Introduction
Micro Fulfillment Centers (MFCs), a highly recommended popular e-commerce fulfillment strategy, is an effective way to meet the rising volumes, the changing geographical nature of e-commerce demand, and the growing desire for same-day or same-hour delivery. As per the latest market research study (4th Edition), Micro Fulfillment Market is expected to have a cumulative opportunity worth $32B in next 7 years by 2030 with an installed base of 5600+ MFCs if the technology and concept remains permanent. Year 2025 is expected to have an inflection point for Micro Fulfillment market touching almost ~$3B installed mark and setting the base for the future.
The 4th edition of this study is having a market analysis of more than 250 players (part of our exclusive Market Map), Key Technologies, Targeted Warehouse Sizes, End-User Industries, Store Types and more than 20 countries/regions although this market is getting adopted mainly in U.S. and U.K. at present. Our analysis is also validated through 70+ in-depth interviews across the value chain with components and technology providers, system integrators & manufacturers, grocery stores and end-user industry verticals. Market size tables (85+) are also available in pivot-excel format to analyze further along with 200+ pages in-depth market study. It is a best reference to analyze the market attractiveness, to identify the partner, customer or supplier, to check the competitive landscape, to benchmark the new technologies and to select the right geography & industry vertical for your products and services. Voice and opinion of grocery stores, dark stores and instant delivery service providers have been taken as the key parameter for this market forecast.
Micro Fulfillment – Need of the hour
Industry giants such as Amazon, Walmart, Ocado, Kroger and Alibaba are driving the “best-in-class” e-commerce fulfillment strategy for the last decade. They are also investing in cutting-edge robotics and automation for their Customer Fulfillment Centers (CFCs) – that are continuously redefining target productivity and service levels. But these centralized fulfillment centers are situated far away from the city and have an additional transportation cost along with considerably more delivery time as compared to consumer’s expectations, especially in grocery and F&B industry. Online grocery is already having a slim profit margin and micro-fulfillment has the ability to increase its margin and to make e-commerce accessible to a broader range of retailers because it cuts down major costs like
That’s why, Micro Fulfillment Center (MFC) is a perfect solution for urban warehouses with an approximated size between 5000 SF and 25000 SF that can meet the requirement of same day delivery through in-store picking or multiple last-mile delivery options. It can even be deployed at backside of the retail store, dark stores, malls or basements. A typical MFC system is having 1-2 aisles Dry + 1-2 aisles Chilled, 5,000-8,000 totes 10-high storage to 24’ x 2-deep, 2 decanting stations and 2-4 pick stations with each station picking at 700-800 UPH.
Highlights of Micro Fulfillment Market Report
Top Factors
Micro Fulfillment Centers – Advantages
Micro Fulfillment Market Trends
Micro Fulfillment Market has been the most important and emerging trend during pandemic (covid-19) coming out from some bigger trends like eGrocery Growth, Urban Warehouses, Dark Stores and Automated Cold Storages. Huge investment in start-ups like Takeoff Technologies ($86M+), Fabric ($336M+), Attabotics ($165M+), Exotec Solutions ($446M+), BrightPick ($50M+), and Alert Innovation (Acquired by Walmart) are witnessing this growth along with presence of existing traditional players like Dematic, Swisslog, Knapp, OPEX Corporation, Muratec, SSI Schaefer, Daifuku, Honeywell Intelligrated and Vanderlande. Retailers such as Walmart, Amazon, Kroger, GAP, Nike, Woolworths, Amazon, Ocado, Carrefour, Uniqlo, Meijer, H-E-B, Albertsons, Majid-Al-Futtaim, Decathlon, Nordstorm, H-Mart and Ahold Delhaize have already started adopting and implementing these new technologies during pandemic. Apart this, piece picking robots’ suppliers like Berkshire Grey, Righthand Robotics, Kindred AI, Covariant, OSARO, Plus One Robotics, XYZ Robotics, Fizyr have established a new attractive capability for order picking in ecommerce fulfillment to transfer the good-to-person (G2P) systems into good-to-robot (G2R) systems.
Coming to MFC system architecture and technologies, AutoStore is an old and proven technology with hundreds of installations in ecommerce fulfullment including the recent partnership with Swisslog and H-E-B for micro fulfillment center in U.S. but they are going to face a very good competition in MFC space from new players like Takeoff Technologies, Fabric, Exotec Solutions, Attabotics, Berkshire Grey, Geek Plus and Alert Innovation. Established system integrators like Dematic, TGW, SSI-Schaefer, Daifuku, Honeywell Intelligrated, Vanderlande and Knapp are using the traditional shuttle and ASRS systems which are good and already proven for big fulfillment centers but not 100% ideal for micro fulfillment yet. At the same time, Attabotics, Alert Innovation, and Exotec are using emerging 3D technologies having good architecture specific to MFC with high density and no point of failure but it will too early to say anything as there are only few installations and not 100% proved yet. Apart this, software is going to be the main differentiator and value add for MFC systems as some suppliers are having their in-house software capabilities and others are having a partnership to do the needful. As per our discussion with technology suppliers and industry experts, every technology and architecture are having its own advantage and disadvantage depending upon the grocery store’s location, current requirement, capital expenditure, fear of digitalization and automation from big players, and insecurity related to its consumers’ information.
Key Players in Micro-Fulfillment Market Ecosystem:
SUPPLY SIDE
DEMAND SIDE
Key Questions to be answered through this study
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1 Introduction & Background
2 Micro Fulfillment Market – Drivers and Challenges
3 Cost Comparison and Advantages
4 Case Studies
5 Micro Fulfilment Center Market, By Value, Volume, Installed Base and Service Revenue
6 Micro Fulfillment Market – By Warehouse Size – Installed Base and Market Size (USD Million)
7 Micro Fulfillment Market By Technology Solutions – Installed Base and Market Size (USD Million)
8 Micro Fulfillment Market By End-User – Installed Base and Market Size (USD Million)
9 Micro Fulfillment Market By Store Type (Deployment) – Installed Base and Market Size (USD Million)
10 Micro Fulfillment Market By Geography and Country – Installed Base and Market Size (USD Million)
11 Competitive Landscape
12 Company Analysis
13 Emerging Trends
14 Research Methodology
15 Acknowledgements
16 About LogisticsIQ
LIST OF TABLES:
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