Ocado Group PLC (LSE:OCDO) revealed that its two customer fulfilment centres for Australian client Coles Group Ltd (ASX:COL) went live in July in Melbourne and Sydney, apparently almost two years later than originally expected.
The two Australian warehouses, following another for Spanish retailer Alcampo in Madrid last month, brings the total of live warehouses to 25 across the globe.
Like all Ocado warehouses, the Coles pair is powered by automated robots, which the company says use artificial intelligence via its Smart Platform software system, to pick grocery items for dozens of customer orders simultaneously.
"The start of operations in our two Australian CFCs is an exciting moment for teams at Ocado. Australia is one of the fastest developing markets in the world for grocery ecommerce, and Coles is already a market leader in the online channel," said Tim Steiner, the CEO of the FTSE 250-listed group.
Analysts at Peel Hunt said it heard from an industry contact that the original launch dates were expected to be 18-24 months ago.
The delay at the time was not flagged as overtly as one announced by Canadian retailer Sobey’s in June this year, which hit Ocado's shares.
"It perhaps highlights the issues of not placing a greater focus on 'client success' historically," the analysts added.
Nonetheless, analysts said the news was the latest in a spate of positive headlines following the announcement from Sobey’s, with strong half-year results followed by US chain Kroger’s announcement that it would roll out new robot technology and an announcement that Japan's Aeon is planning a third CFC.