This article, originally published in *de Volkskrant* on August 20, 2024, highlights Picnic’s breakthrough in achieving its first monthly profit through innovative robotization. With six robots taking on the work of sixty people, the grocery delivery service has halved its staffing needs while boosting efficiency.
CEO Michiel Muller proudly showcased the “dispatch robot” at Picnic’s Utrecht distribution center, a state-of-the-art facility developed in-house for €100 million. This robotization milestone reduces manual labor, previously described as heavy and repetitive, and enhances productivity.
Picnic’s fully automated system allows crates of groceries to move seamlessly from bagging robots to dispatch racks, ready for electric vehicle delivery. Despite the €220 million operational loss in 2023 due to rapid expansion, Muller remains optimistic. Backed by key investors like Edeka and the Bill Gates Foundation, Picnic achieved a 34% revenue growth to €1.23 billion, with the Netherlands alone seeing a 28% rise.
While some tasks, like packing delicate items, remain manual, automation has doubled employee productivity. Muller is confident that these investments will pay off within a few years as engineers refine systems to optimize output.
This milestone signals Picnic’s transformation into a “super-efficient” operation, with plans for further expansion across Europe.
