{"stable_id":"ea48d529d04287ce","slug":"ocado-on-grid-robotic-pick","company":"Ocado Group / Ocado Retail","workflow_name":"On-Grid Robotic Pick at Luton CFC","function_code":"customer_service","pattern_codes":["exception_based_operations","coordination_compression"],"changed_assumption":"Robotic arms can pick more grocery items on-grid while people handle exceptions and fulfillment operations.","evidence_strength":"verified","publication_tier":"showcase","freshness":"current","reviewed_at":"2026-08-23","updated_at":"2026-08-22","source_quality_summary":"1 primary; publication outcomes are verified.","caveat_summary":"Improvement also reflected higher volume utilization and other Re:Imagined innovations. Company-reported site comparison, not a controlled evaluation.","freshness_caveat":null,"workflow_summary":{"before":[{"actor":"Fulfillment employee and earlier automation","action":"Retrieves and picks grocery items through the established CFC process.","actor_type":"control"},{"actor":"Employee","action":"Handles difficult items and exceptions.","actor_type":"control"}],"hinge":"Robotic arms can pick more grocery items on-grid while people handle exceptions and fulfillment operations.","after":[{"actor":"On-Grid Robotic Pick","action":"Selects eligible grocery items robotically from the storage grid.","actor_type":"system"},{"actor":"Employee","action":"Handles non-eligible items, exceptions, quality, and operations.","actor_type":"system"}],"decision_mode":"shared","decision_marker":"AI handles the default; humans own exceptions"},"before":[{"order":1,"actor":"Fulfillment employee and earlier automation","action":"Retrieves and picks grocery items through the established CFC process.","handoff_to":"Order assembly","control":"Quality and availability checks."},{"order":2,"actor":"Employee","action":"Handles difficult items and exceptions.","handoff_to":"Dispatch","control":"Human quality control."}],"after":[{"order":1,"actor":"On-Grid Robotic Pick","action":"Selects eligible grocery items robotically from the storage grid.","handoff_to":"Order assembly","control":"Eligible SKU range, robotic controls, and system monitoring."},{"order":2,"actor":"Employee","action":"Handles non-eligible items, exceptions, quality, and operations.","handoff_to":"Dispatch","control":"Human intervention and food-quality controls."}],"decision_rights":"Automation executes eligible picks; operators control availability, recovery, and release of orders.","exception_path":"Failed or ineligible picks route to people or alternate fulfillment paths.","removed_work":["A growing portion of repetitive item picking"],"outcomes":[{"metric":"CFC labor productivity","baseline":"208 units per labor hour in FY23 across OSP warehouses.","result":"227 units per labor hour in FY24, a 9.1% improvement.","period":"FY2024.","scale":"Ocado Smart Platform fulfillment centers.","attribution_caveat":"Improvement also reflected higher volume utilization and other Re:Imagined innovations.","evidence_label":"verified"},{"metric":"Luton robotic picking and productivity","baseline":"Ocado's first CFC at Hatfield operated at roughly half Luton's reported productivity.","result":"More than one-third of items were picked robotically and Luton achieved 269 units per labor hour.","period":"FY2024 exit.","scale":"Luton CFC.","attribution_caveat":"Company-reported site comparison, not a controlled evaluation.","evidence_label":"verified"}],"executive_lesson":"Use filing-grade site metrics, but keep causal attribution narrower than the company's integrated operating result.","anti_pattern":"Crediting all facility productivity improvement to the robotic arm.","questions_for_leaders":["Which SKUs remain outside automation?","What share of gains comes from utilization?","How are damage and substitution rates tracked?"],"collections":["human-still-decides","queue-eliminated","embodied-work"],"bundle_version":"1.0.0","bundle_fingerprint":"sha256:c23c6cc2b88153d008ea8fda928f632ce0011fc2d4c5036672a16e5d895bab93","canonical_url":"https://brianletort.ai/transformations/ocado-on-grid-robotic-pick"}