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Diving overview:
Fresh Thyme is implementing new Afresh technology to improve ordering and inventory management in deli and prepared food departments, according to an announcement Tuesday. Afresh Store Order for Food Service provides inventory levels and ordering guidance, while AI-driven technology provides ordering recommendations and automated ordering insights. This new initiative expands on the Fresh Thyme and Affresh partnership that began in 2019 and continues the AI technology company’s efforts to extend its capabilities beyond the produce sector.
Dive Insight:
As food waste continues to be a major sustainability concern across industries, technology companies and grocery stores continue to explore new solutions to improve inventory management that reduce waste.
Afresh’s new system in Fresh Thyme’s deli and prepared food sections leverages the same AI data engine used by other fresh department additions to detect expiration dates, seasonality, holidays, and imperfections. “Detects factors that are difficult to track” such as register scans. Individual fresh items, according to a press release.
Specifically in the prepared foods department, Afresh’s system will help store employees navigate ordering ingredients common to many recipes and adjust potential ingredient substitutions, the announcement said. .
By the end of this year, Afresh’s platform will be used in the “core” fresh departments of all 70 Fresh Thyme stores, according to a press release.
Afresh’s ordering and inventory management technology is becoming more popular across the industry, with grocers using it to reduce food waste and further sustainability efforts. Currently, Albertsons, Cub Foods, and Heinen’s are using the company’s AI-driven platform in their fresh department.
Earlier this month, Albertsons became the first retailer to test a new personalized Afresh forecasting solution for distribution centers that automatically compiles data used by buyers to predict demand for future orders from stores. I did. Albertsons is piloting solutions across produce, meat, seafood, deli and foodservice at 17 distribution centers.
Affresh announced in March 2023 that it would expand its food waste reduction technology beyond agricultural products to other fresh sectors.
