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Driving Efficiency and Sales Growth: How Akuret Helped a Grocery Chain Improve Inventory Management
In today’s fast-paced retail environment, operational efficiency and inventory management are critical for maintaining customer satisfaction and maximizing profits. One grocery store chain was facing significant challenges in these areas—specifically, the time and effort spent managing product availability, tracking down stock issues, and ensuring a smooth shopping experience for its customers.
To overcome these obstacles, the grocery chain turned to Akuret, seeking a data-driven solution to streamline their operations. Here’s how Akuret helped this grocery chain transform its processes, save time, and increase revenue.
The Challenge: Time-Consuming Inventory Checks and Missed Sales
For this grocery chain, managing inventory was a time-intensive and inefficient process. Store associates were spending hours every week walking the aisles, manually scanning shelves to identify stock gaps and empty products. While the point-of-sale (POS) system already indicated which items were out of stock, the lack of a digital system for tracking and addressing these issues left associates scrambling to find solutions.
With no way to document these problems in real time, the store struggled to identify the root causes of stockouts and availability issues. The result? Lost sales opportunities, inefficient use of labor, and an inability to respond to stock discrepancies in a timely manner. It was clear they needed a better way to manage inventory.
Daily Transaction Data:
Akuret’s system integrated seamlessly with the client’s POS, providing daily updates on sales and stock levels. This data was used to identify potential stock issues before they impacted sales
Handheld Device Alerts:
The Akuret app was installed on store handheld devices, giving associates access to real-time alerts. Twice a week, store staff spent just 60 minutes reviewing the app’s alerts and addressing stock issues.
The Solution: A Data-Driven Approach with Akuret
To tackle these challenges, the grocery chain partnered with Akuret, an inventory management solution designed to streamline operations and improve accuracy. Akuret implemented a comprehensive system that included daily data sharing and real-time alerts, allowing store associates to focus their attention on the most pressing issues without wasting valuable time.
This data-driven approach allowed the store to focus on priority items and reduce the time spent on manual inspections by one-third. Instead of endless shelf-walking, associates were able to target their efforts where they were needed most.
Results: Boosted Sales, Saved Time, and Increased Accuracy
The implementation of Akuret’s system quickly showed significant improvements in key areas:
Sales Increase: Thanks to improved inventory management, the grocery chain saw a direct 0.5% increase in total revenue. By preventing stockouts and ensuring high-demand products were always available, they captured sales that would have otherwise been lost.
Time Savings: With Akuret’s efficient alert system, the time spent on manual stock-taking and inspections was cut by 33%, saving 4 hours per week per store. This allowed store associates to focus on other critical tasks, improving overall productivity.
Improved Accuracy: Inventory tracking accuracy skyrocketed to 90%, significantly reducing discrepancies between reported and actual stock levels. This ensured that the products customers were looking for were on the shelves when they needed them.
Proactive Problem Solving: Akuret’s system identified an average of 350 stock issues per store each month. By catching these issues early, the stores were able to resolve them before they impacted sales, resulting in a smoother shopping experience for customers.
One Store Operations Manager commented on the success of the system, stating, “We are very happy with the app. This is a very good process!”
During the implementation, several important insights came to light that helped the store fine-tune its inventory processes:
Inventory Discrepancies: The data revealed discrepancies between reported stock levels and actual inventory, resulting in missed sales opportunities. For example, while some SKUs showed positive balances in the system, sales only happened after new deliveries arrived. This delay indicated outdated stock records, which were easily addressed through Akuret’s real-time tracking.
Missed Sales Due to Stockouts: Low service levels and stockouts were identified as key reasons for lost sales. The chain estimated that 0.5-1% of total sales were lost due to these issues, underscoring the importance of accurate inventory management.
Sales Growth Potential: With better stock monitoring, Akuret projected that the grocery chain could further increase sales by 0.5-1% through more efficient inventory management and stock audits.
ROI: Substantial Returns on Investment
Akuret's system not only improved operational efficiency but also delivered a strong financial return on investment:
Revenue Increase: By recovering lost sales due to stockouts, the stores saw an increase in sales of 0.5-1%, translating to 50,000 to 100,000 SEK for a store with 10 million SEK in annual revenue.
Cost Savings: The reduction in stock-taking time saved 100,000 SEK annually for stores with stock-taking costs of 300,000 SEK per year.
Investment Costs: The cost of implementing Akuret’s system, including software, training, and maintenance, was estimated at 200,000 SEK. However, the ROI quickly became evident as the time savings and revenue increase offset the initial investment. In this case, a store experiencing a 75,000 SEK sales recovery and 100,000 SEK in time savings saw a 175,000 SEK benefit, nearly matching the investment cost.
Actionable Insights: How Akuret Transformed Store Operations
Akuret’s system provided the grocery chain with several actionable insights that continue to drive operational improvements:
Real-Time Inventory Accuracy: By implementing real-time tracking, the store ensured that inventory data was always up to date, preventing stockouts and improving service levels.
Optimized Stock Audits: By focusing on high-demand products during audits, the store minimized unnecessary checks and maximized the efficiency of their stock management.
Prioritized Inventory Management: Akuret’s system allowed the store to focus its efforts on high-revenue SKUs, ensuring these critical products were always in stock and reducing the need for full-scale audits.
