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Lekkerland, in cooperation with energy supplier ENBW, opened the first fully automated unmanned container store named Rewe Ready end of September. The autonomous grocery store of the Rewe Group subsidiary is located at the EnBW fast charging park for electrical cars in Bispingen, Lower Saxony. The store's technology originates from Paderborn-based company Latebird.

The international fashion company AWWG is using OneStock's Order Management System to ship online orders from the stores of its two brands Pepe Jeans and Hackett London. This is expected to make processes more efficient as well as more cost-effective and to significantly reduce delivery times for customers.

Kroger will be the first customer to introduce BrightDrop's electronic trolley, which can be used for both in-store picking and as a pick-up station for goods ordered online. The second largest US grocery retailer has already tested the trolley as part of a pilot project in Lexington and Versailles in the US state of Kentucky.

Walmart is rolling out an AI-based out-of-stocks prevention system from Focal Systems in Canada. The US-based start-up's solution analyses camera images to alert employees to existing or imminent out-of-stock situations.

Lidl is committed to use the forecasting and replenishment software from Relex Solutions in 14 countries. The goal is transparency and flexibility throughout the entire supply chain. The advantages are increased availability of goods as well as reduced inventories and fewer out-of-stocks.

Since the beginning of August, Jan Stroh, owner of butchery shops in the German federal state of Saarland, has been operating an unmanned food vending machine with his start-up called Friedas24. The solution was developed by Kirschenhofer Maschinen GmbH and is offered to retailers under the name VPS Roberta. The concept is intended to close gaps in rural local supply.…

GS1 Germany is testing the opportunities of its new 2D code Digital Link together with start-up Jake's Beverages. The QR code printed on the packaging offers consumers access to product information and transparency for participants in the supply chain.

This week, Edeka Südwest opened a combination of its Italophile deli concept Sapori d'Italia with a fully automated 24/7 store in Offenburg. Knapp robotics picks everyday items in the back of the vending area and makes them available to customers at a counter.

Rewe is the first German grocery retail company sending leaflets via WhatsApp. Nationwide, customers can receive special offers of their favourite Rewe store every Sunday via the messenger. Meta business partner 360dialog has delivered the technical implementation.

The market for self-checkout systems is growing by 11 percent worldwide, according to market research company RBR. Biggest growth driver is the Asia-Pacific region. NCR remains the undisputed market leader, but Chinese vendors are catching up.