Amazonの次の買収先か？オンライン専業スーパー「Ocado」

アマゾンによるホールフーズ買収や、日本での「Amazon Fresh」サービスの開始など、アマゾンの食品カテゴリでの話題が尽きません。

次の買収先と予想されているのが、オンライン専業スーパーの「Ocado」です。

Some analysts believe the Amazon/Whole Foods deal increases the chances of an Amazon takeover of Ocado or of a partnership deal, or of other U.S. grocers seeking Ocado's technology.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ocado-results-idUSKBN19Q0WE

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ocado-results-idUSKBN19Q0WE

Bloomberg によれば、アマゾンは「倉庫の自動化」こそが食料品ECにおける成功のカギとみているとのこと

Amazon sees automation as a key strategic advantage in its overall grocery strategy, according to company documents reviewed by Bloomberg before the Whole Foods acquisition was announced.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-26/amazon-robots-poised-to-revamp-how-whole-foods-runs-warehouses

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-26/amazon-robots-poised-to-revamp-how-whole-foods-runs-warehouses

Ocadoは多くのエンジニアを抱え、倉庫の自動化に強みを持つ企業です。

買収候補となるのは妥当だと言えそうです。

Ocado ships more than 2 million items daily to customers in the UK, and has 700 in-house developers working on software for managing its customer fulfillment centers. 

https://readwrite.com/2017/06/17/what-will-the-amazon-take-over-of-whole-foods-mean-for-our-smart-fridges/

https://readwrite.com/2017/06/17/what-will-the-amazon-take-over-of-whole-foods-mean-for-our-smart-fridges/