Ouidrop

Ouidrop is a French robotics company addressing the challenges of last-mile logistics by designing and manufacturing automated solutions for package and grocery retrieval. The company was established in Bordeaux in 2017 by Thibault Soulier, who was later joined by his associates Edouard Le Roy and Marc Mongis in 2019. Soulier's initial concept, stemming from his experience managing events at business school, was to create an automated cloakroom and luggage storage system for public venues. However, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 decimated the events market, prompting a strategic pivot towards the burgeoning click-and-collect sector, a need validated by discussions with La Poste.

The company's core offering is "le Dropper," a robotic hardware system that automates the deposit and retrieval of goods. This system functions as a high-capacity, robotic locker available 24/7, designed to consolidate deliveries from multiple carriers and retailers into a single point. A key differentiator is its modular, tri-temperature capability, allowing it to store ambient, fresh, and frozen items, thus serving both general e-commerce and grocery drive-through markets. Unlike standard connected lockers, Ouidrop uses a robotic arm to manage the storage containers, which significantly optimizes space and allows for capacities ranging from 100 to 1,500 parcels. This high density makes the cost-per-parcel lower than traditional solutions. Customers interact with an intuitive interface to retrieve or deposit items in under 15 seconds.

Ouidrop's business model targets logistics operators, major retailers, and property managers of high-traffic areas like shopping centers and train stations. Revenue is generated from the sale and installation of these robotic systems, with an average machine costing around €250,000. By providing a centralized, multi-brand retrieval point, Ouidrop helps its clients reduce personnel costs, optimize real estate, and diminish the carbon footprint associated with last-mile deliveries by consolidating delivery routes. The company has secured notable clients such as Groupe La Poste, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, and FM Logistic. To fuel its growth, Ouidrop raised €2 million in July 2023 from investors including Spring Invest and Better Angle. This funding is being used to industrialize its solution, expand its Bordeaux assembly factory, and increase production capacity with a goal of producing ten machines per month by 2025.

Keywords: last-mile delivery, click-and-collect, robotic lockers, automated logistics, parcel retrieval, grocery drive-through, tri-temperature storage, e-commerce logistics, urban logistics, retail technology, automated pickup points, French tech, Bordeaux startup, Thibault Soulier, logistics automation, robotic automation, parcel lockers, smart lockers, supply chain technology, package management