To cut printing costs and simplify product price updates, a major grocery chain partnered with our team to implement a smart shelving solution. Using our embedded technology, we helped create a network-connected system that reduced employee stocking time and enabled accurate, real-time price updates using barcodes and Ethernet-based communication.
Customer Profile
This large U.S. grocery retail chain operates over 2,400 stores nationwide. Focused on operational efficiency, the company aimed to modernize their pricing infrastructure to save costs and improve employee productivity using embedded smart shelving.
Challenge
Managing weekly price updates across thousands of locations required substantial manual labor and incurred millions in printing and staffing costs. Approximately 20% of items needed pricing updates weekly. Store associates had to physically locate and replace printed tags on shelves, making the process labor-intensive and error-prone.
To reduce this operational burden, the customer sought a digital solution that would integrate with their pricing database and automate shelf label updates. The goal was to deploy a smart shelving system capable of updating prices remotely through an Ethernet connection. With a nine-month pilot timeline, the solution also needed to be efficient, scalable, and consumer-friendly, supporting digital content and improving restocking through barcode-enabled item tracking.
Solution Summary
We developed a networked smart shelf system using our Torpedo SoM, enabling remote price updates, multimedia content display, and simplified inventory management via barcode scanning.
Solution
The customer aimed to build an active display system that would integrate with their existing pricing database. Traditionally, 20% of store prices changed weekly, requiring manual tag replacements. Our team implemented an Ethernet-based smart shelving system to automatically update prices. Using an agile approach, we met their aggressive 9-month pilot timeline.
We recommended our Torpedo System-on-Module (SoM) to reduce development and testing time. The SoM receives and displays pricing data via optic lenses across a 48-inch shelf. Engineers fine-tuned the optics for clarity across varying angles and included a speaker for audio playback, enabling video ads.
Each shelf includes a unique barcode that helps employees identify stock locations efficiently. This solution not only saved costs but offered a competitive edge through video and image projection, streamlining price updates and enhancing in-store engagement.
Result
The pilot launch included 60 smart shelves installed in a retail store. Our team provided continuous support and technical improvements throughout the test phase. The customer was impressed by the performance and cost savings, leading to continued collaboration with us. Future enhancements include motion detection and seasonal promotional graphics, further expanding the capabilities of this innovative retail display and pricing system.
Torpedo System-on-Chip (SOC)
