Pros
Ocado as a business achieves amazing results. Thousands of customer orders go out every day with very few customer complaints. The concept and the execution of the CFC in hatfield are awe inspiring.
Cons
The IT systems and processes that support the deliveries to customers have often been poorly thought out and underfunded. The edifice hangs together by a dedicated staff battling daily to keep everything runnng. This takes a tremendous personal toll on the people and leads to strategic errors because management are too focussed on fire fighting. Working in the IT department is like stepping back in time. Most organisations have embraced the process driven It environment as a way of reducing cost and engineering defects. Ocado still works like IT departments of the mid nineties when total chaos reined daily.