ST. LOUIS, MO - All the way back in 2018, we reported on Schnuck Markets’ innovative partnership with Simbe Robotics as the retailer worked to integrate Tally robots into its operations. Having conducted extensive tests and trials, the two are now expanding their alliance as Schnucks rolls out the robots to all 111 of its locations.
“We are facing a ‘new normal’ in the grocery industry, and Tally has been instrumental to ensuring we continue to provide an exceptional store experience while rising to meet new operational challenges,” said Dave Steck, Vice President of IT Infrastructure and Application Development at Schnucks. “By deploying Tally to all stores, we are fully operationalizing these insights into our supply chain and expanding our ability to leverage real-time data to make revenue impacting decisions. Tally has become an integral component of our stores, streamlining operations and ultimately creating a better store experience for our customers and teammates.”
Building on previous successful expansions, the multi-year, full-scale roll-out will bring Tally robots chain-wide across the U.S., making Schnucks allegedly one of the first grocers in the world to utilize AI-powered inventory management technology at scale. By incorporating Simbe’s solution into chain-wide operations, Schnucks will gain even greater visibility into store conditions, with deeper levels of business insights as the retailer prepares to adjust to the quickly evolving landscape of a post-pandemic world.
“Schnucks is the prime example of thoughtful adoption of retail technology, and we are honored to be their partner on this journey to create a better store experience through access to richer data,” said Brad Bogolea, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Simbe Robotics. “This expansion is a momentous occasion for Simbe, Schnucks, and the broader retail technology industry. It demonstrates that robots that are thoughtfully deployed are a critically important tool for retailers to improve bottom lines, support teams, and maintain an exceptional shopping experience, both in stores and online.”
According to the release, Schnucks first piloted Tally in July of 2017 and expanded to additional stores in 2018 and 2020. Tally traverses store aisles up to three times per day and autonomously captures on-shelf data including inventory position, price accuracy, and promotional execution.
Additional benefits of Tally include:
- Detecting 14x more addressable out-of-stocks than manual scans
- Enabled 20–30 percent reduction in out-of-stock items
- Increased price tag and promotional execution compliance in stores across tens of thousands of products per day
- Increased accuracy of real-time inventory integrated into Schnucks’ automated replenishment system, streamlining ordering and ensuring store shelves are restocked quicker to meet customer needs
- Delivered access to real-time product location data through the Schnucks Rewards app, enabling more efficient shopping trips for customers, restocking and fulfillment activities for store teams, and 3rd party e-commerce partners
Are robots the way of the future for grocery retail? With operators beginning to implement this technology at scale, all signs seemingly point to yes.
