ANDOVER, MA – Alert Innovation, a leader in grocery automation and micro fulfillment systems, is moving to a much larger space to accommodate the rapid expansion of its business. The new headquarters, located at 165 Dascomb Rd, in Andover, MA, includes about 70,000 sq. ft. of office space and 30,000 sq. ft. of lab space. Approximately 75% of the company’s 450 associates will be based in the new location.

“Our offices in North Billerica served us very well as we launched the company and started to deploy our suite of automated fulfillment solutions. Now that we’re in a phase of rapid deployment and team growth, we need more room for our engineers and operations team to efficiently take us to the next level,” said John Lert, Founder and Executive Chairman, Alert Innovation.

The new location opened today with a ribbon cutting ceremony and featuring addresses by Alert Innovation and local government officials, including Massachusetts State Senator Barry Finegold, Representative Tram Nguyen and Representative Frank Moran. At this new facility, Alert Innovation is constructing the patented Alphabot system – a cutting-edge robotic solution for grocery automation that is currently being deployed in major grocery retail spaces throughout the US. The new lab will serve as an engineering hub and center of excellence for developing new technologies in automation.

“It’s critical to have the space for our team members to not only meet our obligations for current deployments but also to develop future versions of the company’s solutions. The new headquarters is ideally located to attract great talent in the Boston area, plus it allows for future growth,” said Fritz Morgan, CEO, Alert Innovation.

Alert Innovation continues to hire in all areas of the organization including software, hardware, systems engineering and more. Click here to view all open roles.

About Alert Innovation, Inc

Alert Innovation^® is a thought leader in grocery automation, driving innovation that improves lives by transforming how retailers operate and people shop. Alert Innovation is an industry leader in robotic e-grocery fulfillment. The Alphabot^® system, designed by the Alert Innovation team is a unique automated fulfillment solution that utilizes patented omnidirectional robots in a temperature-controlled system for fresh, efficient, and high-quality grocery fulfillment. Alert Innovation also designed the Novastore™, a store concept utilizing the Alphabot system, delivering a dynamic and efficient shopping experience. www.alertinnovation.com

Media Contact:
Cristina Rodrigues
Alert Innovation
cristina.rodrigues@alertinnovation.com
+1 401.529.4980

Alert Innovation, a leader in grocery automation and micro fulfillment systems, announced the appointment of John Biasi to the newly created role of Chief Product Officer.

In his new role, Biasi will be responsible for overseeing all product development at Alert Innovation including product management, program management, systems engineering, software engineering, and hardware engineering.

Throughout his career, Biasi has been successful in a range of operational and product leadership roles across a variety of high-tech industries including LED Lighting, Wireless Mesh Networking and Semiconductor Factory Automation. As an entrepreneur, Biasi was also a co-founder of FASTech Integration, which developed mission-critical manufacturing software for semiconductor and electronics companies.

“Alert Innovation has built a strong organization with an incredible foundation” said John Biasi, CPO of Alert Innovation. “I look forward to collaborating with this dedicated team to propel the company’s objectives for growth.”

Prior to Alert Innovation, Biasi held the role of CEO at Full Spectrum Software a professional services company specializing in the development of medical devices. Biasi was also the General Manager at DEKA Research responsible for the development of advanced consumer solutions including the Coca Cola Freestyle, a touch screen soda fountain introduced by The Coca-Cola Company in 2009. While at DEKA, his team also developed an innovative medical infusion platform and a vapor compression distillation device used to create medical grade water.

“As Alert Innovation continues to grow at a rapid pace, we are putting the right people in place to ensure our success” says Fritz Morgan, CEO of Alert Innovation. “We are thrilled that John is joining us and look forward to applying his decades of expertise and success to our product development organization.”

Alert Innovation continues to hire in all areas of the organization including software, hardware, systems engineering and more. Click here to view all open roles.

About Alert Innovation, Inc

Alert Innovation^® is a thought leader in Grocery automation, driving innovation that improves lives by transforming how retailers operate and people shop. Alert Innovation is an industry leader in robotic e-grocery fulfillment. The Alphabot^® system, designed by the Alert Innovation team is a unique automated fulfillment solution that utilizes patented omnidirectional robots in a temperature-controlled system for fresh, efficient, and high-quality grocery fulfillment. Alert Innovation also designed the Novastore™, a store concept utilizing the Alphabot system, delivering a dynamic and efficient shopping experience. www.alertinnovation.com

BOSTON – For the third year in a row, Alert Innovation, a leader in grocery automation and micro fulfillment systems, has been named to the prestigious Forbes list of America’s Best Startup Employers. Alert Innovation scored high, ranking as #5 in the nation for the Robotics/Engineering category and #1 in the East Coast.

Overall, Alert Innovation took the #299 spot of all American startups in 2022. The approach, led by Statista Inc., evaluates over 8 million data points to recognize the top 500 startups in the United States that exceed in employee satisfaction, employer reputation and company growth. To determine the list, Forbes and Statista identified 2,500 American businesses founded between 2012 and 2019 and employ at least 50 people and then evaluated them using vast social listening campaigns and extensive desk research.

“We are thrilled and honored to be recognized again by Forbes for the exceptional culture we have created at Alert Innovation” says Fritz Morgan, CEO of Alert Innovation. “We are proud of our company’s core values and recognize that everyone on the team is an important contributor to this remarkable culture of collaboration, learning and growth.”

Alert Innovation was also recognized as 2022 Best Midsize Companies to Work for in Boston by Built In, a major online community for startups and tech companies.

For a quick look at the company’s extraordinary company culture, check out this fun video – 2022 Best Companies to Work For. And for more about Alert Innovation career opportunities visit careers.

About Alert Innovation, Inc

Alert Innovation® is a thought leader in Grocery automation, driving innovation that improves lives by transforming how retailers operate and people shop. Alert Innovation is an industry leader in robotic e-grocery fulfillment. The Alphabot® system, designed by the Alert Innovation team is a unique automated fulfillment solution that utilizes patented omnidirectional robots in a temperature-controlled system for fresh, efficient, and high-quality grocery fulfillment. Alert Innovation also designed the Novastore™, a store concept utilizing the Alphabot system, delivering a dynamic and efficient shopping experience.
www.alertinnovation.com

Media Contact:
Ron Margulis
RAM Communications
ron@rampr.com
+1 908.337.0020

BOSTON, MA – Founder John Lert of Alert Innovation, a leader in grocery automation and micro fulfillment systems, was named a Food Logistics Rock Star of the Supply Chain for 2022. The annual list recognizes influential individuals in the industry whose achievements, hard work and vision have shaped the global cold food supply chain.

“Behind every great company is an even greater leader. And, the supply chain leaders receiving this award are no exception,” says Marina Mayer, Editor-in-Chief of Food Logistics and Supply & Demand Chain Executive. “Within the last 18 months or so, the cold food chain has seen a lot of rock stars rise to the occasion. These rock stars developed platforms, integrated automation and led teams through disruption after disruption. They’ve helped their companies pivot and adapt, and continue to do so with grace, agility, flexibility and resilience. These rock stars are strong in so many ways. Congratulations to the true rock stars of the supply chain, who continue to keep the cold food chain moving.”

In selecting the Lert, Food Logistics highlighted his background as an inventor, entrepreneur and a leading visionary in the areas of robotics, micro fulfillment centers, grocery, retail and wholesale automation.

“I am honored by this recognition by Food Logistics,” said Lert.  “I have been very fortunate to have worked with many talented and dedicated professionals and partners during my career, especially the team at Alert Innovation. My success is the direct result of their hard work and belief in me, and I am deeply grateful to all of them.”

Recipients of this year’s award will be profiled in Food Logistics’ Jan/Feb 2022 print issue as well as online at www.FoodLogistics.com. Go to https://www.foodlogistics.com/awards to learn more about other Food Logistics’ awards. For more information about Alert Innovation, visit www.alertinnovation.com.

BOSTON – Alert Innovation, a leader in grocery automation and micro fulfillment systems, is adding former Raley’s Chief Operations Officer Kevin Konkel to its Retail Advisory Council (RAC) effective immediately.

“The retail grocery industry is facing several critical challenges and opportunities as we emerge from the pandemic. Automation in general and automated micro fulfillment specifically will help address many of these issues head on,” said Konkel. “I’m excited to draw on my decades of experience to help Alert Innovation tailor-fit its solutions to the supermarket pain points and opportunities accelerated during the last two years.”

Konkel spent over 40 years at Raley’s Family of Fine Stores, a supermarket chain operating about 250 locations in California and the Southwest, the last four as Chief Operations Officer. He was previously Senior Vice President of Store Operations and served Raley’s in many other roles during his career.

“Kevin will add an important perspective to the RAC, giving Alert Innovation the benefit of all the skills he’s developed during his four decades of success in supermarket retail as an industry leader. We look forward to collaborating with him,” said John Lert, Founder and Executive Chairman of Alert Innovation.

The RAC is an alliance of executives and academics with expertise in grocery, retail, consumer behavior and e-commerce, and was established to influence development efforts at Alert Innovation focused on improving omnichannel grocery experiences. In addition to Konkel, members include:

• Peter Fader – Professor of Marketing – The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
• Chris Haimbach – US Head of Sales, Commercial Strategy & Operations, Consumer Health Care – Bayer
• Ann Raider – Executive, Global Retail – IRI
• Peter Larkin – Former President & CEO – National Grocers Association
• Doug Straton – Former Chief Digital Officer at The Hershey Company
• Venky Shankar – Coleman Chair Professor, Director of Research – Center for Retailing Studies at Mays Business School, Texas A&M

About Alert Innovation, Inc

Alert Innovation^® is a thought leader in Grocery automation, driving innovation that improves lives by transforming how retailers operate and people shop. Alert Innovation is an industry leader in robotic e-grocery fulfillment. The Alphabot^® system, designed by the Alert Innovation team is a unique automated fulfillment solution that utilizes patented omnidirectional robots in a temperature-controlled system for fresh, efficient, and high-quality grocery fulfillment. Alert Innovation also designed the Novastore™, a store concept utilizing the Alphabot system, delivering a dynamic and efficient shopping experience. www.alertinnovation.com

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BOSTON, MA, – Alert Innovation, a leader in grocery automation and micro fulfillment systems, announced the appointment of Seanna Balfe as the new Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel.

Balfe joins the Alert Innovation team with over 20 years of legal experience. In her new role, Balfe will manage the legal function and serve as a key member of Alert Innovation’s executive leadership team, playing a critical role in the company’s strategic decision-making. She will also provide operational guidance across a wide array of legal, governance and compliance matters.

“I’m thrilled to be a part of the Alert team and fortunate to be joining at a time of real growth and opportunity,” said Balfe. “The people and organizational culture are incredible and I’m humbled by their accomplishments. I look forward to working with the whole team to achieve even greater results.”

Balfe started her legal career at Sapient Corporation, a global digital consulting company later acquired by Publicis Groupe. In 2013, she joined inVentiv Health, a global provider of commercial, clinical, communication and patient assistance services to the life sciences, biotech and pharmaceutical industries. inVentiv later merged with INC Research to create Syneos Health, where Balfe spearheaded the labor and employment function for a 21,000-person workforce across 70 countries.

Before joining Alert Innovation, Balfe served as the General Counsel of Cytel, the world’s largest provider of statistical software and advance analytics for clinical trial design and execution. During her tenure at Cytel, she was responsible for the company’s tactical and strategic legal initiatives, including the acquisition of five companies within 18 months and Cytel’s sale to private equity firms Astorg and Nordic Capital.

“Seanna brings a tremendous and diverse amount of expertise in managing strategic and legal governance,” said Fritz Morgan, CEO at Alert Innovation. “She is a veteran leader of global teams and we are excited to strengthen our organization with her skills and leadership.”

Balfe received her BA from Saint Michael’s College and JD from Suffolk University Law School.

BOSTON, MA, December 20, 2021 – Alert Innovation, a leader in grocery automation and micro fulfillment systems, announces today a transition in leadership roles as the company begins to scale deployments of its technology. Founder John Lert will become Executive Chairman and hand the CEO reins to Fritz Morgan, who has been serving as COO.

“I had this transition in mind when I asked Fritz to help me lead Alert,” said Lert. “I recognized during our very first meeting that he has the intellectual capacity, the leadership skills, experience in leading disruptive technology-product companies to scale, and most importantly the alignment with our core values to become my successor in leading the organization.”

Lert added, “Since joining 18 months ago, Fritz has confirmed those expectations, greatly strengthened leadership across all teams and playing an essential role in elevating the performance of the company. At this stage in Alert’s growth, and with the market opportunity in front of us, he is simply the most qualified person to lead this extraordinary company.”

Morgan received a BS in Physics from Clark University and a master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon in Electrical & Computer Engineering with a focus in Robotics. In the 1990’s, he made key contributions both technically and as an executive leader at Color Kinetics, the company that sparked the shift to LEDs that has transformed the $100 billion-dollar global lighting industry, helping to lead that company in scaling globally and going public. Prior to joining Alert Innovation, Morgan served as Executive Vice President/CTO at DEKA Research and Development, where he led a team of 800 engineers developing and commercializing cutting-edge technology projects encompassing a vast array of engineering and scientific disciplines.

“Alert has a tremendous opportunity to transform the retail grocery industry and I am eager to continue partnering with John and the entire team to develop the technology roadmap and organization necessary to scale our business,” said Morgan.

As Executive Chairman, Lert will lead the Board of Directors in the governance of Alert Innovation and devote much of his time to invention and product innovation. Lert will also continue to engage publicly as a visionary thought leader in the transformation of food retailing using automation technology.

Nearly three decades ago, Lert began thinking about a new kind of supermarket that would feature a fully automated packaged-goods market to replace the self-service center store, combined with an optional, checkout-free, self-service fresh market. That vision, which he named Novastore, led him into automated materials-handling technology, and he became an early pioneer in the use of free-roaming mobile robots to automate order-fulfillment. Lert founded Symbotic in 2007 in partnership with Rick Cohen and C&S Wholesale Grocers to develop his invention of a robotic case-picking technology, and he served as its first CEO. Lert went on to found Alert Innovation and, with Co-Founder and co-inventor Bill Fosnight, invented in 2015 a new robotic technology they named Alphabot. In 2016, Alert Innovation partnered with Walmart to bring Alphabot technology to market and has grown under Lert’s leadership to become the 350-person company it is today.
“I couldn’t be prouder of Team Alert, and I feel privileged to continue to work as part of this group,” said Lert. “I look forward to continuing to devote my talents and energy to helping Fritz and the team achieve our vision.”

About Alert Innovation, Inc:

Alert Innovation® is a thought leader in Retail and Grocery automation, driving innovation that improves lives by transforming how retailers operate and people shop. Alert Innovation is an industry leader in robotic e-grocery fulfillment. The Alphabot® system, designed by the Alert Innovation team is a unique automated fulfillment solution that utilizes patented omnidirectional robots in a temperature-controlled system for fresh, efficient, and high-quality grocery fulfillment. Alert Innovation also designed Novastore™, a store concept utilizing the Alphabot system, delivering a dynamic and efficient shopping experience. For more information about Alert Innovation visit www.alertinnovation.com.

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BOSTON, MA – Alert Innovation, a leader in grocery automation and micro fulfillment systems, has launched the Gamma Lab, an extension of its robotic R&D facility, tripling the test area and providing a platform for technology advancement and partner solution demonstrations.

The new Gamma Lab facility includes a small-scale and functionally complete configuration of an Alphabot System micro-fulfillment center (MFC) and provides a test space for engineers to examine the system using numerous analytical tools to drive system enhancements. The Gamma Lab’s capabilities extend to cover electrical, thermal, mechanical and software to speed testing and deployment of advancements in alignment with the organization’s development roadmap.

“The new lab provides an expanded platform for Alert Innovation to more rapidly test and demonstrate new technology and continuous improvements that enhance automated e-grocery fulfillment,” said Fritz Morgan, COO at Alert Innovation.

The Gamma Lab is the ideal environment to showcase the Alert Innovation multi-year and future-proof technology roadmap with current and potential clients. In addition, the lab provides a platform to integrate and test partner technologies for fast and seamless assimilation into the Alphabot system.

“We are constantly working alongside leading tech vendors to enhance the Alphabot System with solutions that feature artificial intelligence (AI), last mile delivery, e-commerce software, sustainability and more. The new Gamma Lab helps us advance our vision of automation at the store-level and beyond,” said John Gargasz, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at Alert Innovation.

For more information about Alert Innovation visit www.alertinnovation.com.

About Alert Innovation, Inc

Alert Innovation^® is a thought leader in Retail and Grocery automation, driving innovation that improves lives by transforming how retailers operate and people shop. Alert Innovation is an industry leader in robotic e-grocery fulfillment. The Alphabot^® system, designed by the Alert Innovation team is a unique automated fulfillment solution that utilizes patented omni-directional robots in a temperature-controlled system for fresh, efficient, and high-quality grocery fulfillment. Alert Innovation also designed the Novastore™, a store concept utilizing the Alphabot system, delivering a dynamic and efficient shopping experience. www.alertinnovation.com.

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BOSTON, MA, October 21, 2021 – Alert Innovation, a leader in grocery automation and micro fulfillment systems, announces the addition of Peggy Goranson as Vice President of Software Engineering, Amy Higgins as Vice President of People Operations and Cristina Rodrigues as Senior Director of Marketing.

“Our business is growing at lightning speed and we are honored to bring together the best talent in the industry to lead our expansion.” said John Lert, Founder and CEO of Alert Innovation. “With about 100 new hires planned this year, we are creating a powerful work culture that encourages team collaboration, diversity, personal initiative and accountability, and effective communication.”

• Peggy is a transformational engineering leader with a proven track record of delivering solutions to Fortune 500 customers. Her mission is to build a world-leading software development organization that delivers reliable and robust performance for customers.

• Amy is a seasoned expert in change management and scaling successful teams for technology companies worldwide. She is leading the strategy for organizational design and infrastructure, developing valuable cultural programs, and recruiting a first-rate team.

• Cristina is an experienced brand strategist who has fueled growth at Fortune 500 companies and several fast-growing technology startups. At Alert Innovation, she is elevating the brand and driving incremental growth with global marketing strategies.

These three join an already strong group of women leaders at Alert Innovation including Heather Multhaupt, Vice President of Team Services, leading the implementation of efficient company-wide policies and systems; Stephanie Waite, Director of Systems Engineering, driving the seamless integration of Alert Innovation’s multifaceted product lines; Tracy Foucault, Director of Supply Chain, strategically managing the organization’s supplier relationships globally for continuous business; and Rosa Ciprian, PhD, Director of Electrical Engineering, leading the team of electrical engineers responsible for Alert Innovation’s robotic systems.

Learn more about new career opportunities at www.alertinnovation.com.

About Alert Innovation, Inc

Founded in 2013, Alert Innovation’s mission is to improve people’s lives through innovation, starting with retail, by transforming how people shop and how retailers operate. Alert Innovation has brought to market the Alphabot® Automated Storage and Retrieval System and Automated Each-Picking System and is creating a new kind of automated supermarket called Novastore™. More information is available at http://www.AlertInnovation.com.

BOSTON, MA, September 16, 2021 –  Alert Innovation, the leading supplier of e-grocery automated fulfillment systems, delivers 40% greater ROI over traditional pick-to-order automation systems.  Unlike others, Alert Innovation’s Alphabot system uniquely has three integrated temperature zones – ambient, chilled and frozen – all served by a single fleet of robots. This enables end-to-end automation from order storage to consolidation and dispense delivering labor savings and cold chain compliance.

The combination of a comprehensive three-temperature zone system with order storage, consolidation, and the auto-dispensing of finished orders can generate an incremental $1.8m in annual savings and reduce labor needs by up to 40 full-time employees.

“Our solution offers all of these advantages because it was designed from the start to automate e-grocery fulfillment all the way down to store level,” said John Lert, Founder and CEO of Alert Innovation. “The scope of labor savings is proving to be especially beneficial in today’s tight labor market.”

The fleet of Alphabot robots travel across all three temperature zones for product storage and picking, and for staging finished orders, which dramatically increases system performance and productivity. In contrast, other systems require secondary storage and labor-intensive order staging because they can’t store completed orders in their system. And Alphabot is the only MFC (Micro-Fulfillment Center) system that integrates frozen picking and storage. Other technology platforms pick frozen items manually from the store floor and stage in secondary locations, which adds to labor costs.

“By keeping products in the appropriate temperature zone until delivery to shoppers, we’re able to ensure product freshness, quality, and cold chain compliance,” explains John Hennessy, Sr Director of Sales at Alert Innovation.

To further reduce the labor required to deliver completed orders to shoppers, Alert Innovation developed the auto-dispense capability that features Alphabot robots retrieving order totes from all three temperature zones and delivering directly to shopper’s curbside. By driving customer traffic to the store, the grocer eliminates last-mile delivery costs that can be $10-12 per order. Alphabot also supports bulk order dispense for hub-spoke operations or direct-to-home delivery.

Note: Alert Innovation is exhibiting at Groceryshop 2021 in Las Vegas September 20-21 (booth #516). Learn more at the booth with a unique Oculus Virtual Reality tour of the Alphabot system.

About Alert Innovation, Inc

Alert Innovation^® is a thought leader in retail and grocery automation, driving innovation that improves lives by transforming how retailers operate and people shop. Alert Innovation is an industry leader in robotic e-grocery fulfillment. The Alphabot^® system, designed by the Alert Innovation team, is a unique automated fulfillment solution that utilizes patented omnidirectional robots in a temperature-controlled system for fresh, productive, and high-quality grocery fulfillment. Alert Innovation also designed the Novastore™, a store concept utilizing the Alphabot system to deliver a dynamic and efficient shopping experience. www.alertinnovation.com