Metropolitan Market, a Washington State grocery chain, and Focal Systems, a retail automation company, announced Thursday they are partnering to improve the grocer’s store experience. Focal Systems will deploy the Focal Systems Operating System to digitize and automate Metropolitan Market.
The implementation of FocalOS will optimize ordering, inventory management, merchandising, and in-store labor to improve the overall customer experience, according to a statement by the automation company.
Good Food Holdings, the holding company for Bristol Farms, Lazy Acres Natural Market, New Seasons Market, New Leaf Community Markets, and Metropolitan Market, is known for focusing on “high-touch, high-service” retail which emphasizes the customer experience by cutting down on wait times, expanding employee expertise, and optimizing in-store operations.
“Good Food Holdings is one of the premier retail holding companies in the nation, touting some of the leading luxury grocers across Washington and California,” said Francois Chaubard, CEO and founder of Focal Systems, in a statement. “As the groundswell of AI and computer vision adoption takes hold across retail and grocery, early adopters, like Metropolitan Market, will see optimizations and enhancements across the in-store experience for customers, and in the backroom for staff, completely transforming the shopping experience and separating them from other retailers in the industry.”
The pilot involves deploying hundreds of shelf cameras to digitize shelves with computer vision. Then, FocalOS will use that data to automate in-store processes including enabling accurate just-in-time ordering, replacing the manual daily out-of-stock scan with automated hourly scans, improving product availability for customers by increasing the productivity of replenishment staff, and reducing food waste with better produce ordering.
“In a rapidly evolving world, it’s our duty to continue innovating in order to provide the best possible experience for shoppers at all of our locations,” said Ron Megahan, CEO of Metropolitan Market, in a statement. “Through our partnership with Focal Systems and their self-driving store, we’ll be able to remain the leading independent grocer in the region.”
Focal Systems has recently worked with Walmart stores in Canada and midwest grocery chain Piggly Wiggly.
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Image: Focal Systems