the store experience.

Ocado’s In-Store Fulfillment guides associates with intelligent batching and optimized pick routes, and Store Based Automation adds compact automated storage and picking within or beside the store. Together, they help retailers serve more online demand through their store network.

Explore products:

Fulfill from dark stores

Build dedicated capacity closer to customers

Ocado retrieval bots operating on an automated storage grid

Serve pickup, local delivery and rapid orders from a dedicated picking environment without competing with shopper traffic.

Dark stores give online fulfillment more space and control, but inventory, picking, replenishment and dispatch still need to work as one flow. As demand grows, long pick routes and poorly coordinated tasks can increase labor requirements and limit throughput.

For grocery, In-Store Fulfillment optimizes manual picking and supports planned and rapid orders. Where the products, layout and conditions suit mobile robotics, Chuck AMR works alongside associates to direct picking tasks and reduce walking.

Explore products:

Fulfill from centralized facilities

Build centralized capacity for growth at scale

Ocado retrieval bot on a storage grid in a fulfillment center

Bring inventory and order preparation together to serve wider markets, broader ranges and higher order volumes.

Centralization can improve inventory access, productivity and capacity utilization, but it also concentrates operational pressure. Storage, picking, replenishment, buffering and dispatch must work as one connected flow to protect service as volumes grow.

For online grocery, Ocado Customer Fulfillment Centers combine high density automation with Ocado Smart Platform intelligence to coordinate fulfillment from storage through dispatch. For other industries, Ocado Storage and Retrieval Solutions combine dense storage, intelligent software and automated retrieval to increase capacity and throughput.

Explore products:

Fulfillment solutions built in live operations and proven at scale

Ocado began as an online grocer and has spent more than 25 years building, operating and improving live commerce and fulfillment operations, first within its own business and now with partners worldwide. Our technology is shaped not only by engineering expertise, but by the daily realities of serving customers reliably and profitably at scale.

That experience informs every stage of an Ocado deployment, from assessing workflows and designing the solution to integrating systems, supporting operations and improving performance over time.

For grocery retailers, the modular Ocado Smart Platform can connect fulfillment with ecommerce, supply chain and last mile capabilities. Across grocery and other industries, Ocado works with each operator to fit the right technologies into its systems, processes and growth plans.

Explore:

You are here Fulfillment Explore Ecommerce Explore Supply Chain Explore Last Mile Explore Ocado Smart Platform

Optimize your fulfillment network for growth

Tell us about your demand, product range, service requirements, existing sites and capacity constraints. We will help define the role of each fulfillment format and identify where your network can add capacity, strengthen service and support profitable growth.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about Order Fulfillment.

 

Store fulfillment prepares online orders from a customer facing store. Dark stores use space dedicated to online orders. Centralized facilities bring inventory and order preparation together to serve a wider area or higher volumes. A network can use more than one format.

View this website in your preferred language

Choose your language to explore Ocado’s solutions.

UK English