INDEPENDENCE, Ky. — 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.
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.
