Caputo's Streamlines Online Grocery Fulfillment

Angelo Caputo's Fresh Markets in the Chicagoland area has chosen Locai Solutions' PowerPick fulfillment management software to keep up with an increasing demand in online grocery during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Caputo's has switched to a new dedicated fulfillment area, or "wareroom," using the technology to take the pressure off in-store picking.

"At the beginning of the pandemic, we were just trying to get orders out of the door," said Matt Idstein, head of e-commerce for Carol Stream, Illinois-based Caputo's. "After a few days of incredible volume, it became clear that our operating methods were not scalable, and that we needed a new solution quickly, or one of two things would happen: 1) out-of-stock rates would increase for both in-store and online customers, or 2) employee burnout would be our demise."

The PowerPick software supports both the wareroom pick and in-store pick with multi-ordering and inventory management. Caputo's has also worked with Locai for its e-commerce site and meal-planning solution.

"Moving from in-store pick to a dedicated fulfillment area off the store floor was an immediate goal," said Scott DeGraeve, COO of Denver-based Locai. "Caputo's already had an identified space, so working together, we were able to set that up very quickly. This change alone will give them a 3x improvement in productivity, as well as provide a major increase in capacity to support their customer demand."

Caputo's can give customer insight into real-time inventory to help with out-of-stock rates. The grocer has also decided to offer in-store and curbside pickup at no charge. As the retailer noted: "We're dropping our pickup fee forever, to support the continued health and safety of our community." 

Angelo Caputo's Fresh Markets is a family owned and operated chain since 1958 with seven stores in the Chicagoland area.