'Robotic Supermarket' Now In Operation At 15 Sedano's In Miami-Dade
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- The term 'robotic supermarket' may seem like something out of science fiction, but in fact, it exists and is in operation in South Florida.
"Welcome to the world's first robotic supermarket," the sign reads on the wall of the Sedano's Supermarket in West Miami-Dade.
It has been in operation for some time and the service being offered is available at 15 locations.
Javier Herran is the Chief Marketing Officer at Sedano's and says, "A customer can go online, place an order which will come here to this facility. The shelf will come to the picker so they can efficiently pick people's orders."
The picking is being done by the robotic supermarket which is actually employing additional staff to operate.
During the online order process, the customer selects one of the 15 stores for pickup the order and has an hour time window to do so.
Once at the store, one of the employees will bring the groceries out and deliver them to the customer for free.
Partnering with Sedano's is Takeoff Technologies.
CEO Jose Vicente Aguerrerere says, "This machine is like a giant vending machine, instead of you going to the shelf to get an item the shelf comes to you."
That speed of filling the orders all done by the machine is what overcomes the biggest issues with online grocery orders.
Here at the Sedano's fulfillment center, that process is being overcome all while the product quality is maintained. "Same quality, same products, same flavor that we have as Sedano's," says Herran.
Now available at 15 Sedano's in Miami-Dade County, the plan in the future is to expand this service to all stores.