Scaling Safe Food Delivery for Canadians
This project’s eGrocery software solution covers everything a retailer needs to effectively operate dedicated online grocery fulfillment facilities at scale.
Project Overview
Updated March 31, 2023.
Project lead, Food-X Technologies, closed operations in June 2022 due to CCAA proceedings prior to project completion. The project consortium confirmed in October 2022 they would not be continuing with the project. At the time of the project’s termination, the project was developing an end-to-end eGrocery Management solution to address the unprecedented demand for online sales and ensure food security for Canadians through better food supply chain management. Prior to termination, the project had achieved global scale through a significant partnership with Carrefour, one of the world’s largest grocers.
The Problem
In March 2020, as millions of Canadians stayed home and braced for the impacts of COVID-19, the volume of online orders for groceries and pharmacy spiked significantly.
This sudden increase in demand was difficult to meet, and traditional methods for fulfilling these orders were no longer sufficient. What was once next-day delivery would take upward of a week. In addition, health authorities and governments became concerned that essential workers were unable to safely access the healthy food they needed.
How We Are Solving It
Food-X, along with its partners, launched Feeding Our Frontlines, a project designed to address the rising concerns with food supply chains and food security of our frontline workers and vulnerable community members. Specifically, Feeding Our Frontlines deployed hyper-efficient software for managing fresh inventory within an eGrocery fulfillment centre. This foundational feature, titled FreshX, is part of a larger eGrocery Management System enabling essential workers, home-based patients and citizens in quarantine access to fresh, high-quality groceries.
As the COVID-19 environment evolved, so did the challenge for retailers to offer safe food delivery to Canadian citizens. The Public Health Agency of Canada recommended using grocery delivery services and demand for online grocery shopping grew over 400 per cent in March and April.
Remaining agile, the Food-X team pivoted to expand its mandate and deliver Scaling Safe Food Delivery for Canadians. The current environment has created major challenges for Canadian citizens, small to medium-sized retailers and local food producers as they attempt to cope with the effects of COVID-19, such as following physical distancing rules, cost-effectively scaling online grocery services and managing a localized supply chain. This project’s eGrocery software solution covers everything a retailer needs to effectively operate dedicated online grocery fulfillment facilities at scale.
Project Lead
Project Partners
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“In this unprecedented challenge to our communities, we are pleased to be collaborating with the Digital Technology Supercluster and some of the world’s leading companies to provide a food management system to support our front line essential workers, patients and citizens. We are humbled by the work that front line workers are performing and are grateful we can contribute our deep knowledge of grocery management systems to this important effort.”
CEO, Food-X Technologies Watch the Impact Video