Joachim Pinhammer

Norway’s Norges Gruppen has selected Manhattan Associates’ warehouse management solution for its Meny supermarket banner operation. The retailer wants to better fulfil growing customer requirements in e-commerce. For the metropolis region of Oslo, it is currently building a fulfilment centre, scheduled to start operations in autumn 2024.

7-Eleven Japan plans to use generative AI for the introduction of new products in the future. Software from Open AI, Google and Stability AI is set to help reduce planning processes by up to 90 per cent. Deploying this technology in the area is new to the retail sector.

Regional co-operation Edeka Minden-Hannover relies on intelligent shopping trolleys from manufacturer Pentland Firth. The company has rolled out a total of 6,400 Easy Shoppers since 2019. The Retail Optimiser visited two of the company-owned stores and spoke to managers and customers about their experiences with the systems.

Schwarz Group is investing in German AI start-up Aleph Alpha. The key technology is intended to help optimise processes in all areas of the group. The investors wish to become independent of US players and comply with European data protection standards.

Aldi Süd enables customers to pay cash at its self-checkouts going forward in Germany. The latest installations of Diebold Nixdorf machines have integrated cash recyclers. The Retail Optimiser spoke to Aldi Süd Communication Specialist Carolin Sunderhaus about motivations and experiences with self-checkout in this country.

Walmart is deploying a solution jointly developed by technology providers Knapp and Packsize to ship online orders in exactly right-sized packaging. Thus, deliveries can be handled in a more cost-effective and sustainable way.

Edeka Jäger at Stuttgart Airport allows customers to shop autonomously at night. Shoppers then gain access via a Wanzl card access system and pay cashless at self- checkouts from Diebold Nixdorf running POS software from GK. Owner Florian Jäger explained the project to The Retail Optimiser.

Takko Fashion digitalises its store processes with Apps4brands from Act'o-soft. The application runs on mobile devices from manufacturer Zebra Technologies. The rollout in Germany has been completed, and by the end of the year all international stores should also be equipped with the new solution.

dm Drogeriemarkt provides its own ChatGPT variant called dmGPT for employees at the company headquarters. The Retail Optimiser spoke with Andreas Gessner from dm Tech about the AI chatbot, which runs on dm's infrastructure to ensure data sovereignty. The solution is to be expanded step by step for all company divisions.

Edeka Südbayern has implemented 20 so-called SmartShoppers from start-up company KBST in its E-Center in Penzberg, South of Munich. With this, Edeka Group now has more than 2,000 of the manufacturer's intelligent shopping trolleys in use across Germany.