Instacart says it is expanding its Fulfillment Pro platform with new delivery management software and upgraded picking tools, as retailers seek more integrated systems to manage growing e-commerce operations.
The company said the updates are designed to help grocers streamline order fulfillment by bringing delivery, picking and labour management into a single system, addressing inefficiencies caused by disconnected tools.
The expansion includes software for retailers operating their own delivery fleets and enhanced in-store picking capabilities for staff, part of what Instacart described as an ongoing investment in its enterprise offerings. The platform is already used by more than 50,000 retail associates and supported over 45 million orders in 2025, according to the company.
“Retailers have made real investments in their ecommerce programs, and they need fulfillment tools that can scale with them,” said Blake Wallace, Vice President of Retail Partnerships at Instacart. “Fulfillment Pro brings picking, labor, and last-mile delivery into one system – giving retailers more control over their operations while helping them run more efficiently and deliver better experiences for their customers.”
The new delivery management system is aimed at retailers that run their own fleets, where coordinating routes, drivers and customer expectations can become increasingly complex as order volumes rise. Instacart said many existing delivery tools operate separately from in-store picking systems, adding operational challenges and affecting service consistency.
The updated software integrates the full workflow from picking to delivery, offering real-time visibility and route optimization tools. Dispatchers can monitor routes as they happen, make adjustments and manage exceptions, while drivers are provided with navigation tools, GPS tracking and automated customer communications.
The system also includes features designed to improve efficiency, such as load optimization and support for “megabatching,” which allows more than 20 orders to be grouped into a single delivery run. Instacart said this could enable fleets to complete more orders per trip while maintaining service levels.
Retailers are expected to begin rolling out the delivery management capabilities later this year.
The company is also upgrading its in-store picking software, building on tools originally developed for its network of approximately 600,000 shoppers over more than a decade of grocery operations. The enhancements are intended for retailers managing their own store teams.
The picking system supports multiple stages of fulfillment, including planning, item selection, substitutions and staging. Instacart said the updates are designed to improve speed and accuracy while supporting customer satisfaction.
New features include real-time communication between store associates and customers through an in-app chat function, as well as workflows that use scanning and dedicated bins to reduce errors such as missing or mixed items. The platform also supports multi-runner coordination for curbside pickup and includes automatic translation of customer messages to assist multilingual teams.
For store managers, the system builds on existing automated workflows by adding more control over batching, scheduling and labour allocation. Managers can assign or expedite orders as needed and set schedules across multiple locations.
Instacart said Fulfillment Pro can be deployed either as a standalone system that integrates with retailers’ existing technology or as part of a broader e-commerce solution alongside its Storefront Pro platform.
The company said the expanded capabilities are intended to support retailers investing in owned e-commerce operations and seeking systems that can scale across both online and in-store environments.
More from Retail Insider:
