British online supermarket and technology group Ocado said on Monday that it had boosted its partnership with Japan’s Aeon with plans to build a third robotic warehouse.
Ocado calls the robotic warehouses customer fulfilment centres (CFCs).
The new CFC, which is due to go live in 2027, will be in Kuki-Miyashiro, the Saitama prefecture of Japan.
The expansion of the partnership is a boost for Ocado after it said last month that its Canadian supermarket partner Sobeys had paused the opening of another CFC.
This prompted a slump in Ocado shares.
Ocado entered an exclusive partnership with Aeon in 2019.
The first CFC opened last year in Chiba-city, serving customers in the Kanto region.
A second based in Hachioji is due to go live in 2026.
In addition to the network expansion, the partnership will also see Aeon upgrade its live operations with the latest Ocado technologies including what it calls “On-Grid Robotic Pick.”
Ocado said this will bring increasing levels of labour productivity to Aeon’s operations.
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