Tesco’s ambition to rival Ocado with a fleet of robotic warehouses has been thrown into turmoil after its technology partner went bust.
The supermarket had struck a deal with Canadian automation start-up Attabotics earlier this year to roll out robotic warehouse systems designed to revolutionise how online orders are fulfilled. But Attabotics has filed for bankruptcy protection and is now being sold off in a US court process, leaving Tesco’s high-tech expansion plan in limbo.
The collapse threatens to delay Tesco’s push into autonomous grocery fulfilment, just as Ocado cements its lead in the market. Kentucky-based Lafayette Engineering has stepped in with a bid to acquire Attabotics’ assets and intellectual property, but Tesco cannot move forward until the deal is finalised — and there is no guarantee that an agreement will be reached.
Attabotics’ technology was touted as a gamechanger, using robots to pick groceries in compact urban warehouses and even backroom store spaces. Tesco is understood to still be interested, but the setback raises questions about whether it can keep pace in the online grocery arms race.
The supermarket is already experimenting with its own subsidiary, Transcend Retail Solutions (TRS), which develops fulfilment software and sells it to international clients, including New Zealand’s Foodstuffs. TRS technology helps design efficient picking routes inside stores — a model that could become more attractive as rivals retreat from costly out-of-town robotic depots.
Morrisons has already scaled back its use of Ocado’s facilities, while US giant Kroger recently warned it was rethinking its 20-site Ocado deal. That caution wiped almost £400m off Ocado’s market value.
For Tesco, the Attabotics collapse could prove a major stumbling block in its ambition to sell itself as not just a supermarket, but a global technology player in grocery logistics.
