Majid Al Futtaim has announced a strategic partnership with Takeoff, a US-based technology company that offers best-in-class eGrocery automation solutions, to revolutionise Carrefour’s online orders in the UAE and KSA.
This will see several Micro-fulfilment Centres (MFCs) built by 2021. Located at select Carrefour stores, these automated small warehouses will process Carrefour’s online orders to replace the manual picking method currently used.
With the new solution, customers will be able to place orders through Carrefour online with Takeoff’s automated technology ensuring that robots within the MFCs fulfil the order in less than five minutes for pick-up or delivery.
Hani Weiss, chief executive officer, Majid Al Futtaim – Retail, said, “We are pleased to announce this partnership with Takeoff which will bring another state-of-the-art technology in the retail sector to the region. Takeoff has a strong existing client list and brings a reliable tech solution that can significantly improve our customers’ experience – from faster order processing to an increase in capacity to deliver more online orders.
“Once in place, Majid Al Futtaim will be the first grocery retailer to use this technology in the Middle East as we look to scale up our e-grocery business and ultimately offer the best service and deliver the best value products to our customers,” he added.
Max Pedro, co-founder and president, Takeoff, said, “We are facing a massive shift in the e-grocery industry, and the scales have already begun tipping. We are thrilled to be at the forefront with Majid Al Futtaim, one of the leading global supermarket chains.
Designed with the customer in mind, the technology enables increased availability of order process and delivery slot capacity – with over 2,000 orders per day that can be placed from a space of 1,500 sqm. In addition, as MFCs will be based within Carrefour stores located in communities where customers live and shop, it will allow for fewer out of stock items in orders and significantly fresher products. The technology will also increase picking efficiency equal to 1,800 items/hour, enabling increased order fulfilment for customers, and reduced costs per order.
