GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Food solutions company SpartanNash (the “Company”) (Nasdaq: SPTN) today announced expansion plans for the use of an autonomous inventory robot named Tally in 15 grocery stores in Michigan and Indiana. Developed by retail technology company Simbe, Tally represents SpartanNash’s continued investment in technology to enhance the store guest and Associate experience.
After a successful pilot in select D&W Fresh Market stores, SpartanNash is implementing Simbe’s solution in additional Family Fare and Martin’s Super Market stores. The real-time data intelligence that Tally provides helps ensure store guests’ favorite items always stay fresh, adequately stocked and priced competitively.
“Tally’s speed, accuracy and automation enable our Associates to save time in inventory tracking and spend more time on the floor serving store guests,” said SpartanNash Executive Vice President, Corporate Retail Tom Swanson.
Tally is a quiet, slim robot that unobtrusively traverses store aisles throughout the day, leveraging 3D computer vision technology to collect highly accurate shelf data. It can capture 15,000 to 30,000 products an hour, ensuring products remain in-stock, in the correct location, and accurately priced.
“When we first started working with SpartanNash, we knew this was a partner that recognized the powerful role technology can play in enhancing in-store operations and, as a result, the customer experience,” said Simbe Robotics Co-Founder and CEO Brad Bogolea. “It’s been so rewarding working together to further deploy our retail solution. We’re excited to continue providing powerful insights for SpartanNash to help improve the shopping experience for store guests and Associates.”
As part of SpartanNash’s commitment to customer-focused innovation, this announcement follows the Company’s recent pilot with food technology platform Afresh Technologies.
“SpartanNash is positively influencing our store guest experience through new-to-world technology innovations such as Tally to help us in our mission to deliver the ingredients for a better life,” said Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy and Information Officer Masiar Tayebi.
About SpartanNash
SpartanNash (Nasdaq: SPTN) is a food solutions company that delivers the ingredients for a better life. Committed to fostering a People First culture, the SpartanNash family of Associates is 17,500 and growing. SpartanNash operates two complementary business segments – food wholesale and grocery retail. Its global supply chain network serves wholesale customers that include independent and chain grocers, national retail brands, e-commerce platforms, and U.S. military commissaries and exchanges. The Company distributes products for every aisle in the grocery store, from fresh produce to household goods to its OwnBrands, which include the Our Family® portfolio of products. On the retail side, SpartanNash operates 145 brick-and-mortar grocery stores, primarily under the banners of Family Fare, Martin’s Super Markets and D&W Fresh Market, in addition to dozens of pharmacies and fuel centers. Leveraging insights and solutions across its segments, SpartanNash offers a full suite of support services for independent grocers. For more information, visit spartannash.com.
About Simbe Robotics
Simbe Robotics is the global leader in automation solutions that give retailers unprecedented visibility and insight into the state of their store environments, while improving inventory and operational challenges. Simbe is a privately held, venture-backed company headquartered in San Francisco, CA and works with major worldwide retailers and brands across the US, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.simberobotics.com or follow the company at @simberobotics.
About Tally™
Tally is the world’s first fully autonomous in-store product auditing solution. Tally works in concert with retail store associates by empowering them with timely information to ensure products are always stocked, in the right place and correctly priced. Using a suite of sensors, the robot operates safely during normal store hours alongside shoppers and employees and doesn’t require any infrastructure changes to the store. Tally’s design is intuitive, friendly, and fits naturally into the retail environment. The robot scans entire stores up to three times per day and autonomously returns to its dock allowing for continuous operation. Combined with Simbe’s cloud-powered software platform, powered by computer vision and machine learning, retailers have unprecedented information and insight into the state of their stores. This information can be used to streamline store performance, maximize customer satisfaction, increase sales, and optimize operational expenditures.
