Tesco preps launch of first urban fulfilment centre
Tesco will shortly go live with its first urban fulfilment centre (UFC) as it looks to capitalise on the coronavirus powered online shopping boom.
Construction of the facility in West Bromwich paused in March due to government restrictions around the coronavirus outbreak. But Tesco was able to recently complete the work.
Speaking yesterday at the AI Summit part of London Tech Week, Tesco Chief Technology Officer, Guus Deckers, said that the automated UFCs tap excess space in larger stores.
In addition to less congestion on shop floors, this way of working also helps the grocery giant get closer to its customers as it ramps up its focus on same day delivery, delivery within an hour of placing an order and enhanced Click and Collect capabilities.
Deckers noted that two more UFCs will follow West Bromwich this year and at least another 10 are scheduled to go live in 2021.
Online jobs
Last month, Tesco announced plans to create 16,000 new permanent roles to support growth in its online business.
These will include 10,000 pickers to assemble customer orders and 3,000 drivers to deliver them, plus various other roles in stores and distribution centres.
The retailer expects the majority of these roles to be filled by colleagues who joined on a temporary basis at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In April, Tesco became the first retailer to fulfil one million online grocery orders in a week. It now serves nearly 1.5 million customers a week online, up from around 600,000 at the start of the pandemic. It says that the number of new roles may increase further in the coming months.
