Supermarket launching automated micro-fulfillment to meld online grocery service with MacDonald’s fast food
Micro-fulfillment vendor Takeoff Technologies is working with an unnamed retailer to allow shoppers to order groceries and McDonald’s food at once, a senior company official said.
Both grocers and fast food companies are looking for new ways to get online orders in the hands of customers. So what if they combined forces?
Takeoff Technologies, which sells automated micro-fulfillment technology to retailers, is currently working with a retailer on a project to meld online grocery service with fast food delivery, according to a top company official.
Through the arrangement, shoppers will be able to order groceries from a supermarket run by the retailer and food from a nearby McDonald’s restaurant in a single transaction and have the items delivered together, said Takeoff Chief Business Officer Curt Avallone. Avallone said he could not identify the retailer Takeoff is working with, but described it as a multi billion-dollar company.
The grocer will use a micro-fulfillment center located on the same site as one of its supermarkets to assemble grocery orders and send them by truck to the McDonald’s, where the products will be placed in a locker alongside items from the restaurant, Avallone said. Drivers from companies like Uber will pick up the items from the locker and deliver them to the customer, he said
Takeoff will supply the lockers, which it is obtaining from refrigeration equipment supplier Hussmann, Avallone said. Takeoff and Hussmann began a strategic alliance in 2021 under which the companies are working together to develop solutions for retailers.
“It’s always been part of our plan to build MFCs that then create new competitive advantages,” Avallone said.
The grocery store and McDonald’s are close enough to allow groceries to be assembled by the MFC and brought to the locker within 30 minutes, Avallone said, adding that Takeoff expects the joint grocery- and fast food-delivery service to begin operating later in 2023.
The ability to combine grocery with restaurant orders for delivery isn’t entirely new. Delivery provider DoorDash, for one, began offering a service in 2021 that lets customers combine orders across restaurant, grocery and other retail providers. Drivers for the company stop at each location to pick up orders before bringing them to the customer.
Avallone said he hopes the concept Takeoff is working on will provide opportunities for grocery stores and quick-service restaurants to drive sales for each other while spreading the costs of providing quick service to shoppers. For example, retailers could incentivize people to add groceries to a fast-food meal by offering a free sundae if they do so.
