Lunds & Byerlys looks to get smarter on-shelf

Lund Food Holdings, parent of the upscale grocery chain Lunds & Byerlys, aims to get a sharper picture of on-shelf status with the help of Pensa Systems.

Under a partnership announced Tuesday, Austin, Texas-based Pensa said it plans to deploy its automated retail shelf intelligence solution at all 28 Lunds & Byerlys supermarkets in the Twin Cities market and surrounding area. Pensa’s system uses computer vision and artificial intelligence technology to scan products and categories across aisles and shelves, giving Lunds & Byerlys a snapshot of actual shelf inventory conditions.

To collect the shelf data, Lunds & Byerlys associates will scan all shelves and product categories using Pensa’s app on Zebra scanning devices. Pensa said its AI technology then captures and automatically analyzes video streams of hundreds of product images to identify out-of-stocks, maximize item availability, and improve demand forecasting and omnichannel delivery. Store staff can scan a single aisle in seconds, and analysis is delivered in near real-time, according to the company.

“For more than three generations, we’ve been committed to exceptionally high standards in everything we do: extraordinary food, passionate employees with expertise and, ultimately, an exceptional customer experience,” Curtis Funk, senior vice president of merchandising at Edina, Minn.-based Lunds & Byerlys, said in a statement. “We’re excited to deploy Pensa’s innovative shelf intelligence solution throughout our stores so that we can ensure that when our customers walk down our aisles, the products they love are on the shelf.”

Related:Wakefern to pilot shelf-scanning robot

Lunds & Byerlys will use the Pensa solution to scan shelves across aisles and collect data on products across categories.

Near real-time access to inventory metrics from the scanning of all store shelves, Pensa explained, will help Lunds & Byerlys improve in-stock levels, lifting sales and customer satisfaction; raise worker efficiency via better omnichannel product picking and faster, more accurate inventory gap scanning; and reduce product substitutions due to a more accurate e-commerce catalog, enhancing the omnichannel shopping experience.

Pensa noted that its solution is non-intrusive and highly scalable solution, requiring no infrastructure or hardware, while its data and intelligence will serve as Lunds & Byerlys’ system of record for shelf KPIs moving forward.

“We’re very excited to partner with Lunds & Byerlys, a premier grocery brand, to provide a highly accurate and near real-time view of what’s actually on store shelves, right now,” commented Richard Schwartz, president and CEO of Pensa Systems.

Related:C&S Wholesale Grocers brings products into digital realm

Also, CPG companies selling their products at Lunds & Byerlys stores stand to benefit from the Pensa solution’s near real-time access to out-of-stock and share-of-shelf metrics, enabling companies to optimize planogram compliance, hone merchandising, forecast demand and sales more accurately, rationalize product categories and portfolios and place new items on shelves more rapidly.

“With Pensa, both brands and retailers can take a constant pulse, at scale, of store shelf and retail channel performance, bringing the physical store shelf online for the next age of retail,” Schwartz added.