Afresh Technologies and Albertsons Companies Roll Out AI-Powered Platform to More Than 2,000 Stores Nationwide

PRNewswire 12-Jan-2023 9:00 AM

Afresh platform helps grocer improve fresh produce inventory for shoppers and reduce waste going to landfill

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 12, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Afresh Technologies, the world's leading fresh food technology company, and Albertsons Companies (NYSE: ACI) announced today the completion of an enterprise rollout of the Afresh predictive ordering and inventory management platform across nearly all of Albertsons Cos.' banner stores across the country. The system was fully deployed in more than 2,000 stores in seven months, far less than the three to five years typically required for large-scale enterprise software implementations in the grocery industry.    

Afresh enables Albertsons Cos. banner store teams to anticipate and embrace the ever-changing nature of fresh produce more efficiently, reducing food waste and achieving superior freshness in their stores. The solution powers Albertsons Cos.' forecasting, inventory and store operations, providing department managers with easy-to-use ordering tools that leverage real-time insights.

Grocers utilizing Afresh typically see an increase in sales by an average of 3 percent across their chain while reducing food waste by 25 percent and significantly improving inventory turns.

"Supply chain and store technology implementations typically require a multi-year transformation and radical overhauls," said Afresh CEO and co-founder Matt Schwartz. "Afresh and Albertsons Cos. have partnered to complete the fastest in-store technology rollout in Albertsons Cos.' history and did so across thousands of stores in just months, helping Albertsons Cos.' family of stores realize the transformational value in their fresh produce departments now; not years down the line."

"Driving sustainability practices across Albertsons Cos. is essential to our business and the communities we serve," said Suzanne Long, Chief Sustainability and Transformation Officer at Albertsons Cos. "Our partnership with Afresh helps better manage our inventory of fresh fruits and vegetables in support of our goal to eliminate food waste going to landfill by 2030. In addition, it helps to ensure our customers have access to fresher products when shopping with us."

One major difference between fresh grocery and other departments is that fresh food is highly dynamic. As a result, fresh data is often imperfect. While competing solutions rely on near-perfect data, Afresh recognizes the unique challenges of fresh and is built to produce results despite hard-to-predict and error-prone data. All these factors enable Afresh to roll out in months instead of years.

 "What ultimately made this rollout so successful is a strong partnership with the Albertsons Cos. team and their willingness to embrace innovation and be a real partner in technology," said Schwartz. "Afresh is proud to serve Albertsons Cos., and we look forward to creating  real, long-term impact for their fresh supply chain."

Afresh is the world's leading fresh technology company, helping grocers win in fresh with intelligent solutions that move beyond traditional inventory management to drive optimal decisions across the fresh supply chain. Afresh is changing the game with a platform designed to recognize and respond to the ever-changing, often hard-to-predict world of fresh, streamlining fresh operations and improving grocers' bottom lines while reducing food waste.

Founded in 2017 with the mission to eliminate food waste and make fresh food accessible to all, Afresh is proudly serving national and regional grocery brands across the US. Today, Afresh has announced partnerships with grocers in more than 3,000 stores and 40 states, including Albertsons, Heinen's, Save Mart, Bashas, Cub Foods, and more. Learn more at www.afresh.com.

Albertsons Companies is a leading food and drug retailer in the United States. As of December 3, 2022, the Company operated 2,270 retail food and drug stores with 1,720 pharmacies, 402 associated fuel centers, 22 dedicated distribution centers and 19 manufacturing facilities. The Company operates stores across 34 states and the District of Columbia with 24 banners including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw's, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Haggen, Carrs, Kings Food Markets and Balducci's Food Lovers Market. The Company is committed to helping people across the country live better lives by making a meaningful difference, neighborhood by neighborhood. In 2021, along with the Albertsons Companies Foundation, the Company contributed nearly $200 million in food and financial support, including approximately $40 million through our Nourishing Neighbors Program to ensure those living in our communities have enough to eat.

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SOURCE Afresh Technologies