Ocado experienced warehouse issues over the weekend, resulting in some London customers’ long booked Christmas orders being delivered without chilled or frozen foods.
The facility in question is the retailer’s 563,000 sq ft Erith centre.
Shoppers took to social media to vent spleen. e.g. “Well done, Ocado, you’ve properly let yourself down. Over 30 items, all of our chilled Xmas food is not arriving… How can you trust online delivery if you can’t even make Christmas?! Disgraceful.”
Another claimed that a delivery driver had blamed a robot malfunction.
Ocado lays claim to the most advanced grocery automation in the world and is well known in the retail tech world for its customer fulfilment centres (CFCs).
A spokesperson told RTIH: “There was a temporary issue at one of our sites for a short period which has since been resolved. We are aware that a small proportion of orders were not delivered as expected. This does not meet our usual high standards and we understand the inconvenience this will have caused, especially at this time of year. We are proactively reaching out to apologise to those affected.”
Morrisons
Morrisons has also apologised after customers said their online orders were cancelled.
One person told the BBC their Christmas food delivery, which included a turkey, was due to arrive this afternoon but had been binned.
Morrisons said in a statement that “some home delivery orders may be arriving late today” and it would communicate directly with those affected.
It added: “We are asking customers to wait for an email to inform them that their order is ready for collection before heading to store.”
2024 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS
Online delivery was a key focus area at the sixth edition of the RTIH Innovation Awards.
The awards, sponsored by Vista Technology Support, Scala, CADS, 3D Cloud, Brightpearl by Sage’s Lightning 50, Business France, and Retail Technology Show 2025, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
Our 2024 hall of fame entrants were revealed during an event which took place at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London on 21st November, and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by comedian Lucy Porter.
In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “The event is now into its sixth year and what a journey it has been. The awards started life as an online only affair during the Covid outbreak, before launching as a small scale in real life event and growing year on year to the point where we’re now selling out this fine, historic venue.”
He added: “Congratulations to all of our finalists. Many submissions did not make it through to the final stage, and getting to this point is no mean feat. Checkout-free stores, automated supply chains, immersive experiences, on-demand delivery, next generation loyalty offerings, inclusive retail, green technology. We’ve got all the cool stuff covered this evening.”
“But just importantly we’ve got lots of great examples of companies taking innovative tech and making it usable in everyday operations – resulting in more efficiency and profitability in all areas.”
Congratulations to our 2024 winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Lucy Porter, and all those who attended last month’s gathering.
