Joachim Pinhammer

UK food brand Branston is putting the GS1 Digital Link QR code on its products to provide consumers with access to useful information. The company is using the platform of software specialist Orca Scan, which is integrated into the GS1 Resolver system.

Edeka Zurheide is equipping its six stores in Düsseldorf and the northern Ruhr region with large-format digital screens from Digooh Media. So-called Digital City Light Posters (DCLP) serve as an advertising platform for brand manufacturers and local suppliers. Retailers are increasingly utilising them to promote sales and as an additional income source.

Lekkerland has deployed its so-called 'Smart Shop' concept in live operation for the first time. In the newly opened Rewe Ready container store at the EnBW loading park in Lichtenau, near Chemnitz in the German federal state of Saxony, the Rewe Group company implemented smart fridges from Portuguese specialist Reckon.ai.

Rewe Group is installing automation technology from Cimcorp in its regional distribution centre in Oranienburg. The system from Finnish specialist picks fruit and vegetables-crates. In this way, the retailer aims to efficiently deliver fresh produce to its stores and combat shortage of staff.

Sainsbury's is deploying software from Norwegian provider Strongpoint to pick food home deliveries from its stores. With the move, the British retailer aims to process customer orders more efficiently and accurately.

Aldi Süd manages its global supply chain with AI-based logistics solution Intelligent Control Tower from specialist One Network Enterprises (ONE). The platform enables logistics partners to work together in real time and helps minimising logistics costs.

Boots is trialling the use of ChatGPT for its online business. Generative AI will provide Boots.com customers with recommendations when choosing beauty products. The measure is part of a larger initiative that also includes implementation of the Boost platform from Ocula Technologies.

Aldi Süd is piloting automatic recognition of fruit and vegetables at its self-checkouts. Diebold Nixdorf's AI-based Vynamic Smart Vision software analyses the camera image of goods placed on the scanner scale to identify items without a barcode. Aldi Süd's checkout software partner Gebit managed the integration into the existing system.

Australian retailer Coles is working with technology provider Northfolk to make menu planning easier for online shoppers. The Swedish start-up's platform provides personalised recipe suggestions and automatically adds the ingredients to the shopping basket.

M-Preis is implementing Zebra's Workcloud Task Management software. The Austrian food retailer wants to digitally transform processes between head office and stores to better integrate employees, optimise stock levels and improve customer experience.