DECEMBER - JANUARY retailtechinsights.com 19By building a group-wide capability, Ahold Delhaize is better positioned to implement mechanisation solutions that improve efficiency and reduce costs across its supply chain and e-commerce businessesto assess smaller-scale, lower CAPEX solutions (e.g. micro-fulfilment-centres) to serve the demands of short-lead-time orders. Furthermore, in addition to their grocery brands, Ahold Delhaize owns Bol, the digital non-food marketplace leader in the Benelux. Bol, in turn, requires a very different mechanisation solution to the company's grocery brands due to factors such as assortment range (Bol stocks 47m unique products), items per order (Bol customers typically only order one or two items per order), and packaging requirements (needs to be adjusted depending on order size). Examples such as these highlight Ahold Delhaize's diversity of use cases, leading the company to experiment with a variety of mechanised solutions and suppliers to find what worked best for their specific situations. Ahold Delhaize has implemented a variety of mechanisation solutions across its supply chain and e-commerce businesses. Historically, these decisions were taken by individual brands, with the focus being on what works best for an individual case rather than identifying scalable solutions. In the Benelux alone, the business has mechanised installations from seven different suppliers: Vanderlande (Albert Heijn supply chain); Witron and Dematic (both Delhaize Le Lion supply chain); TGW, Beumer, and SSI Schaeffer (all Bol e-commerce); and Swisslog / AutoStore (Albert Hein e-commerce). Yet the final installation ­ which has gone live in Q4 2023 - illustrates a shift in Ahold Delhaize's strategy. The Swisslog / AutoStore installation in the Netherlands follows a similar installation by the same supplier in Philadelphia for The Giant Company (one of Ahold Delhaize's US brands). Although Ahold Delhaize is not shifting to a one-size-fits-all approach to mechanisation, the Swisslog / AutoStore installations are an example of our search for scalable solutions that can work across different markets. Beyond specific solutions, the company has also learned some valuable lessons along the way.Ahold Delhaize has learned that implementing mechanisation solutions is not without its challenges. The company has developed a number of `scars' as a result of past experiences. For instance, decision-makers have sometimes begun investigating a mechanisation solution following an appealing pitch from a supplier rather than focusing on what problem the solution is meant to solve. Or the company has provided insufficient data (e.g. only one week of data, focusing on average volumes rather than peaks) to the supplier, resulting in a design that has a much lower operational capacity than expected. Or corners have been cut in order to complete a project on time, only to find that significant delays occur later once it becomes clear the solution does not work properly within the business operations. While completely avoiding these types of issues in mechanisation projects is incredibly challenging ­ they are complex, multi-year projects involving multiple teams ­ Ahold Delhaize wanted to avoid repeating the same issues, which could have been avoided. Ahold Delhaize's ambition is to build a group-wide capability where a global mechanisation team of experts from across its brands supports individual projects and sites. The company's initial priority is to ensure that new mechanisation projects are set up for success by following a tested process, learning from past experiences, and leveraging expertise from across the group. At the same time, Ahold Delhaize is looking to build a broader capability that accelerates talent development and supports existing sites. To achieve this, the company is implementing a common process for new mechanisation projects that will support brands with centralised expertise and is developing blueprints for the common mechanisation process to create a community of individuals interested in mechanisation. By building a group-wide capability, Ahold Delhaize is better positioned to implement mechanisation solutions that improve efficiency and reduce costs across its supply chain and e-commerce businesses.
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