Retailer opens new spoke serving Mt. Zion,
Northern Kentucky area
INDEPENDENCE, Ky., July 27,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR)
today announced the official opening of a new spoke in Independence, Kentucky. This facility opening
means customers can tap into Kroger's incredible selection of fresh
items, unique Our Brands products and favorite national
brands, as well as individualized offers for the products most
important to their families – all delivered directly to their door
by a friendly, professional associate.
"We are thrilled to expand our offerings to Northern Kentucky and connect more customers
to the Kroger Delivery shopping experience, which brings thousands
of digital coupons, valuable fuel points and the freshest products
including Our Brands, directly to customers' doors," said
Rebekah Manis, Senior Director,
Kroger Delivery Fulfillment Centers. "Our customers are actively
looking for ways to save, and Kroger Delivery offers a fresh,
affordable and personalized shopping experience with
zero-compromise on affordability, selection and convenience.
Whether they are using the Kroger app or browsing our weekly ad at
Kroger.com, customers can enjoy fresh, high-quality, affordable
groceries delivered by best-in-class uniformed drivers."
The spoke facility is located in Independence, Kentucky and will work in
conjunction with the Monroe, Ohio
fulfillment center. All orders are picked at the products' peak
freshness within the Monroe
facility. Associates carefully assemble orders and place them in
climate-controlled vehicles to travel to Independence. Once the orders arrive, they are
checked and placed on refrigerated delivery trucks that deliver
directly to customers' doors, ensuring cold and frozen products
remain at the perfect temperature from the supplier to the
customer's refrigerator. The facility will employ nearly 100
associates and currently employs more than 70. Learn more about
pursuing a career at Kroger here.
"Kroger is a major employer in Northern Kentucky, and we welcome the nearly
100 new jobs the company will add at its facility in Boone County," said Gary Moore, Judge/Executive, Boone County. "As the fastest-growing county
in the Cincinnati MSA, we know demand is increasing for home
deliveries to customers here and throughout Northern Kentucky."
"Kroger is a valued corporate citizen in the Cincinnati region," said Lee Crume, CEO, BE NKY Growth Partnership "We
welcome the extension of their delivery service capabilities in
Northern Kentucky that will serve
the tristate, providing customers with fresh, high-quality products
quickly."
"Investments like this are taking Kentucky to the next level. As we look to
expand our economic opportunity, corporate citizens like Kroger are
essential to making the Commonwealth a better place to live, work,
and do business," said Ashli Watts,
President and CEO, Kentucky
Chamber of Commerce. "We want to thank them for their continued
dedication to advancing Kentucky."
Northern Kentucky customers can
get more value when purchasing their favorite items using Boost by
Kroger Plus, the annual grocery delivery membership that recently
announced its special anniversary promotion, offering new members
who enroll in the Boost by Kroger Plus membership from July 19 through August 8, will automatically
receive 1,000 bonus Fuel Points. Eligible customers can try the
Boost membership with a free 30-day trial and subscribe for as
little as $7.99 a month.
The Northern Kentucky location
marks the company's second Kentucky spoke location. It's Louisville, Kentucky spoke launched in May of
2022.
Kroger Delivery Explained
The expansion to the Kentucky
area represents an extension of a collaboration between Kroger and
Ocado Group, a world leader in technology for grocery e-commerce.
In 2018, the companies announced a collaboration to establish a
delivery network that combines artificial intelligence, advanced
robotics and automation in a bold new way, bringing
first-of-its-kind technology to America.
Automated hub sites power this best-in-class customer
experience. At each hub, bots navigate 3D grids filled with fresh,
shelf-stable and household products to fulfill customers' orders.
The system uses advanced AI to determine the packing process,
ensuring products are packed accurately and correctly (with
heaviest items on the bottom) and the fewest number of bags are
used to reduce waste. Once the orders are assembled, associates
provide important quality checks.
Products move from a climate-controlled fulfillment center
directly into customized refrigerated delivery vans to ensure each
item stays at the right temperature throughout the delivery
process. With each Kroger Delivery van holding up to 20 orders,
friendly drivers are then deployed to deliver orders in the most
efficient manner possible, accounting for weather and road
conditions. Drivers are also happy to accept any plastic bags or
plastic film a customer may have, returning it to the facility
where it will be recycled by a third-party vendor. Vans may travel
up to 90 minutes with orders from the hub and spoke facilities to
make deliveries. Associates at the spoke facility will deliver
orders within their service area, adding ZIP codes as demand
grows.
Kroger currently operates customer fulfillment centers in
Monroe, OH, Groveland, FL, Forest Park, GA (Atlanta), Pleasant
Prairie, WI, Dallas, TX,
Romulus, MI (Detroit), Aurora,
CO and Frederick, MD, with
additional customer fulfillment centers slated for California, Phoenix,
AZ, Cleveland, OH,
Charlotte, NC, as well as
South Florida and the
Northeast.
Media Assets
To download Kroger Delivery photography
and video, visit here.
About Kroger
At The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), we are Fresh for Everyone™
and dedicated to our Purpose: To Feed the Human Spirit®. We are,
across our family of companies, nearly half a million associates
who serve over 11 million customers daily through a seamless
shopping experience under a variety of banner names. We are
committed to creating #ZeroHungerZeroWaste communities by 2025. To
learn more about us, visit our newsroom and investor
relations site.
About Ocado Group
Ocado Group is a UK based technology company admitted to trading
on the London Stock Exchange (Ticker OCDO). It provides end-to-end
online grocery fulfillment solutions to some of the world's largest
grocery retailers and holds a 50% share of Ocado Retail Ltd in the
UK in a Joint Venture with Marks & Spencer. Ocado has spent two
decades innovating for grocery online, investing in a wide
technology estate that includes robotics, AI & machine
learning, simulation, forecasting, and edge intelligence.
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SOURCE The Kroger Co.