CommonSense Robotics Launches World’s Smallest Automated E-Commerce Facility

CommonSense Robotics, the Israeli-based startup developing robotics to help to help grocery retailers with online orders, has announced its first Micro-Fulfillment Center in Tel Aviv is live today, delivering online orders to customers in the city.

At just 6,000 square feet, the site is said to be the world’s smallest automated e-commerce facility, the company says in a statement, and delivers on their promise to “fit an automated solution into urban areas” to improve delivery speed, customer satisfaction, and other factors.

For instance, facilities of the past were at least 120,000 square feet, requiring them to be in remote locations and making it more difficult for orders to be delivered on-demand.

CommonSense’s first site is 20 times smaller than the size of the typical robotic facility, fitting into a small space while also helping to restore and settle some of the difficulties and still offering a full range of grocery items.

“ We started CommonSense Robotics because as consumers, we wondered: why can’t we get our online orders faster and cheaper than going to the store? We’re excited to see this groundbreaking technology finally serving real customers to allow for fast, inexpensive deliveries of high-quality products. It’s a true win-win for both retailers and consumers,” said Elram Goren, CEO and Co-Founder of CommonSense Robotics.

NoCamels reported in April that online orders at Israeli pharmaceutical chain Super-Pharm would soon be packed and shipped by robots, thanks to CommonSense Robotics. The popular pharmacy company hired CommonSense Robotics to operate a logistics center where products would be automatically packed by robots whose equipment was provided by the Israeli robotics firm.

“Staying competitive in today’s market is anchored on delivering orders quickly and determining how to fulfill and deliver orders efficiently, which are always the most complex aspects of any e-commerce operation. With robotics, we will be able to fulfill and deliver orders in under one hour, all while saving costs on said fulfillment and delivery,” said Yossi Cohen,  VP organization & information systems at Super-Pharm. “Before CommonSense Robotics, we offered our customers next-day home delivery. With this partnership, we are now able to offer our customers same-day delivery, and will very soon be offering them one-hour delivery. We believe this immediacy is not only what customers want, but it’s what they will come to expect from retailers in the very near future.”

The company, founded in 2015, is working with a number of large grocery retailers in the US, with multiple sites set to launch on the East Coast in 2019. The site also announced a 12-site deal with Israel’s third-largest supermarket chain Rami Levy.

It raised $20 million in a Series A funding round in February 2018.