Supermarkets around the world are struggling to develop a sustainable system that delivers food to customers. In the last six months three of the biggest have turned to Ocado, set up by three former Goldman Sachs bankers 18 years ago.The deals followed the development of Ocado’s 240,000 square foot distribution centre in Andover, southern England, that pulls together an average order of 50 items in a matter of minutes as opposed to the several hours taken by its older centres.

Ocado says Andover, powered by its own software and hardware, is the most advanced system for online grocery on the planet. While boosting its own profitability, it also functions as a shop window to potential customers and the three deals have helped send its share price up by 117 percent in a year.”We are …