Boston eGrocer Takeoff Technologies in the forefront of Micro-Fulfillment Solutions
KNAPP announced a formal agreement to provide automated micro-fulfillment technology and robotics to Takeoff Technologies including an agreement to exclusively develop the immediate in-store eGrocery channel. Takeoff Technologies, led by two Harvard Business School MBAs, has already begun the process of rolling out several sites this year with retail partners – designed to transform the way the grocery industry operates – by leveraging automation to dramatically reduce operating cost and increase real estate productivity.
Takeoff offers a turnkey end-to-end technology solution for eGrocery, which is based in part on the KNAPP robotic shuttle technology for the material handling automation component. The Takeoff business model provides a unique approach to the ecommerce order fulfillment of groceries – micro fulfillment centers co-located at the supermarket level for immediate grocery pickup. The modular technology takes less space, is highly responsive to meet order demand in real time and can delivery groceries quickly and inexpensively for customer pickup.
According to Takeoff company cofounders Jose Vicente Aguerrevere; a Grocery veteran, founder of a Latin American disruptive grocery chain and former management consultant with Booz Allen and Hamilton, and Max Pedro; a former Vice President at Walmart International and management consultant with McKinsey, “the US grocery market represents over $700Bn, and eCommerce is only 2% of that – mainly due to inefficiencies and constrains in the way this channel is operated, therefore significantly limiting the value proposition for online customers around immediacy, assortment and price. This means there is plenty of room for growth”. “Saving time and money on people’s everyday needs” represents Takeoff’s core value proposition.
From a technology perspective, Alfredo Millán, MIT Sloan MBA, a former industry consultant and Takeoff’s Chief Business Engineer highlights, “After a thorough evaluation to select a material handling automation partner, the KNAPP solutions provide us with the best performance, speed and reliability, and represent best-in-class innovation for micro-fulfillment technology”.
According to Josef Mentzer, CEO of KNAPP US operations based in Atlanta, “the exclusive arrangement with Takeoff Technologies is a measure of our confidence that the Takeoff team and business model – using less space, operating at less cost than traditional grocers and pureplays, and located within local neighborhoods – is a solid value proposition. In effect, Takeoff has the right formula to optimize technology, inventory, people and space – in the grocery ecommerce market segment”.
About Takeoff Technologies
Takeoff Technologies is a Boston-area startup that has the vision of transforming the grocery industry with the development of micro-fulfillment-centers for immediate pickup points using grocery-sorting robots to assemble orders. But instead of forming its own supermarket chain, Takeoff is selling its end-to-end technology platform to existing retailers as a new way to reach customers as part of an efficient ecosystem. For more information, visit www.takeoff.com.
Contact:
Kevin Reader
Director Business Development and Marketing KNAPP US
M: 678-267-4426
O: 678-388-2880 x 5226