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After piloting the use of artificial intelligence-based robots to assist with shelf management at several ShopRite supermarkets, Keasbey-based grocery cooperative Wakefern Food Corp. is rolling the technology out further.

As part of a partnership with retail solution provider Simbe Robotics, Tally, an inventory-checking robot, will soon traverse the aisles of even more ShopRite locations, the companies said in an Aug. 17 press release announcing the expansion. 

Tally – considered the world’s first and most advanced inventory robot – autonomously roams a store multiple times per day, leveraging computer vision technology to collect shelf data to ensure that products are in-stock, shelved appropriately and accurately priced.

Then, the real-time data can be used to enable faster restocking, help associates quickly locate products and improve inventory tracking, with the ultimate goal of freeing up employees’ time so they can focus on other tasks.

According to Simbe, Tally can scan entire stores up to three times per day, processing between 15,000 to 30,000 products per hour, while operating quietly alongside shoppers and in tandem with associates.

Tally is already in use at several chains across the U.S., including BJ’s Wholesale Club, Hy-Vee and Giant Eagle.

After deploying the bot at 20 ShopRite stores last spring, Wakefern said the technology’s insights “significantly reduced out-of-stock rates, maximized inventory availability and enabled associates to be more effective and focus more of their time on delivering better experience for customers.”

A Simbe spokesperson confirmed “most of the stores in the initial pilot were in New Jersey, and Tally is currently in 20 New Jersey stores with many more to come soon.”

Brad Bogolea, co-founder and chief executive of San Francisco, Calif.-headquartered Simbe, said, “With our business intelligence solution, Wakefern has real-time visibility into shelf health at a frequency and fidelity that cannot be found anywhere else on the market. This consistent access to deep, precise insights has empowered Wakefern and its members’ store teams to further improve the exceptional shopping experience their customers expect by keeping shelves fully stocked. We look forward to continuing to enhance the experience for store teams and shoppers alike.”

Charles McWeeney, Wakefern’s vice president of technology, innovation & strategy, commented, “Tally has proven to be the ideal shelf-intelligence solution for our members as it’s been able to roll right into our technology ecosystem, sending real-time shelf condition data directly to retail associates’ handheld devices.”

“With timely, consistent, and accurate product data from Tally, our in-store mobile application presents a prioritized aisle by aisle inventory worklist to the store associates, ensuring they invest their time in the most meaningful and valuable services for our customer,” he added.

Tally isn’t the only technology that Wakefern is testing.

As part of an initiative to explore the possible future use of grab-and-go shopping technology, Wakefern launched an AI-powered convenience store in January at its corporate offices in Edison through a partnership with autonomous checkout technology developer Trigo.

Many stores in the co-op are now using mobile scan, which allows shoppers to scan groceries with their smart phone, and experimenting with smart shopping carts, as well as expanding and improving self-checkout terminals.