Hy-Vee Is Getting Into the Microfulfillment Business

Hy-Vee is aiming to complement and strengthen its e-commerce business through a new partnership with Waltham, Mass.-based Takeoff Technologies. The grocery technology company will help the grocer build several microfulfillment centers in metropolitan areas throughout its footprint to help fulfill online orders even faster and more efficiently.

The microfulfillment centers will allow Hy-Vee associates to fulfill an average order of 25 items with just five minutes of labor. The technology also increases productivity of online fulfillment by up to 10 times, and will ultimately help Hy-Vee meet its goal to offer more time slots and availability to its online customers.

For its part, Takeoff Technologies provides hardware, cloud orchestration, industrial artificial intelligence, data-driven analytics, partnership and support to its grocery partners. The two companies will build a strategic network that takes into account consumer preferences and online demand by region. Takeoff will then help Hy-Vee select the right size, configuration and placement of each site within its network.

The company has worked with grocers including Albertsons Cos. to bring microfulfillment centers into their operations.

"A network of microfulfillment centers powered by Takeoff's technology will help create new competitive advantages for Hy-Vee and enhanced online services for Hy-Vee customers," said Jose Aguerrevere, CEO and co-founder of Takeoff.

Added Mitch Freeman, president of Takeoff: "We anticipate a very successful partnership between our two organizations, founded on Takeoff's deep e-grocery expertise combined with Hy-Vee's industry-leading grocery capabilities."

Employee-owned Hy-Vee operates more than 285 retail stores across eight Midwestern states, with sales of more than $13 billion annually. The West Des Moines, Iowa-based company has a team of more than 80,000 employees and is No. 36 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2023 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. PG also named Hy-Vee a 2023 Top Regional.