How the UAE and the region can take a leaf out of Ocado’s book

How the UAE and the region can take a leaf out of Ocado’s book

The online grocery sector can undergo a paradigm shift on the back of the UK-headquartered start-up’s bid to emerge as a major global technology solutions provider

Who: Luke Jensen, CEO, Ocado Solutions What: A technology-led global software and robotics platform business providing a unique end-to-end solution for the online grocery sector

When: 2000

Where: Headquartered in Hatfield, the UK, and operates in nine other countries in Europe, north America, Asia and Australia

By Joydeep Sen Gupta Published: Fri 6 Jan 2023, 6:21 PM

Ocado, whose name appears to be inspired by the fruit avocado, was founded in 2000 as a pure-play online grocery retailer at Hatfield in the United Kingdom (UK) at a time when e-commerce was at a nascent stage and online grocery barely existed as a channel.

Two decades ago, many consumers were sceptical about the potential of the channel as traditional grocery supply chains were not well equipped to bear additional costs associated with serving online, and customer appetite was untested.

Contrary to popular perception, Ocado began to grow in the UK, increasingly leveraging the efficiency of proprietary technology designed to overcome the complexities of grocery shopping online.

These technologies — and new approaches to supply chain and logistics — have been key to taking