Urbx Market is an automated fulfilment centre concept from Boston-based Urbx Logistics that reimagines the grocery store of the future.
Likened to a giant vending machine, the vertical structure can sit on top of a building and hold up to 50,000 products. It is powered by an automated robotics system that can “retrieve, pick and pack multi-item orders and assemble them in minutes” before dispensing them to pick-up points below. Theoretically, customers could order from touchscreens on the ground floor and wait for their items, or they could order through an app for collection or delivery.
One potential use case is that the ground floor could host a reduced-sized grocery space selling the items that shoppers want to see, touch and smell before purchase – essentially fresh produce, meat and fish. Customers would then place an order for all of their ambient items on a touchscreen or through the app, and these would be packed by the automated logistics system while the customer selected their fresh items. Urbx is also imagining locations with a café and rooftop bar, where customers can relax while waiting for their orders, sampling items available for order at the same time.
By automating a significant percentage of the picking process of the traditional grocery shop, Urbx aims to significantly reduce the space needed for a full-scale grocery store. And because Urbx is a vertical stack, it makes the solution particularly useful for crowded urban environments.
Urbx Logistics foresees delivery from Urbx Markets being fulfilled by trucks, bikes and even drones. In future it is envisaging that Urbx Market will speak directly to connected devices in people’s homes, so that the replenishment and delivery of essentials could be fully automated, without the consumer needing to do anything at all.
While Urbx Market is a concept, Urbx Logistics has suggested it will be launching in some format in 2022. Grocery and logistics specialist Jason Soar of ThinkThru told GDR that he could see this type of system being fully operational in urban areas in the next 5 to 10 years.
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