“Futuristic” logistics helps Ocado deliver “near zero” food waste
Online grocer Ocado has reported that advanced technology and processes at its “futuristic” warehouses have helped cut down its total food waste figure to 0.02%.
In a statement issued today (22 March), Suzanne Westlake, Head of Corporate Responsibility at Ocado, said: “Our business model is built around efficiency and low waste. By continually improving our technology, processes, and our relationships with suppliers, we’ve been able to reduce our food waste to practically zero – I believe we have the lowest total food waste figures in our industry. Now we’re helping customers reduce their food waste at home too, by giving them more time to keep fresh food in the fridge.”
The Ocado statement added: “The online retailer packs every bag of shopping in one of their three futuristic warehouses – buildings filled with incredible technology, which they call Customer Fulfilment Centres. Fresh food can arrive directly from suppliers and be sent out for delivery in one of their signature brightly-coloured vans in as little as five hours.
“Chilled food is constantly kept at the correct temperature, from supplier right up to the customer’s doorstep, which also helps keep products fresher for longer. This highly efficient business model, coupled with a ferocious commitment to fighting food waste, is the reason why the retailer’s food waste is so low.”
Ocado said that packing and dispatching from its three CFCs was important because “forecasting for fewer locations comes with much less risk of food waste than hundreds of bricks and mortar stores”.
