French retail group Coopérative U is rolling out the software solution developed by start-up Ida to optimise the performances of its fruit and vegetable departments. Starting April 2025, Ida tool will be available across all 1,700 Coopérative U stores in France.
France-based Ida has developed a single, intuitive tool designed for floor staff responsible for the fruit and vegetable aisles. On the logistical side, the one-touch tool helps visualise and manage stock levels, anticipate delivery needs, and place orders directly from a tablet.
The built-in AI assists staff in forecasting sales backed by historical data while considering various factors such as store size, weather conditions, retail competition and ongoing promotions. The goal is to reduce shrinkage and out-of-stocks, thereby optimising margins for highly perishable items at the heart of grocery stores. Reducing produce waste also aligns with the industry’s wider environmental goals.
A strong interest from French grocers
The IDA tool has been trialled at Coop Atlantique, a master franchisee of Coopérative U operating around 160 stores in central-western France. The introduction of the technology reportedly led to an 80 per cent reduction in out-of-stocks and a 5 per cent increase in sales in the fruit and vegetable department. The solution was also introduced at Groupe Schiever, an Auchan master franchisee operating around 140 stores in central-eastern France which will join Coopérative U ranks in 2025. The markdown was reportedly halved and stocks reduced by 25 per cent, with number of deliveries reduced from 6 to 4 weekly without hurting produce freshness or availability.
The start-up Ida was created in early 2023 and successfully raised about 3 million US-Dollars capital by the end of that year. Ida works with several grocery retailers in France, including organic specialists Biocoop, Bio Monde and Naturalia, as well as full range grocery retailers such as Coopérative U, Intermarché and Carrefour.
