Cleveron expands automated pickup range with new compact grocery locker

Estonian parcel locker company Cleveron has launched a new compact and modular locker, which enables customers to collect groceries in less than one minute.

The Cleveron 503 can be used indoor and outdoor for both grocery and parcel pickup thanks to three different temperature-controlled modules – freezer, chilled and controlled-ambient. According to the company, the units can be combined in a main module, and extra units added, as order volumes grow.

The 503 complements Cleveron’s existing automated pickup solutions, including the larger 501 outdoor parcel robot for grocery delivery, which comes with two temperature zones – freezer and refrigerated.

The company also offers indoor and outdoor parcel lockers, pickup towers, software, self-service kiosks and the Cleveron 701 unmanned autonomous vehicle which is on the streets in Estonia and has recently been trialled by DPD in the Netherlands. Overall, Cleveron has machines in 37 countries worldwide.

Fast pickup

Due to its compact and modular nature, the 503 is suitable for smaller grocers, according to Cleveron, enabling them to “make their grocery pickup faster, offer convenience while saving on delivery costs and increase their physical footprint without building new stores,” it noted.

A 503 combination of two freezers and three chilled and controlled-ambient units can hold an average of 24 families’ weekly groceries, Cleveron wrote. To use the locker, the customer places an order online, chooses a pickup time, receives the pickup code on their phone and takes the grocery bags out of the locker in less than a minute.

Arti Kütt, COO at Cleveron, said: “Cleveron 503 is a compact grocery locker, and its modular system enables retailers to assemble the units from different temperature modules exactly according to their needs. Our customers can go even closer to their customers as the locker’s footprint is small, and retailers can easily place it in densely built spaces such as residential areas or near office buildings.

“I see that in the future, grocery lockers are located everywhere in residential areas – people can conveniently collect their food orders on their way home,” added Kütt.

Sustainable solutions

Cleveron also claims that its solutions help meet the needs of sustainable delivery and make the last mile greener. “If Cleveron 503 is located on the way home for a customer and an average drive to a supermarket and back is about 10 kilometres, then the yearly saving of CO2 is 67 kg. And this is for one family only. Also, the couriers don’t have to drive to each person individually; extra CO2 saving comes from there as well,” explained Tanel Aruoja, Team X Manager at Cleveron, who led the Cleveron 503 development project.

“The charm of Cleveron 503 is that its footprint is small – it helps to broaden companies’ visibility and to locations where the brand doesn’t have a store yet. The locker doesn’t have to be next to the supermarket; it can be placed anywhere where there is required space and electricity capability,” added Aruoja.