National grocery chain Kroger will open a local distribution facility later in 2022 in northeast San Antonio that will provide grocery delivery services to area residents, local economic development officials said.
According to separate news releases, the 67,000-square-foot “last-mile-spoke” facility, pending finalization of lease negotiation, will collaborate with a hub in Dallas, serving as a last-mile cross-dock location for Kroger’s grocery delivery services.
The local facility will provide 160 jobs in technology; operations; logistics and transportation; inventory and quality management; and customer service and engagement, one release said.
The local economic development and workforce partnership greater:SATX partnered with Kroger’s economic development team to provide support and resources for the company’s location evaluation.
“We’re proud to welcome Kroger’s e-commerce-focused delivery model into San Antonio,” said Tom Long, greater:SATX’s managing director for industrial partnerships. “The facility will be part of a high-tech network that serves the region and employs more than 160 people in our community.”
Officials with the greater:SATX partnership said this expansion represents an extension of a partnership between Kroger and Ocado, a renowned grocery e-commerce company. In 2018, the companies announced a collaboration to establish a delivery network that combines artificial intelligence, advanced robotics, and automation. Through the hub-and-spoke delivery network, Kroger and Ocado now serve customers without traditional brick-and-mortar stores, greater:SATX officials said.
According to one news release, San Antonio joins other Kroger distribution areas, including Austin, Birmingham, Cleveland, Oklahoma City, Orlando, South Florida and the East Coast, through a network of high-tech facilities.
“Kroger today looks very different than it did in 1883 when we opened our first store,” Kroger Chairman and CEO Rodney McMullen said. “But the core principles that made that store successful—service, selection, value and our commitment to our customers—remain the bedrock of our business. I’m incredibly excited for the future of Kroger, and both thriving physical stores and digital solutions are part of it.”
According to greater:SATX and Kroger officials, Kroger’s delivery network relies on automated fulfillment centers. At the hub sites, more than 1,000 bots traverse 3D grids that contain totes with products and ready-to-deliver customer orders. A news release said, as customers' orders near their delivery times, the bots retrieve products from the grid—also known to the company as “the hive”—and are presented at pick stations for items for sorting and delivery, a process determined by algorithms to ensure items are correctly packed.
Groceries are loaded into a refrigerated delivery van, which can store up to 20 orders; drivers may travel up to 90 miles with orders from facilities to make deliveries, the release said.
