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Carrefour tests delivery by robot
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Carrefour tests delivery by robot

Carrefour tests delivery by robot

 

Since today, Carrefour officially tests the delivery by robot at its headquarters in Zaventem. An announcement on a Friday the 13th could make the superstitious fearful. But the teams were well prepared and no worries occurred during the demonstration of the new Carrefour delivery robot. 

 

A life-size test

From the Buddy Corner

In Zaventem, several companies have their offices on the Da Vinci site, including Carrefour, which has 9,000 employees on the site. In order to serve them for convenience, lunch or a coffee break, a point of sale has been opened on the site, the Buddy Corner (a nice concept that I will also talk about in another article). 

But in addition to a store nearby, from now on, people can have their food delivered to their office door by robots. How does it work?

  • All the employee has to do is place his order via the Deliveroo platform and select the Carrefour Buddy Corner in Zaventem
  • In the store, the order is prepared, 
  • The robot then travels from the store to the office via the park. 
  • Fifteen minutes later, the customer can pick up his basket at the door of his office

The area where the robot operates has been completely mapped. The device locates itself via cameras and known GPS points, and moves at the same speed as a pedestrian. 

The beginning of a story

First of all, it must be emphasized that this is a test. So don't expect the group to multiply the robots tomorrow all over the country. 

But the project is promising and Carrefour's teams believe in it. For Arnaud LesneDirector of Innovation & Partnerships, the project is one of the major projects of this year. "If the results are conclusive, we will be able to carry out other tests in the city center or in urban areas in a few months.” 

And when you think about it, the project is one of the pieces of the solution to the last mile problem. According to Arnaud Lesne: "The robot can indeed be a solution for areas that are not currently served or where it is difficult to find a delivery person. For example, areas like Waterloo where if you order a Sushi Shop and you are near Ohain. You are asked to go the last mile. The robot can take over from the delivery person in this type of area. Also think about areas like Butgenbach, Vielsalm, etc. where finding a delivery person is not easy. Of course, we are only in the test phase now, but the robot will certainly be an opportunity to close the last mile in some cases."

 

My 20/CENT

Living myself in an area that is not always served for deliveries, I can confirm that it is rather positive to see that the last mile for these areas is in the concern of retailers. 

And we can expect the solution to be successful as it is currently being developed in many countries as well: in the United States of course, but also in Finland, the United Kingdom, France, ..... 

Finally, let's welcome the fact that a retailer is launching a test phase so openly. A test can be a success, as well as it could be a total flop. But at least Carrefour will have tried. 

In short, these little sympathetic robots will certainly be something to follow in the coming months. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robots Delivery LivraisonLast Mile Carrefour BelgiumCarrefourArnaud Lesne