Albert Heijn, Netherlands: Automated e-grocery fulfillment for leading Dutch grocer
The customer
Albert Heijn is the leading grocery retailer in the Netherlands. At Albert Heijn, every second counts - thousands of customers, millions of items, and a promise of fresh groceries delivered on time, every time.
To meet the demands of today's online grocery landscape, Albert Heijn partnered with Swisslog to design and implement an AutoStore solution at their Home Shop Center in Barendrecht. This solution combines efficiency, reliability, and scalability - built to keep pace with the future of e-grocery.
"At Swisslog, we design automation that doesn't just keep up with grocery e-commerce — it sets the pace." - Niels de Rooij, Sales Manager at Swisslog
Together, we've created a system that enables Albert Heijn to process tens of thousands of grocery orders each week with precision, speed, and sustainability.
We are trying to do more and more volume continuously, and AutoStore is helping us to get the volume out quicker and faster.
Tailored for grocery. Built around Albert Heijn
From the very beginning, we worked hand-in-hand with Albert Heijn to understand every operational nuance - from product mix to temperature zones, from space constraints to delivery cut-offs.
Our joint design workshops transformed insights into engineering, ensuring the solution was perfectly tuned to Albert Heijn's needs.
A compact powerhouse for high throughput - the AutoStore advantage
At the heart of Albert Heijn's Home Shop Center is AutoStore - a compact, robot-driven storage system that delivers dense storage and high throughput for fast-moving grocery e-commerce.
“E-commerce is really growing at a very fast pace so we needed a solution that could pace up with our growth of E-commerce. In our current Home Shop Centers our warehouses are quite congested. We are trying to do more and more volume continuously, and AutoStore is helping us to get the volume out quicker and faster.” – Lieke van de Voort, Director Supply Chain Development eCommerce at Albert Heijn
In numbers:
- 300+ robots in operation
- Scalable capacity to meet future growth
AutoStore's modular design, combined with Swisslog's SynQ software, provides end-to-end visibility - ensuring every bin, order, and delivery is perfectly synchronized.
Lifecycle support - partnership beyond go-live
Swisslog's relationship with Albert Heijn doesn't end with installation. Our lifecycle services team ensures continuous optimization, preventive maintenance, and proactive system monitoring.
Together, we continue refining the system to achieve the highest possible availability and performance - ensuring Albert Heijn's automation keeps delivering, day after day.
At Swisslog - we deliver our promise so that you can deliver yours.
