Albert Heijn is the largest supermarket chain in the Netherlands and one of the flagship brands of Ahold Delhaize, one of the world's leading food retail groups. Serving millions of customers through an extensive network of stores and a rapidly growing online grocery business, the company continues to invest in innovative solutions that enhance the customer experience and support long-term growth.
As e-grocery demand increased, Albert Heijn needed a fulfillment solution capable of handling higher order volumes while maintaining the speed and reliability customers expect. To meet these demands, the retailer implemented an AutoStore system, empowered by Swisslog, at its Home Shop Center in Barendrecht.
The solution combines high-density storage, goods-to-person automation, and proven reliability to help Albert Heijn increase throughput, improve operational efficiency, and create a scalable foundation for future e-grocery growth.
“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
As e-grocery demand increased, Albert Heijn needed a fulfillment solution capable of handling higher order volumes while maintaining the speed and reliability customers expect.
As online grocery demand continued to grow, Albert Heijn needed a fulfillment solution capable of supporting significantly higher order volumes while maintaining reliable customer delivery windows.
The company's existing manually operated Home Shop Centers required extensive walking to fulfill orders. Across these facilities, employees collectively walked approximately 750 kilometers every day to pick groceries, with individual order pickers covering between 8 and 12 kilometers during a shift.
At the same time, labor market challenges made it increasingly difficult to recruit employees for physically demanding warehouse roles. Albert Heijn needed a solution that could increase operational efficiency, improve working conditions, and support future growth.
Reliability was also a key requirement. Because customers select specific delivery windows for their grocery orders, maintaining consistent fulfillment performance and system availability was critical.
“We searched for proven technology with a high degree of reliability. 24/7 availability was the highest priority.”
Lieke van de Voort, Director Supply Chain Development eCommerce at Albert Heijn
AutoStore transformed Albert Heijn's fulfillment process by replacing extensive warehouse travel with a goods-to-person workflow.
Instead of walking through aisles to collect products, operators receive inventory directly at ergonomic Workstations (Ports). This eliminates walking during picking operations while improving both efficiency and employee comfort.
The Barendrecht facility now fulfills approximately 15,000 grocery totes every day, serving around 7,000 customers throughout the Rotterdam region.
The solution also provides the scalability required to support continued e-commerce growth. With online revenue having tripled in recent years and accounting for approximately 10% of Albert Heijn's total revenue, the retailer required a fulfillment platform capable of supporting long-term expansion.
AutoStore's proven reliability was another important benefit. Its simple architecture allows Robots to continue operating even if individual units require maintenance, helping ensure uninterrupted fulfillment operations.
“The great thing about this system is its simple technology. If one Robot stops operating, another Robot takes over the work.”
Arthur Fisher, Project Lead
At the center of the operation is an AutoStore system consisting of more than 45,000 Bins stored within a high-density Grid.
Products are scanned and stored in Bins through inbound workstations. Robots travel across the top of the Grid, retrieving Bins and delivering them to Ports where operators pick products directly into customer grocery totes.
The facility receives approximately 30,000 inbound cases each day to replenish inventory within the system.
Once grocery items have been picked from AutoStore, orders continue through downstream fulfillment processes, including the addition of fresh products, route sorting, temporary buffering, and final loading for home delivery.
AutoStore's modular design allows the system to scale alongside Albert Heijn's growing e-commerce business while maintaining high throughput and operational efficiency.
By implementing AutoStore at its Barendrecht Home Shop Center, Albert Heijn has established a scalable foundation for future e-grocery growth.
The solution enables high-density storage, efficient goods-to-person fulfillment, and reliable performance while improving the working environment for employees.
As part of its broader strategy to expand online grocery operations, Albert Heijn is using AutoStore to support growing customer demand while maintaining the speed, reliability, and operational efficiency required for modern e-commerce fulfillment.