Pick n Pay wants to get your online groceries packed faster. It's rolling out an AI-based store operations platform from Canadian company OrderGrid to more than 720 stores, to help staff keep track of stock, spot empty shelves and put together orders for its asap! online grocery service. The platform covers real-time inventory management, demand forecasting, order management and in-store task management. It builds on tools Pick n Pay already uses, including computer vision to detect empty shelves and machine learning to plan picking routes.
What the OrderGrid trial showed
In a multi-store pilot, the average time it took staff to collect the items for an online order fell by about 30%. Pick n Pay hasn't said how many stores took part, or what the deal with Toronto-based OrderGrid is worth. Enrico Ferigolli, its retail executive for omnichannel, says the tools will help teams pick online orders more efficiently, "particularly larger baskets".
The rollout is the final stage of a two-year overhaul of Pick n Pay's technology. Ferigolli says that once the core digital platform was strengthened, the focus shifted earlier this year to the technology behind in-store fulfilment. The asap! app already has Penny, an AI shopping assistant that helps customers find products and build baskets using text, voice and images. Pick n Pay says Penny improves what customers see, while OrderGrid strengthens the in-store work needed to get their orders out reliably. Giving store teams "better tools and greater visibility into stock and orders" is how it plans to keep up as the business grows, Ferigolli says, and more developments for asap! are planned for later this year.
Why the back of the store matters
The push comes as Pick n Pay's online business grows. Its online sales grew 35.4% in the six months to August, although the group doesn't disclose how big that business is. Ferigolli says online sales are growing faster this year than last, and that for customers, the priority is "getting the products they ordered when they expect them". OrderGrid co-founder Aidan Mittra makes the same point: customers come back when they find what they came for, online or in a store. For shoppers, the aim is faster orders and fewer missing items.
