Supermarket Perimeter - January 2023 - 53

LABOR SHORTAGES AND OTHER PROBLEMS of the COVID Era have
made grocery retailers work harder than ever to meet the needs of
demanding consumers.
Technology is providing many of the solutions they're looking for,
and few are more important than tools dedicated to streamlining
inventory and preventing waste.
Hopkinton, Mass.-based software specialist Jera Concepts recently
retooled its platform to help customers deal with sourcing, labor and
other problems.
The platform, designed to be more interactive for store employees,
with the goal of limiting the decision-making process as much as
possible, has been very well received, said Wynne Barrett, a Jera
partner.
" It's really gaining momentum, " he said. " One of the things COVID and
the labor shortage have done is to make people realize that they need
tools to remove critical thinking " from the inventory management and
other processes.
In conversations with customers and potential customers, one
employee response has stuck out for Barrett: " I don't want to have to
think about what I have to do. "
Having tools like Jera's management software is more important than
ever, given the tight labor markets that continue to burden retail grocery
and other food industry channels.
Convenience stores and QSR and other foodservice channels
continue to be the focus for Jera's current business, but Barrett said
the company's platform would work just as well in retail grocery, a
category that he expects to target in the near future. Small retail chains
in particular are expected to be a good fit for Jera.
The technology made a big leap about five years ago, Barrett said. It
took businesses awhile to adjust to it and to realize that it wasn't as hard
to implement as they first thought.
" Companies are becoming more aware of how technology can help
them, " he said. " And not just aware of it, but comfortable with it. The
conversation level just this year changed tremendously. "
To cut back on waste, more and more grocery retailers and other
players in the food world are keeping a close eye on each stage of the
INSIDER
Many grocery retailers facing labor challenges
are using centralized kitchens more often
to meet their fresh production demand.
To address the increased use of commissary/
centralized kitchens, Toronto-based Invafresh
is expanding its Commissary Fulfillment
module to handle the complexities and
workflows necessary for an optimized
operation, said Stephen Midgley, the
company's vice president of marketing.
" By providing a centralized view for production
planning, whether in-store or at a commissary,
the Invafresh Fresh Retail Platform helps
retailers to reduce shrink from 20%-40%,
improve recipe cost management, and
effectively manage production deadlines,
fill rate, and distribution status. "
production cycle to make sure each step is taken at the right time,
Barrett said.
For instance, Jera now offers its customers the capability to print a
label indicating when a shipped product needs to be thawed, when it
needs to prepped after it's thawed, etc.
" More and more companies are doing that, following the full food
safety regimens, " Barrett said.
Rapid expansion
In early 2022, San Francisco-based fresh supply chain specialist Afresh
Technologies announced it was partnering with Albertsons to help the
retailer reduce waste, increase sales and provide its customers with the
freshest foods.
Nearly a year later, Nathan Fenner, Afresh's president, couldn't be
happier with the result.
" It's going fantastically well, and we're really excited what's coming
in 2023. It's everything we hoped for and more, and it's really validating
our approach at the national level. "
Afresh, which also has partnerships with Winco, Save Mart, Bashas',
Cub and other retailers, has a big backup of other retailers looking to
take advantage of the company's Fresh Operating System platform.
Also on tap for 2023: Afresh will expand its services to seafood, meat
and poultry and deli, Fenner said. To this point, its focus has been
on produce, though the company has trialed other fresh perimeter
departments on a limited basis.
supermarketperimeter.com
JANUARY 2023 - 53
Afresh
http://www.supermarketperimeter.com
Supermarket Perimeter - January 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Supermarket Perimeter - January 2023
