Enterprise IT vendor IBM is working with global retailer Tesco to assist in arranging products on store shelves according to display plans in a bid to improve shopping experience.
Tesco, which is currently testing the IBM solution at a pilot location near London, will be able to address daily variations in consumer demand, manufacturer promotions or holidays to achieve the right arrangement of products in the store.
IBM’s Research lab in Haifa, Israel developed the mobile application based on IBM’s Augmented Reality Shopping Advisor.
Tesco runs it on a mobile phone or tablet to photograph and capture the current status of the store’s aisles including quantity and location of products. The application then connects to Tesco’s product database to analyze and identify the images. It compares the current display with the planned arrangement and instantly superimposes information that reveals insufficient quantities, missing products or misplaced items.
“Delivering a better shopping experience to our customers includes making sure products are well stocked and easy to find,” said Mike McNamara, CIO, Tesco. “The IBM application will help us to improve store operations beyond the current manual processes and barcode-based methods.”
Typically, Tesco has to check products on every shelf against a physical plan and manually log inventory levels. A smart solution that digitizes and automates this process will help Tesco improve both its operations and the consumer shopping experience.
The augmented reality mobile project with Tesco is part of IBM’s First-of-a-Kind program that brings IBM researchers and clients together to validate new technologies on real business problems and growth opportunities. These and other digital experience projects are being pursued at the IBM Customer Experience Lab, part of the new IBM Interactive Experience consulting practice.
As part of the IBM MobileFirst portfolio, this solution can help organizations transform in to a mobile enterprise.
Pix: Daily Mirror UK
