Ready to launch the Smart Store at ITA

The lack of availability of products on the store shelf produces lost sales and dissatisfaction on customers. Often, it is produced by a lack of coordination between the salesroom and the backroom. Shelf management is in these situations a key factor. The application of technologies to shelf (what is known as the “intelligent shelf”) allows detecting the lack of products on real time, resulting in a more efficient replenishment.

In the demonstration center, we present a wide span of technological options to monitor products on the shelf. There are three groups of technologies: RFID, vision and sensors. And four types of sensors: load cells, capacitive sensors, inductive sensors and optical sensors.

Each one of these technologies offers a different type of information: RFID and vision technologies can measure the number of units of each product on the shelf as well as descriptive information through tags attached at the products (such as code number, supplier, etc.) Other technologies, such as load cells, allow knowing only the number of existing units. Finally, optical sensors, provide information of availability of the product, but not about the number or description.

Besides information level, the different technological options meet the need to adapt to physical features of products. Products monitoring through RFID, for example, has always been a challenge in case of metal or liquid products. In contrast, inductive sensors only detect metal products. In order to overcome such limitations, other technological options are proposed to provide an effective solution.