The next time you shop for groceries without worry over COVID-19 you may notice something different – a drastic increase in the level of automation.

“There probably will be a boom, post-COVID-19, with a lot of innovation coming forward in the AI/automation space. However, it must be grounded in real engineering for these technologies to move past stat- of-the-art research or proof-of-concept,” Liu Yang, a PR specialist for AI technology company AiFi told Design News.

Ocado’s robot-powered warehouses thrum with activity on ordinary days; since the coronavirus crisis erupted, they’ve been in roaring overdrive. The pandemic has given the company a chance to prove it can keep an online grocery business humming, even when its human workforce faces unprecedented strain. Yet at the same time, the crisis’s upending of daily life has threatened to knock Ocado off its growth trajectory, just when it seemed tantalizingly close to becoming a global force.

According to Jacob Shapiro, a geopolitical analyst, 90 percent of the businesses with a direct impact to their supply chains as a result of COVID-19 are based in the U.S. At the same time, China enjoys a dominant position, and in some sectors a monopoly, on supply in those global supply chains.

“While the first rule of supply chain resilience is to avoid single sourcing,” says Shapiro, who advises business clients on geopolitical and political risk, “U.S. and European companies have long been attracted by the cheap skilled labor China has to offer.” He adds that “regardless of the ultimate impact or duration of the pandemic, the rapid suppression of global economic activity has shown that overreliance on China as a primary supplier has become an intolerable single point of failure.”

Crop One Holdings is bringing mass-scale vertical farming to the Middle East. The California-based company has inked a deal with Emirates that looks set to be a game changer in the region’s food supply.

It’s hard to grow lettuce in the desert but Emirates Flight Catering is countering that with highly innovative farming techniques – and that’s an intentional pun. California based Crop One Holdings is building the world’s largest vertical farm for the airline carrier as part a 40 million USD joint venture.

They disinfect hospital corridors with ultraviolet light to eliminate traces of the novel coronavirus. They help nurses manage routine tasks so they can spend more time with sick patients. They deliver meals to people heeding public health orders to stay at home and help police deliver warnings to those who aren’t.

As medical researchers rush to develop treatments and vaccines to deploy against the coronavirus, scientists and engineers are working on another type of weapon that could play an instrumental role in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic: robots.

A local bakery and a coffee roaster recently added to the service are hoping that drone delivery will help keep them afloat. In their first day of availability on Saturday, which has been the busiest day for Wing, Mockingbird Café owner Donna Speaks says that drone delivery customers bought roughly double the number of croissants, muffins and almond macarons that she would normally sell in store. “Right now it’s a super great bonus for us,” she told Forbes.

Microfulfillment technology can turn brick-and-mortar grocery stores into high-density online distribution hubs.

Chain Store Age recently spoke with Tom Enright, VP and analyst with Gartner, about the opportunity emerging micro-fulfillment solutions offer retailers, especially in the grocery sector, looking to engage in omnichannel commerce. Enright explained how micro-fulfillment works and how it can boost productivity and volume in the enterprise supply chain.

“Pre-pandemic, people might have thought we were automating too much,” said Richard Pak, a professor at Clemson University who researches the psychological factors around automation. “This event is going to push people to think what more should be automated.”

The Fastest Growing and Declining E-Commerce Categories

The COVID-19 pandemic is having a significant impact on every aspect of life, including how people shop for their necessities, and their not-so-necessities.

With online retail sales estimated to reach an eye-watering $6.5 trillion by 2023, the ecommerce sector was already booming. But since the outbreak, online shopping has been catapulted into complete overdrive. Even the largest retailers on the planet are struggling to keep up with the unprecedented consumer demand—but what exactly are people buying?

To answer this question, retail intelligence firm Stackline analyzed ecommerce sales across the U.S. and compiled a list of the fastest growing and declining ecommerce categories (March 2020 vs. March 2019) with surprising results.

In the wake of supply chain disruptions due to coronavirus, several experts have reiterated the need to obtain more visibility across the chain. Companies who sell finished goods generally know production and shipment schedules for their Tier 1 suppliers, but they usually have little to no knowledge of suppliers further up the chain.

Is it possible for grocers and markets to offer delivery at normal prices to consumers? Unfortunately, razor-thin gross margins along with high costs of additional labor and fleets make it extremely difficult to do so profitably. Even Amazon.com, Inc. appears to offer grocery deliveries at a loss – which is only manageable because it generates profits in other parts of the company. That’s according to Peter van Stolk, CEO of Food-X Technologies, a technology company that helps brick-and-mortar grocers introduce an e-commerce offering and still earn a profit on sales. In an interview with IPO Edge, Mr. van Stolk explains how his model works and why e-commerce can help keep consumers safe during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

In the span of a few weeks, we’ve seen the adoption of online grocery being forced years ahead of its expected growth, without the necessary infrastructure or staff to sustain it. Many of our customers’ production planning and ordering processes were similarly disrupted. In some cases, all they could do was rush to produce product, and stock their shelves as quickly and with as many core items as possible.

Food distribution giant Sysco said it is now leveraging its supply chain expertise to provide services to the retail grocery sector, as part of its strategy to counter the fallout of the collapse of the US restaurant sector because of the Cornavirus.

"This net new business will help offset some of the declines in the food-away-from-home segment, and also positions the company well to capitalize on growth opportunities after the COVID-19 crisis subside," Sysco said in a statement.

In an abrupt switch in strategy, Hy-Vee is closing four fulfillment centers and will now handle all online orders from store locations.

“We are listening to our customers and they are wanting a full assortment of products, personalized shoppers and same-day pickup at the store, which we are unable to fully provide when we process orders at a fulfillment center,” Hy-Vee said in a media statement.

• Chinese companies are rushing to deploy robots and automation technology as the coronavirus spreads throughout the nation.

• China has become the world’s largest market for industrial robotics and the fastest-growing market worldwide, according to the International Federation of Robotics.

• A survey by the American Chamber of Commerce Shanghai found nearly half of the 109 companies polled in that city and metro area said lack of staff is their biggest challenge over the next few weeks, while two-thirds noted they don’t have sufficient staff to run a full production line.

"Project Olive" is rumored to be Amazon's application to build a towering five-story, 3.8 million square feet, fulfillment center in Western New York State near Interstate 190.

The building would have room for 7,000 employees, but much of the work is performed by robots, the filing states. The facility would have at least 1,000 workers working in two shifts, with up to 1,800 employees during the peak holiday period when seasonal employees are added. The building would be open 24 hours a day and 365 days per year.

Amazon warehouse tours are available at 21 locations in the United States and Canada.

Micro fulfillment centers have become all the rage in the e-grocery world. An MFC is a highly automated system that can fit in a small space in the rear area of a grocery store, away from the sales floor, or in an adjacent or nearby building. It taps the power of robotics to grab items for online orders in a matter of a minute or two.