Albertsons Companies, one of the leading food and pharmaceutical retailers in the USA, is the first customer to implement this solution in 17 of its distribution centers, including fresh produce, meat, seafood, deli and foodservice departments.
The Afresh DC Forecasts solution represents a major advance in forecast management, enabling automation that takes into account a variety of key demand factors, such as promotions, seasonal trends and vacations. Traditionally, distribution center buyers spent hours synthesizing multiple data sources and manually calculating their forecasts. Thanks to Afresh, these forecasts are now updated daily in a web application, providing buyers with an overview of the products to be managed, together with useful context.
"With our new DC forecasts, we're streamlining fresh information across the supply chain," said Matt Schwartz, CEO of Afresh. "In developing this product, we worked directly with our partners at Albertsons to create a centralized data flow that meets pressing needs: saving buyers time while increasing service levels for stores."
Forecast management at distribution center level is crucial, as an erroneous forecast can lead to oversupply of products, making them less fresh, or, conversely, shortages leading to empty shelves. Automating the forecasting process will enable buyers to concentrate on other strategic tasks, such as inventory management and long-term purchasing planning.
Since 2022, Albertsons and Afresh have been working together to optimize the in-store ordering process for fresh produce. Thanks to this collaboration, inventory conditions have improved in the group's stores, including Safeway, Albertsons and Jewel-Osco. In 2023, Afresh expanded its services to include other key fresh departments.
Since its founding in 2017, Afresh has been on a mission to reduce food waste and make fresh produce accessible to everyone. Through its intelligent, AI-based solutions, the company helps retailers make more efficient fresh produce management decisions, while contributing to the sustainability of the sector. Today, Afresh has partnerships with retailers in over 3,000 stores across 40 states, consolidating its position as a leader in food technology.
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