Ocado launches first automated fulfilment centre in South Korea with Lotte
Ocado has launched its first automated customer fulfilment centre (CFC) in South Korea with Lotte Shopping.
Situated in Busan, the facility will serve a catchment of around four million customers in the city and wider Yeongnam region.
The CFC has introduced Ocado’s fully automated freezer, which has brought Ocado’s proprietary ‘hive and bot’ automation into temperatures as low as -25°C. Named the Auto-Freezer, it is expected to achieve more than double the productivity of a traditional manual freezer.
Subscribe to TRBThe site will also support dawn delivery to enable packed grocery orders to reach customers’ homes before 7am.
Ocado said the site is expected to be the most environmentally efficient Ocado CFC in the world. It will support a 100% electric vehicle fleet for daytime deliveries and operate more energy efficient 3D-printed bots, with multi-temperature totes to maximise storage density for deliveries. Lotte also expects the widespread installation of solar panels to reduce annual carbon emissions by more than 1,000 tonnes.
Ocado’s partnership with Lotte began in 2022 and was followed by Lotte launching with the Ocado Smart Platform in 2025, initially fulfilling orders using Ocado’s in-store fulfilment software.
Nick De La Vega, chief revenue officer at Ocado Group, said: “This is another major milestone for Ocado as we launch one of our most advanced CFCs to date in one of the world’s leading markets for grocery ecommerce.
“Online is fast becoming the main grocery channel for many customers across South Korea, and we are excited to help Lotte deliver a step-change in the choice, service and experience it offers shoppers.”
