Plastic totes filled with orders zoom overhead on conveyors, guided by computers loaded with artificial intelligence software written and maintained by 16 Ph.Ds. In a refrigerated room, five carousels, each the height of two men and the length of a football field, carry items to a single packer, who places them in bins as they pass by. Once a customer uses the Web site to place an order, Webvan's computers pray the order to all the appropriate parts of the distribution center, whether to dry goods or forzen foods or the deli or the fresh fish area. The totes travel around collecting the orde, then wind up on the loading dock. Webvan has effectively used the automation to overcome some of the difficulties of grocery delivery.
Produce looks as good as anything on a grocery's shelf.
Ice cream arrives hard enough to bend a spoon. From the loading dock, large trucks carry orders to nine local holding facilities. There, the orders are put on smaller trucks that go into neighborhoods. Delivery comes the day after you order and its promised within a 30-minute window that you determine. It also extends the reach of distribution centers.