OK: Kroger Opens Ocado-Automated 'Spoke' Facility in Oklahoma City, Which Will Employ 190

Kroger formally opened its Ocado-automated “spoke” facility in Oklahoma City recently, extending the company's reach into 36 states, which now includes Oklahoma. The new facility will employ about 190 full-time workers.

The 50,000-square-foot OKC spoke site, which was originally announced in February, recently hosted an associate celebration and ribbon-cutting event, reports Supermarket News. The new facility supports a 350,000-square-foot, Ocado-driven customer fulfillment center (CFC) in Dallas that opened this summer.

The Oklahoma City spoke will serve as a last-mile, cross-docking location, extending the reach of Kroger Delivery service from the Dallas “hub” CFC to customers up to 200 miles away, according to Kroger. The spoke in San Antonio, which also recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony, will work with the Oklahoma City site to support Kroger's Ocado-automated CFC hub in Dallas, reports Supermarket News.

In addition, Kroger said a 67,000-square-foot spoke in northeast San Antonio recently held its grand opening. That site, announced in March, employs more than 160 full-time associates and along with the Oklahoma City spoke supports the CFC hub in Dallas, SN reports.

“We are committed to delivering a fresh, convenient customer shopping experience with zero compromise on quality, selection and affordability,” Bill Bennett, vice president and head of e-commerce at Kroger, said in a statement. “From the personalized shopping experience, easy digital coupons, valuable fuel points and fresh, high-quality products, to the refrigerated trucks, trained and uniformed drivers, we look forward to Oklahoma City and San Antonio customers enjoying all the benefits Kroger online shopping has to offer.”

Thus far, Kroger has announced 17 CFCs — ranging from 135,000 to 375,000 square feet — and six are now open. Kroger opened its first Ocado CFC, a 375,000-square-foot automated warehouse, in April 2021 in Monroe, Ohio. That was followed by 375,000-square-foot CFCs in Groveland, Fla., in June 2021 and in Forest Park, Ga., this past February and a 340,000-square-foot CFC in Pleasant Prairie, Wis., in June. Most recently, CFCs of 135,000 and 350,000 square feet went operational in Romulus, Mich., and Dallas, respectively. The Groveland location marked the first CFC opening in a state where Kroger generally doesn’t operate physical stores, save for one Harris Teeter store in Jacksonville, Fla.