In the most recent edition of ESM, we spoke to a number of retailers across Europe about some of the technological innovations they have implemented into their businesses over the past year. Here, we chat to Artem Fokin, head of business development for Russia's Yandex Self-Driving Group, about its plans to develop autonomous delivery alongside Majid Al Futtaim in Dubai.
Yandex Self-Driving Group announced in November that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Majid Al Futtaim, operators of the Carrefour brand in the Middle East, to introduce autonomous robot delivery to its stores in Dubai. A pilot programme is due to launch in early 2022, which will see shoppers in selected neighbourhoods receive online orders via Yandex autonomous delivery robots.
ESM: How much of a role do you think autonomous delivery will play in grocery retail in the future?
Artem Fokin: We can see the demand for last-mile delivery constantly growing across various markets, including grocery, food delivery, and online shopping. It’s been growing for the past few years, but the pandemic gave it an incredible boost.
A lot of people who previously did not order products online had to start doing this during the lockdowns and quickly got used to it. It’s a comfortable way to get what you need and save time for more pleasant activities than going to a supermarket.
Such high demand challenges the industry and makes last-mile delivery automation indispensable, to handle the growing number of orders.
In what ways will autonomous delivery enable retailers to streamline their logistics and save costs in the future, do you think?
Robotic delivery seems to be the only way to quickly increase last-mile delivery capabilities, as thousands, or even tens of thousands, of robots can be produced each year.
Robotic delivery is also easy to plan and operate, as robots adhere to their designs and only do what they’ve been developed to do, while being able to work continuously.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest Technology news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
