Ocado's digital twins and simulations: driving efficiencies and innovation at scale

At Ocado Group, we use advanced simulations and digital twins to maximise efficiencies and drive innovation at scale.

Simulations are virtual models that replicate the behaviour of real-world systems, enabling us to experiment and test outcomes in a controlled, digital environment. Digital twins go further: as a dynamic digital replica of a physical process or system. It uses real data to mirror and predict the performance of its physical counterpart.

These technologies empower our data-driven decision-making, allowing us to test, refine, and optimise Ocado’s cutting-edge solutions.

In fact, in just 12 months, our simulation systems have run the equivalent of 270 years of warehouse operations giving us centuries of learning in months. Simulations and digital twins aren’t limited to our warehouse operations, they help us test, model and optimise processes across the value chain. 

Simulations and digital twins are a crucial part of how we optimise Ocado’s automation and operations. In a low-margin, high-volume, time-sensitive environment like online grocery, they’re not just helpful—they’re fundamental to how we deliver efficient operations.

A big part of Ocado's success comes from our drive to disrupt age-old approaches to retail supply chains. This vision is rooted in our heritage in online grocery, where tight margins and large volumes force a laser-focus on efficiency, and where there is no 'silver bullet' solution to transforming the economics of a shopping basket.

In online grocery, the big efficiency gains come through a relentless focus on incremental improvements across the value chain, taking advantage of cutting-edge technologies and innovative approaches to logistics.

Using simulations and digital twins, we can safely model, test, refine and improve scenarios from robotic workflows to fulfilment strategies—before making changes in the real world.

By incorporating system configurations, operational parameters, and even environmental factors, these tools let us ask—and answer—thousands of “what if?” questions. We can identify bottlenecks, predict congestion, evaluate new layouts or algorithms, and stress-test for peak demand.

Simulations and Digital Twins help us day-to-day to make better decisions across Ocado’s entire platform: from improving how we manage Supply Chains to evaluating more effective ways to deliver orders via the Last Mile. Our teams constantly find new ways to use them and make our solutions better."

Sean Schrauben, Lead Principal Product Manager, Ocado Group

Optimising automated systems with bot automation software

Ocado’s bots are orchestrated via our AI “air traffic control” system, which communicates with every bot 10x per second. Our bot automation software monitors and directs our bots, ensuring seamless and efficient operations in our fulfilment centres. We use a digital twin to constantly learn and improve our bot orchestration - using data to fine-tune our robotic traffic, minimising congestion and helping our bots be where they need to be, all of the time.

What’s more, our digital twin allows us to create and test a system that allows our bots and robotic arms to work together synergistically. This results in high fulfilment centre throughput and an attractive proposition for our partners and clients.

Our digital simulation twin has been instrumental in optimising cost per pick for our high-throughput fulfilment centres. It enables rapid experimentation, helping us find the right balance between CapEx for retrieval bots and robotic arms, alongside OpEx for robotic arms and pick stations. Through this rapid testing, we've accelerated algorithmic improvements and deployed cutting-edge technology that has never been seen before —achievements we couldn't have realised without the digital twin."

Chris Webb, Lead Principal Product Manager, Ocado Group

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The future of innovation

Ocado Group is dedicated to advancing the online grocery fulfilment and supply chains through groundbreaking technologies like advanced simulations, digital twins, and Artificial Intelligence. Our expertise in this space enables us to innovate with our partners and clients, now and in the future.