One Van, Two Services OCADO’s Grid Storage System That Handles Both Scheduled and Rapid Grocery Delivery

Online grocery delivery has split into two distinct models: scheduled delivery, where customers order days in advance for a specific time slot, and rapid delivery, where orders arrive within an hour or less of being placed. These models have traditionally required separate infrastructure – large fulfilment centres for scheduled delivery and small dark stores for rapid delivery. A divisional patent from OCADO Innovation Limited describes a storage and retrieval system that uses a single automated grid-based warehouse to serve both delivery types simultaneously, allocating van capacity between the two reservation methods and dynamically reallocating unused capacity after cut-off times.

The Problem

Scheduled grocery delivery services offer the widest product range – typically 30,000 or more SKUs – picked from large automated fulfilment centres and assigned to delivery vehicles on routes that are optimised before the day of delivery. This model works well for customers planning a week’s shopping, but the logistics are unsuitable for rapid, on-demand delivery because the routing optimisation and picking can only begin after a cut-off time the day before, making same-day-within-the-hour service impossible.

Rapid delivery services use small dark stores carrying approximately 1,000 SKUs, with manual picking and immediate dispatch. These stores provide the speed needed for quick orders but at the cost of a much narrower product range, higher per-order labour costs due to manual picking, and separate delivery vehicle fleets.

Operators who want to offer both services have traditionally maintained two entirely separate systems: an automated fulfilment centre for scheduled orders and a network of small dark stores for rapid orders. The capital investment and operational complexity of running both independently is substantial.

What This Invention Does

The storage system described in the patent uses OCADO’s characteristic grid-based automated storage and retrieval architecture: a matrix of parallel tracks in X and Y directions forms a grid above stacks of containers stored below the grid. Robotic transporting devices move on the grid to retrieve containers, bring them to picking stations where items are transferred into delivery containers, and return loaded delivery containers to the stacks.

The key innovation is in how the system allocates delivery vehicle load capacity. For each delivery vehicle, the control system allocates a first portion of load capacity to the first reservation method (scheduled advance orders, with a cut-off time) and a second portion to the second reservation method (rapid same-day orders with a shorter or no cut-off). When the first cut-off time passes and scheduled orders have been processed, any remaining unused first-portion capacity is reallocated to the second reservation method. This dynamic reallocation means that van space reserved for scheduled orders that did not materialise gets reassigned for rapid orders rather than going to waste.

After the second cut-off, the delivery containers for both scheduled and rapid orders are retrieved from the stacks and transferred to a loading point where they can be loaded into the delivery vehicle for combined dispatch. The route of the delivery vehicle can be optimised after the scheduled orders are confirmed and then refined with the rapid orders added.

Key Features

Dual reservation method allocation. Each delivery vehicle has its load capacity explicitly divided between two reservation methods from the outset – scheduled advance orders and rapid same-day orders – ensuring both service types have guaranteed vehicle access.

Dynamic reallocation after cut-off. Unused scheduled-order capacity after the first cut-off is automatically reassigned to rapid orders, maximising vehicle utilisation without requiring manual intervention.

Single automated storage system. Both scheduled and rapid delivery orders are fulfilled from the same automated grid-based storage system, avoiding the need for separate dark stores for rapid delivery and making a wide product range available for both service types.

Automated picking into delivery containers. Robotic transporting devices pick items from storage containers at picking stations and transfer them into delivery containers, which are returned to the grid stacks until needed – enabling both scheduled (pre-picked before loading) and rapid (picked and loaded quickly) workflows within the same physical system.

Route optimisation. Delivery vehicle routes are optimised after scheduled orders are confirmed, with rapid orders integrated into the route after the second cut-off, balancing delivery efficiency across both order types.

Who Is Behind It?

The applicant is OCADO Innovation Limited of the United Kingdom. The named inventor is Tim Steiner. This divisional was filed on 26 February 2026, derived from parent application AU 2023213611, which claims priority from UK Provisional Application 2200940.1 filed on 25 January 2022. James and Wells Intellectual Property in Canberra are the Australian patent attorneys.

Why It Matters

The bifurcation of online grocery into scheduled and rapid delivery models has created an awkward operational problem for retailers who want to compete in both markets. OCADO’s approach of using a single automated grid system to serve both delivery types from the same inventory and infrastructure significantly reduces the capital and operational cost of offering combined services. The dynamic capacity reallocation mechanism is particularly commercially relevant: it prevents a rigid partition of vehicle space from creating dead capacity when scheduled order volumes are lower than reserved.

OCADO’s grid-based storage technology is already licensed to grocery retailers globally, and extensions that enable the same infrastructure to support rapid delivery alongside scheduled services increase the commercial value of each installation. As rapid delivery becomes an expected baseline service for online grocery customers, the ability to add this capability to an existing automated fulfilment centre without separate dark stores is a meaningful competitive advantage.

---

AU 2026201490 was published in the Australian Official Journal of Patents on 19 March 2026 and is open for public inspection. Patent applications represent inventions that are sought to be protected and do not necessarily reflect commercially available products.

Related Concepts

Dark stores are fulfilment-only retail outlets that support rapid online order delivery but typically carry far fewer products than full-range automated warehouses. Automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) enable high-density, robot-driven picking from a single facility, and Ocado Group‘s grid-based platform is among the most widely licensed implementations, with the capacity to serve both scheduled and rapid delivery from the same inventory.