BRUSSELS — Following the implementation of computer-assisted ordering in its stores, Hannaford Bros., a division of Delhaize Group here based in Scarborough, Maine, improved its sales in 2007 by more than one percentage point through the reduction of out-of-stocks, said Pierre-Olivier Beckers, chief executive officer of Delhaize, during a fourth-quarter conference call yesterday. At the same time, he added, the chain freed up $3.5 million of capital through lower inventory levels in its stores. “Hannaford had CAO in place at 144 stores [out of more than 164] already at year’s end, and it will be implemented in the remaining Hannaford stores in the first part of 2008,” he said. Food Lion, Salisbury, N.C., another Delhaize division, “continues the rollout of its new pricing and planogram software and its continuous-replenishment distribution program,” he said.

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