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Swisslog
Raha: New tech-driven e-commerce platform set to redefine Kuwait’s grocery experience
E-Grocery Pick Up Store.
The homegrown e-grocery start-up features the country’s first fully automated fulfillment Centre developed by Swisslog
Raha, the region’s newest e-grocery platform, has announced that it has officially launched in the Kuwait market, with its app now available on all Apple iPhones and Samsung Android devices.
An innovative homegrown concept, Raha is the Middle East’s first pure-play, fully automated e-grocery platform - offering a full range of groceries, fresh produce, and household essentials. It also features Kuwait’s first fully automated robotics-fulfillment centre, and one of the first centre of the kind globally with a chilled warehouse capability, a press statement indicated.
Developed by global warehouse automation specialist, Swisslog, the centre serves as the core foundation of Raha’s technology-driven operational model and fully automated, datadriven intralogistics system featuring the AutoStore solution; an innovative automated material handling solution that uses robots on top of an aluminum grid system to store and locate goods, efficiently delivering them to pick stations for processing.
Conceived as a digital operation first and foremost, Raha is making a huge investment in its technological infrastructure and completely selfserving operational model, including the robot-led fulfillment team and in-house preparation of all fresh items.
Smart platform
Raha’s easy-to-navigate smart platform leverages users’ data and insights to provide a personalized customer journey unlike any other in the market, with made-to-order items, easy step-by-step customization, tailored recipes and an impressively wide range of varieties across all product segments.
Raha’s investment in technology and innovation did not come as an added value extension of the business, but rather has been the driving notion at the heart of its conception and service model from the very beginning.
“Every step of the customer journey from first log-in to final order delivery has been carefully designed to deliver maximum convenience. We wanted to translate and elevate the traditional grocery experience at its absolute best to a seamless digital experience,” affirmed Saleh Al-Tunaib. CoFounder and CEO, Raha.
David Dronfield, General Manager, Swisslog Middle East.
Swisslog MFC Solution E-Grocery AutoStore 3D Rendering.
Raha’s heavy investment in the infrastructure of both its software and product technology built a selfserving operational model that is now Kuwait’s first robotic fulfillment centre. Concurrently, Raha successfully launched a fully automated, chilled fulfillment centre making it one of the first of its kind globally. This achievement introduces to the entire region the emerging trend of intralogistics, which is proving to shape the future of the eCommerce industry worldwide, the press note continued.
Quality benchmarks
With a core commitment to hit quality and freshness benchmarks across every order, Raha employs a completely temperature-controlled and precise process. The full cycle of logistics from procurement to last-mile delivery, is systematic and precisely controlled. Dedicated areas for the in-house preparation of meats, poultry, fish, and deli items offer consumers unparalleled freshness when coupled with Raha’s unique indoor dispatch area.
Their trained fleet carry out the lastmile delivery that is route-optimized and time-efficient to complete the full cycle, seamlessly inserting Raha’s redefined grocery experience into the online commerce space that users are increasingly migrating to currently, the press release stated.
Additionally, Raha offers a nutritionally categorized assortment to fit all lifestyles and a unique feature in the form of Raha Recipes: a one click add-to-cart recipes component, with recipes produced inhouse using only items available in the app.
“The micro-fulfilment centre designed for Raha is the first automated microfulfilment centre (MFC) implemented in Kuwait, with a system designed in such a way that order capacity per day can be effectively doubled through the ease of expansion our solution provides,” asserted David Dronfield, General Manager, Swisslog Middle East.
Flexibility and convenience
Customers are offered unparalleled flexibility and convenience by building a system that not only caters to both chilled and ambient products but that is designed to execute both express and scheduled delivery.
Though Kuwait was under lock down, a tremendous work ethic and solid collaboration between Swisslog and Raha made possible the timely and successful implementation of the system, overcoming the pandemic barriers through our joint efforts.
It may be noted that Raha was created and designed by a diverse team of driven young talents, who bring with them wide ranging expertise and experience in the fields of grocery retail, e-commerce, and tech development in the region.
The company has completed its seed round of funding, with an impressive capital of US$ 6.7mn raised by Saudi and Kuwaiti backers, as well as an international VC (venture capitalist) the press communiqué concluded.
Fresh and frozen food:
Can your warehouse keep up with changing demands?
There are many cold chain challenges to confront when working with temperature-controlled products. David Dronfield, General Manager, Swisslog Middle East examines several aspects of the related logistics and supply chain and proposed solutions.
Unlike other industries, food and beverage can be quite extra-ordinary. High dynamism of the FMCG (fastmoving consumer goods), high labour costs, constantly changing requirements and relatively low entrance criteria leveraging a risk of new entries.
Add to that the obligation to meet quality standards to ensure high levels of health and safety, it is safe to say food and beverage is a unique sector.
The food industry is changing fast with new products, convenience meals, organic foods and exclusion diets. Regulators and consumers want to see full Farm to Fork traceability. The industry is currently battling with an increasing shortage of staff and skilled workers, and even if we put that challenge aside, working in an environment of -28° Celsius discourages skilled workers from applying.
Additionally, food and beverage sector has undergone a value chain shift, transitioning from a classic model (B2B selling to wholesalers or purchasing associations), to an end-consumer model, requiring multi-channel strategies.
According to a report by Grand View Research, the global cold chain market size was estimated at US$ 210.49bn in 2020 and is expected to reach US$ 238.4bn in 2021.
Swisslog RFC Solution E-Grocery 3D Rendering.
Dynamic WDS
To compete, organizations need a highly dynamic warehouse and distribution system (WDS) to cope with higher outputs and shorter change-over times.
Agile and scalable, Swisslog automated warehouse solutions for ambient and frozen food provide the flexibility organizations need from production to the point of sale, ensuring freshness and quality, while reducing costs, human errors and order fulfillment time.
An inherently harsh environment for workers, cold storage facilities present an ideal scenario for logistics automation, which can deliver:
PowerStore: High density shuttle system for pallet warehousing
With the possibility to individually tailor for all shapes and sizes of warehouse buildings, the modularity of the PowerStore pallet shuttle system enables storage of up to 60% more pallets compared to manual systems. PowerStore pallet storage systems can be used in a wide range of environments, from -30°C in frozen food storage to 50°C, opening up new possibilities for automation in existing warehouses.
PowerStore control software is fully integrated in Swisslog’s SynQ suite of warehouse management software and designed to work seamlessly with customers’ WMS and host systems.
CycloneCarrier: Dynamic shuttle storage and retrieval system for small loads
CycloneCarrier is an automated shuttle system for storage of small loads. The shuttle system is designed for applications where high throughput and excellent availability are essential for returns handling, replenishment or buffer for order consolidation.
Suitable for chilled storage environments, the shuttle offers double to quadruple deep storage of totes, trays and cartons and can be used as a feeding engine for goodsto-person pick stations, a buffer system for order consolidation, or an intelligently designed combination of both.
Using Swisslog’s dynamic CycloneCarrier warehouse shuttle system, Alnatura expanded its store network with lowvolume personal care items from one central location, shortening transport routes while managing a larger SKU range.
The Vectura automated storage and retrieval stacker crane
Vectura is a multi-talented and energy efficient high bay warehouse pallet stacker crane which can handle one, two or more loads in single, double, triple and multideep layouts, depending on the storage density and throughput requirements of your warehouse.
Vectura brings together the best engineering and pallet stacking knowhow in the industry, capable of handling large and unusual loads from car bodies to boats and everything needed in a high bay warehouse.
Saudi Arabian dairy giant Almarai in the Middle East on-boarded Swisslog as a partner to automate processes with an aim to increase the transit quantities, reduce costs, eliminate the laborious and unergonomic working operations while boosting the efficiency of logistics.
The challenges of running a warehouse are magnified in the temperature-controlled environment, where standard distribution equipment cannot cope with conditions. Vectura can automate your manual storage, distribution and order picking processes, keeping employees out of the deep-freeze environment, while improving speed and accuracy.
Are you willing to take the next step to be able to meet the retailer’s just-in-time order requirements and consumer’s everchanging purchasing habits?
