Stor.ai Launches New Picking App for Improved Profitability in Grocery Fulfillment

Stor.ai, an end-to-end digital commerce platform for grocers, has launched a new picking app with features that the company says will let customers—including retailers in North America, Europe and the Middle East—combine multiple picking strategies in fulfilling orders to manage pickers’ time more efficiently and improve the customer experience.

Given the rising popularity of online grocery shopping, a trend significantly expedited by the COVID-19 pandemic, offering a seamless digital shopping experience is now a core business need for retailers, says New York-based Stor.ai. The company's new picking app is designed to help grocers offer this seamless experience in a way that improves results for shoppers and bolsters efficiency and profitability for retailers.

By improving pickers’ average UPH (units picked per hour) through a suite of smart tools that boost their awareness of item availability and enables them to make real-time decisions informed by data, retailers can now maximize the number and range of orders processed over a given time period without increasing costs.

“Today’s grocers must respond to a pressing industry challenge: processing an ever-increasing percentage of their orders digitally while maintaining profitability,” said Orlee Tal, CEO, stor.ai, in a statement. “In the face of the rise of third-party ecommerce providers such as Instacart, Shipt and others, the only way for grocers to maintain their independence, brand identities, and ability to scale profitably is to develop their own e-commerce strategies capable of competing with these industry giants,” Tal added.

“Stor.ai's new application allows pickers to pick multiple orders at a time as well as having a batch mode where a store is split into zones where pickers can pick in batches,” said Mike Karasik, CIO of Netcost, in a release. “As a retailer, we enjoy a much faster pick time on a per-order basis when implementing the batch-and-zone pick strategy. This reduction in picking time generates a huge reduction in our labor costs.”

Stor.ai’s picking app shows retailer headquarters real-time insights based on a chain’s suite operations, allowing them to divide picking among multiple stores and MFCs at peak times. Stores can continually adapt to customer demand and to each store’s unique physical conditions and characteristics, according to the company. 

The app also displays a shelf-by-shelf breakdown of item availability, helping managers identify bottlenecks and anticipate delays to make picking more efficient without compromising on accuracy, adds Stor.ai.