Tesco Launches New E-Commerce Initiative
Tesco is launching an e-commerce venture to help international supermarket chains grow their online businesses.
Transcend Media Solutions is a subsidiary of the U.K. supermarket chain, and it provides software and hardware that grocers can use to fulfill online orders in-store.
Two stores, Pak’nSave and New World – banners of New Zealand’s largest grocery retailer Foodstuffs North Island – are using Tesco’s cloud-based software to take online orders and map the best route to pick items from store shelves. Plans are underway to extend the tech to 150 Foodstuffs locations.
Tesco, which handles more than 1 million online orders each week, appears poised to follow the path of Walmart, whose Walmart Commerce Technologies fulfills online orders for other retailers.
The move may be closely watched by Ocado. The U.K. tech provider has had deals in place with Kroger and Sobeys to build automated warehouses, but both supermarket giants have paused building giant fulfillment centers until existing sites become more profitable.