Pure-play supermarkets have been far slower to automate. But in June 2017, a major move by Amazon gave Ocado’s modernization sales pitch a Saturn V–size boost. That was when the Everything Store spent $13.7 billion to buy upscale grocer Whole Foods, which had 500 stores worldwide. The deal stoked grocers’ fears that Amazon would decimate them as it had so many retailers in other categories—and the trickle of interest in Ocado’s technology became a torrent.
公司还为硬件搭配了诸多新软件，从基于云的移动应用到人工智能均囊括在内。现在Ocado向全世界的杂货店提供集成软件包，以及维护和升级的工程支持服务。
机器人由Ocdoo与英国机器人公司Tharsus共同设计，通过内部4G网络控制，其基站之密集，在全球都无出其右。网络中每台机器人每秒能跟控制软件完成10次通信。厄里斯的蜂巢每天产生4兆兆字节的数据，所有数据都反馈到数字孪生体中以完善系统。
Ocado正为其他最坏的情况做准备，主要问题是如果员工开始感染，或是全体团队要隔离该怎么办。（可能的解决办法包括从其他行业抽调休假员工去仓库，或开卡车送货。公司已经开始招收赋闲的Uber司机。）
施泰纳和克拉克也开始看食品之外的领域，寻找利润丰厚的业务。Ocado在物流、人工智能、机器人技术和仿真方面的专长可应用于自动停车场、包裹分拣、行李搬运、铁路货运、集装箱港口和模块化、可配置建筑等。克拉克说，公司已经在相关领域申请了多项专利。克拉克表示，Ocado研发了模拟停车系统，而且开始探索扩大版机器人，以处理比一箱香蕉重得多的货物。
Rodney McMullen, Kroger’s CEO, says he had been watching Ocado for a decade, meeting periodically with its top executives. Kroger implemented a store pick–based -e-commerce operation after a 2013 merger, but McMullen says it became unwieldy as it grew. The struggle to keep both online and in-store customers happy was driving Kroger toward towards the same sort of automated fulfilment centers Ocado had. McMullen admits to keeping a close eye on Amazon and Walmart, but he insists the Ocado partnership is not about what competition might do. “We didn’t see a path where we could accelerate to where Ocado is in a year or two,” McMullen says.
虽然Ocado在全球范围内率先推出机器分拣中心，但首席技术官克拉克正关注下一个技术转折点。他测试了新款机器人，包括装有类似人手装置的机器人，今后可以完全代替人类拣货。他在研究不损坏水果之类易碎物品的捡取方法。Ocado还测试了叫“第二手”的机器人，此类机器人能用轮子行走，但有仿人类的躯干、头部和手臂，可以修理蜂箱和传送带。克拉克说，最终“目标是设备内完全黑暗”，也就是说分拣中心几乎没有人类参与。