Wakefern Food Corp. is expanding its Focal Systems pilot from four to 50 stores. Focal’s shelf camera-based computer vision system captures images of store shelves in order to calculate what is out of stock. By generating data hourly, Focal has the ability to optimize inventory and retail operations to help deliver an exceptional customer experience.

“Focal Systems’ out-of-stock detection through computer vision and artificial intelligence has enabled us to automatically identify shelf gaps,” said Cheryl Williams, chief information officer of Wakefern. “Each detection is sent directly to Wakefern’s proprietary mobile application, which prioritizes out-of-stocks by department, aisle, and in-stock availability. Our stores have seen time savings and operational improvements by incorporating the new information into their daily tasks. This early success has encouraged our members to opt into a 50-store pilot expansion this autumn.”

By eliminating the need to manually scan for out-of-stock items, Focal’s solution allows store associates to focus more on customers. Focal has deployed its system to over 10 retailers worldwide and continues to improve the technology while building the operating system for retail stores of the future.

“Customer expectations are high and retailers want to deliver on those expectations,” said Francois Chaubard, chief executive officer of Focal Systems. “Focal Systems provides the real-time data retailers need to run their stores efficiently. The system delivers insight into what’s happening throughout the store and allows for better decision making by delivering alerts on out-of-stocks to store associates, merchandising teams and supply chain systems. We are thrilled to expand our partnership with Wakefern and continue driving value for them and their customers.”