Chinese e-commerce firm JD announced it has opened two robotic shops named “ochama” in Leiden and Rotterdam in the Netherlands as part of its efforts to further expand its presence overseas and strengthen its supply chain.
It is the first time that JD has opened brick-and-mortar stores in Europe, featuring a new shopping model that merges online ordering and pickup shops where the distribution of parcels is managed by robots. JD said it plans to open two more such stores in Amsterdam and Utrecht in the near future. “With rich experience in retail and cutting-edge logistics technologies that the company has accumulated over the years, we aspire to create an unprecedented shopping format for customers in Europe with better prices and service,” said Pass Lei, General Manager of ochama at JD Worldwide, the company’s cross-border commerce unit. The company said the omni-channel model allows shoppers to enjoy the convenience of ordering products online through ochama’s app, where a full range of commodities such as fresh and packaged food, household appliances, beauty, maternal and infant products, fashion and home furnishings are offered.
The automated warehouse is part of the pickup shop, where people can witness a fleet of robots including automated ground vehicles and robotic arms responsible for picking, sorting and transferring the merchandise. By simply scanning the app’s QR code at the check-out, ordered goods are carried to the customers by the conveyer belt. In addition, people can visit the pickup shop’s showroom to experience ochama’s product assortment, or they can also choose the next-day home delivery service without going to the pickup shop, JD said.
Ochama, which combines “omni-channel” and “amazing”, marks the first omni-channel retailer in the Netherlands that offers not only food, but also other consumer goods in one shopping app. By fully tapping the technologies in logistics and supply chain management, the shops can bring down product prices by an extra 10% to benefit the chain’s customers, said Mark den Butter, COO of ochama. In addition to the Netherlands, JD also opened warehouses in the United Kingdom, Germany, the Middle East and Australia last year, more than half automated ones, the China Daily reports.
