Japanese retailer Aeon opened its first robotic warehouse powered with Ocado’s technology a year ago. With another warehouse already in the works, the pair have now announced that a third will be built.

Long before the pandemic made online home-delivery groceries mainstream, Ocado Technology was developing innovative solutions to streamline the whole process.

For two decades this technology company, which holds a 50% share of Ocado Retail in the UK in a joint venture with Marks & Spencer, has been developing end-to-end online grocery fulfilment solutions.

Groceries are picked, packed and then delivered directly to the customer’s doorstep from centralised warehouses.

These warehouses feature cutting-edge technology – including robotics and AI – along with automation. Fleets of bots (as shown in the video below) collaborate seamlessly to pick a 50-item order in under five minutes.

As well as using its Ocado Smart Platform within its own warehouses – or customer fulfilment centres (CFCs...