The MFC Trend in E-Grocery: Where It Is, Where It’s Going

Source article/material: Mike O’Brian @ multichannelmerchant.com (Feb. 27, 2020)

Micro fulfillment centers have become all the rage in the e-grocery world. An MFC is a highly automated system that can fit in a small space in the rear area of a grocery store, away from the sales floor, or in an adjacent or nearby building. It taps the power of robotics to grab items for online orders in a matter of a minute or two.

The model received huge validation last week when it was revealed that Amazon is installing an MFC in its new supermarket outside Los Angeles, powered by Dematic. To unpack what’s happening with this capability, and contrast it with the approach taken by Kroger and Ocado, Multichannel Merchant spoke with Neil Stern, a senior partner with consultancy McMillonDoolittle in our latest MCM CommerceChat podcast.