Kesko is rolling out a cloud-native, AI-driven warehouse management system across five distribution centres, with expansion to a greenfield site in 2029–30. The move supports its grocery division, which generated EUR 6.5 billion in net sales and EUR 418 million in operating profit in 2025. By integrating Manhattan’s Wave Coordinator, Labour, and Warehouse Associate Agents—and exploring custom agentic AI via Agent Foundry—Kesko aims to enable real-time operational responsiveness. Executives stress that maintaining on-time-in-full delivery is critical, as customers rapidly switch providers upon failure.
According to logisticsbusiness.com, Kesko is implementing a cloud-native, AI-powered warehouse management system (WMS) to strengthen operational agility amid converging digital and physical retail channels.
Strategic Scale and Financial Context
The initiative reflects the scale of Kesko’s grocery division, which reported EUR 6.5 billion in net sales and EUR 418 million in comparable operating profit in 2025. This business unit comprises K-food stores and Kespro, forming one of Finland’s most extensive grocery trade operations. The project’s significance extends beyond technology modernization—it addresses intensifying pressures from fragmented consumer demand and rising expectations for rapid, reliable order fulfilment across European retail logistics.
Phased Rollout and Real-Time Operational Imperative
Kesko’s deployment begins with five distribution centres, followed by a greenfield site scheduled for completion in 2029–30, plus integration with terminal hub operations. As Pekka Tala, Director Strategic Programs, Grocery Trade Logistics at Kesko, explained:
“If you break an on-time-in-full promise a customer will simply find an alternative, which sets the stakes high. Initially covering five distribution centres, followed by a greenfield site (in 2029–30), plus a range of terminal hub operations, being able to interpret and act on operational signals in real time is key for us.” — Pekka Tala, Director Strategic Programs, Grocery Trade Logistics at Kesko
Manhattan Platform and Agentic AI Integration
Kesko will deploy Manhattan’s Wave Coordinator, Labour, and Warehouse Associate Agents, and is exploring additional purpose-built agents via Agent Foundry to enhance inbound operations. Sebastien Lefebure, Senior Vice President, EMEA at Manhattan, emphasized the strategic shift:
“The continuous innovation delivered by Manhattan’s cloud-native platform, coupled with the functional power of AI embedded in the execution layer of supply chains is increasingly becoming the benchmark against which next-generation supply chain platforms will be measured, and Kesko is at the forefront of the application of this technology in the Nordic grocery space.” — Sebastien Lefebure, Senior Vice President, EMEA at Manhattan
Source: logisticsbusiness.com
Compiled from international media by the SCI.AI editorial team.
