Raha partnered with Swisslog to deploy Kuwait’s first fully automated robotics-fulfillment center

Logistics automation is a sustainable solution that offers companies a competitive edge, allowing them to enhance their operations while delivering a seamless customer experience and maintaining business continuity. The e-commerce, e-grocery, and retail sectors can benefit significantly from automation by leveraging insights to provide faster service, increasing their savings, improving flexibility, and improving product quality overall. Retailers in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region have thrived due to a favorable macroeconomic environment. The region represents about two percent of the world’s top 250 retailers, with significant growth across segments such as grocery, apparel, and electronics. This indicates the importance of investing in automation technology to stay competitive in the market. Businesses that embrace logistics automation are better equipped to improve their operations, meet customer demands, and stay competitive.

Swisslog’s commitment to delivering cutting-edge, robot-based automation solutions aligns seamlessly with the evolving needs of this dynamic market. The collaboration between Swisslog and Raha extends beyond implementing Kuwait’s first fully-automated robotics-fulfillment center. It sets a new benchmark for innovation and efficiency in the industry, demonstrating how advanced automation and technology-driven solutions can transform the grocery experience and elevate customer satisfaction.

THE ASSOCIATION
The region’s newest e-grocery platform has partnered with Swisslog’s fully automated robotics-fulfillment center and one of the first centers of the kind globally with a chilled warehouse capability.

With the launch of Raha in 2022, an innovative homegrown concept set to redefine Kuwait’s grocery experience, Swisslog implemented Kuwait’s first fully-automated robotics-fulfillment center, and one of the first of its kind globally with a chilled warehouse capability. The technological infrastructure developed by global warehouse automation specialist, Swisslog, serves as the core foundation of Raha’s technology-driven operational model and fully automated, data-driven intralogistics system, featuring the AutoStore solution—an innovative automated material handling solution that uses robots on top of an aluminium grid system to store and locate goods, efficiently delivering them to pick stations for processing.

TECHNOLOGY FOR GROWTH
Conceived as a digital operation first and foremost, Raha is making a huge investment in its technological infrastructure and completely self-serving operational model, including the robot-led fulfillment team and in-house preparation of all fresh items. Raha’s easy-to-navigate smart platform leverages users’ data and insights to provide a personalized customer journey unlike any other in the market, with made-to-order items, easy step-by-step customization, tailored recipes, and an impressively wide range of varieties across all product segments.

With a core commitment to hit quality and freshness benchmarks across every order, Raha employs a completely temperature-controlled and precise process. The full cycle of logistics – from procurement to last-mile delivery – is systematic and precisely controlled. Dedicated areas for the in-house preparation of meats, poultry, fish, and deli items offer consumers unparalleled freshness when coupled with Raha’s unique indoor dispatch area. Their trained fleet carry out the last-mile delivery that is route-optimized and time-efficient to complete the full cycle, seamlessly inserting Raha’s redefined grocery experience into the online commerce space that users are increasingly migrating to today.

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ENHANCED

Rami Younes, General Manager of Swisslog Middle East, noted: “Our innovative solutions not only double the order capacity per day but also integrate advanced automation technologies to ensure precision, reliability, and scalability. This strategic implementation not only meets current operational needs but also positions Raha at the forefront of technological advancement in the e-grocery sector, setting a new standard for efficiency and customer service in the region.”

Customers are offered unparalleled flexibility and convenience by a system designed to cater to both chilled and ambient products, offering options for both express and scheduled delivery. The successful implementation of this advanced logistics system by Swisslog and Raha underscores their commitment to innovation and operational excellence, ensuring seamless service even in challenging environments.