Mercadona Online Madrid service façade

Mercadona launches its new online service in central Madrid

20 april 2020

Mercadona seeks to respond to the needs of society and its “Bosses” in this exceptional situation.

  • This new warehouse exclusively for the online service, which the company calls a Hive, is located in Getafe, and will serve the Retiro and Salamanca districts and the Méndez Álvaro area in its first phase.
  • Since the confinement began Mercadona has been strengthening its online service in Valencia and Barcelona, cities where it has Hives, while temporarily suspending service in other areas where orders were fulfilled directly from stores.
  • With an investment of 12 million euros, the new online warehouse has an initial staff of 100 people, which will grow in pace with the project to include over 350 people.

Today Mercadona, a company with physical supermarkets and online service, launched its first Hive in Madrid, after accelerating efforts to respond to the current needs of its “Bosses” and of society in this exceptional situation. After strengthening the online service in Valencia and Barcelona due to high demand, Madrid is the next city to get the new service.

The first Mercadona Hive in Madrid is located in Getafe (Los Gavilanes Industrial Park). Starting today, it will provide service to the Retiro and Salamanca districts and the Méndez Álvaro area, specifically to seven postcodes (28001, 28006, 28007, 28009, 28010, 28014, 28045). The operations will be consolidated in the coming weeks and then expanded as quickly as possible to new postcodes in the city, though specific dates for new phases have not been announced.

There are currently 100 people working at the Madrid Hive, and the staff will increase to 350 workers as the service grows. This preparation centre will be exclusively for the online channel, which represents a clear alternative for many of our Bosses in times such as the present. All workers have all the protective equipment recommended by health officials and take extreme caution during preparation and distribution.  

According to Juana Roig, the managing director of Mercadona’s online shopping project, “we decided to launch the new online service in Madrid, despite the exceptionally delicate situation we are all faced with, because our customers are demanding it now more than ever.  While always putting the health and safety of our workers first, companies must be the key driving force to revive the economy, and this is just one more example of our commitment to this country”. Juana Roig also thanked all the people who have taken part in the project and assures that “although we know we are not going to be able to respond to the full demand in Madrid, we are going to try our best to reach the most customers as quickly as possible. Our goal is to deliver orders to 30,000 homes in the next month”.

Job creation and investment

The online project in Madrid is the third Hive opened by the company, following the launch of the Valencia Hive in 2018 and the Barcelona Hive in 2019. The Mercadona Online staff will grow to 1,000 people this year. 

This new distribution centre has required an investment of 12 million euros and spans 15,000 m2, of which 3,800 m2 are to be used for fresh products, including a cold storage area for refrigerated and frozen products. Fresh products are received and prepared the same day they are delivered to customers, ensuring maximum quality and freshness.

Sustainability and efficiency

Mercadona has a fleet of 50 LNG-powered vehicles that can transport up to 15 orders. They have been exclusively designed with 3 temperature zones for different types of products: room temperature, refrigerated, and frozen. They also have a mechanized unloading system that minimizes the handling of loads, resulting in less strain on workers and shorter delivery times. The entire fleet is also part of the company's sustainable transport project, as all of the vehicles are powered by liquefied natural gas, a more environmentally friendly fuel.

The goal of the new online shopping service is not merely to improve the shopping experience through the new website and mobile app, but also to bring about important structural changes that make it possible to optimise preparation and distribution processes. Transferring the preparation and shipment of orders to the Hive, instead of managing them one by one from the stores, increases productivity and efficiency, and ensures better service. In addition to the online store, all the software used in the different processes is developed in-house by Mercadona, which employs a team of more then 60 developers, product managers, and designers.

This new model keeps the same delivery price as the previous service (€7.21 / order) and expands the delivery window to 7 am to 10 pm from Monday to Saturday, in one-hour slots starting the day after the order is placed.

Customers can look for products by category or use the new platform’s search engine with photographs and full information for every product.

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Mercadona Online Warehouse in Getafe (Madrid)Mercadona Online Warehouse in Getafe (Madrid).

Mercadona Online Service Warehouse in Getafe (Madrid)Mercadona Online Service Warehouse in Getafe (Madrid).

Worker at the Mercadona online warehouse in GetafeWorker at the Mercadona online warehouse in Getafe.