On-Shelf Availability

Turn the lights on in your store - Track the case-level stocking journey for accurate, ready-to-sell inventory and stocking alerts for store associates

Key Benefits

  • 2% On-Shelf Availability Improvement

  • 20% Picking Rate Improvement

  • 30% Reduction in Exception Management

  • 20% Stocking Labor Reduction

Data

  • Case 1 arrived at Store A

  • Case 1 is Stocked

  • Case 1 is Backstocked

  • Case 1 End of Life (EOL)

Journey

  • Backroom / Coolers → Store Floor

Disclaimer: The figures provided are examples based on existing deployments and can be customized to meet your specific project requirements

The Problem

Keeping shelves stocked is a constant challenge amidst inconsistent deliveries, misplaced products, and of course, customers doing what they do best: shopping. Unexpected out-of-stocks due to incorrect inventory data, or wrongly assumed out-of-stocks (and subsequent ordering) when products have simply been misplaced or processed incorrectly are common.

Out-of-stock events occur even in the most accurate stores – picture fresh blueberries sitting on a stocking cart, left unattended, all while the fruit refrigerator remains empty.

Relying on manual processes and scanning for on shelf availability signals consumes valuable time and lends itself to human error. In many cases, the root cause of these out-of-stocks is an incomplete view of backstock inventory. Unreliable product availability on shelf, both in store and for BOPIS order fulfillment, becomes lost sales and unhappy customers.

The Solution

The Wiliot Ambient Data Platform draws insights from IoT Pixels, Bluetooth stickers that are embedded upstream into shipping labels or directly into case-level secondary packaging. IoT Pixels give you an affordable way to create a digital twin of each case in your store.

Low-cost, Bluetooth-based network devices are installed in your store backroom, and mobile network devices can be mounted onto stocking carts. These devices energize the IoT Pixels on cases being received and depalletized in the back storeroom, then relay their sensing and location data without the need for manual scanning or counting processes.

The Wiliot Ambient Data Platform gives your stores a real-time view of what product cases are in the back storeroom, where within the backroom they are located, and a prediction for when they have been stocked.

These signals directly feed into ERP and IMS systems, rectifying inventory count accuracy with current statuses, and to issue real-time insights:

Low-stock warnings
Overstock visibility
Time-to-stock visibility
Alerts for products back stocked in incorrect locations
Temperature alerts of perishable items left in incorrect locations

The Difference

Real-time signals bring proactive management and immediate corrective action to life in your store to ensure store shelves are never left empty:


97% Improvement in Inventory Accuracy
Real-time, autonomous inventory of cases from the receiving dock to the shelf. Reduce out-of-stocks and over-stocks, thanks to an “always-on” view of case locations.


2% On-Shelf Availability Improvement
More accurate location visibility of inventory means ordering becomes more precise, stocking becomes more efficient, and shelfs stay full, directly correlating with a 1% increase in stores sales


20% Picking Rate Improvement
Real-time location of cases allows pickers to quickly identify where the needed items are located, reducing time spent searching for items or discovering out-of-stock situations that require substitutions or re-routing


30% Reduction in Exception Management
Recognizing and submitting exceptions due to missing cases, or having extra cases delivered, is now automated, based on automatically identifying what is currently in each location


20% Stocking Labor Reduction
Remove the need for manual inventory checks, and eliminate unnecessary stocking trips for items on shelf


10% Waste Reduction
Wanting to track perishable products? Each Wiliot IoT Pixel provides temperature data alongside every location event, meaning Wiliot also helps with Shelf-Life Optimization to reduce waste

Grocery Retail

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