advertisement
Pick n Pay Turns to AI to Fix Online Grocery Fulfilment
An online grocery order is a promise made on a screen and fulfilled on a shelf. At Pick n Pay, keeping that promise depends on store employees navigating aisles, locating products and finding alternatives when items are unavailable.
The retailer is introducing an AI-powered store operations platform across more than 720 stores to improve that process. Developed by Toronto-based OrderGrid, the platform will support Pick n Pay’s asap! online grocery service.
It combines real-time inventory visibility, demand forecasting, order management and in-store task management. The aim is to help store teams identify gaps on shelves, reduce out-of-stock items and fulfil online orders faster.
advertisement
Pick n Pay says a pilot reduced the average time employees spent picking online orders by about 30 per cent. However, it has not disclosed how many stores participated, where the pilot took place or how long it lasted.
The value of the deal was also not disclosed. Pick n Pay has yet to provide a detailed rollout schedule, describing the deployment as the final stage of a two-year overhaul of its technology platform.
Where the time goes
advertisement
Enrico Ferigolli, Pick n Pay’s omnichannel executive, said the tools should help teams “pick online orders more efficiently, particularly larger baskets.”
He said the retailer’s focus “shifted earlier this year to the technology that supports in-store fulfilment.” The priority, he added, is “getting the products they ordered when they expect them.”
Pick n Pay already uses computer vision to identify empty shelves and machine learning to plan picking routes. The OrderGrid platform builds on these capabilities by giving employees a live view of inventory and orders.
advertisement
In Ferigolli’s words, this means providing teams with “better tools and greater visibility into stock and orders.”
Aidan Mittra, OrderGrid’s co-founder, framed the challenge from the customer’s perspective.
“Customers come back when they find what they came for,” he said, adding that accurate stock information becomes increasingly important as shoppers use digital platforms and AI assistants.
Why it matters now
Online demand is growing. Pick n Pay’s online grocery sales increased 35.4% in the 26 weeks to August 30. Ferigolli said the online business is growing faster this year than it did last year.
The retailer does not disclose the size of its online grocery business.
It has also been expanding the customer-facing capabilities of asap!. Its AI shopping assistant, Penny, allows customers to build baskets using text, voice or images.
Last week, Pick n Pay introduced Smart Shopper Pro, a subscription service costing $6.06 a month that competes with Checkers’ Xtra Savings Plus.
Questions remain about the operational implications of the AI rollout. Pick n Pay has not disclosed how many employees pick online orders, how they will be trained to use the platform or whether the technology will change their responsibilities.
Those details will help establish whether the deployment delivers benefits beyond faster order picking, particularly as retailers face pressure to make online grocery operations more efficient and reliable.